The Fichtelgebirge Club (German : Fichtelgebirgsverein or FGV) is a large walking club and local heritage society in Bavaria and recognised conservation group with 20,000 members in 55 local groups. As the name says, its main sphere of activity is in the Fichtel Mountains in north Bavaria. Its emblem is the Arctic starflower (the Siebenstern).
The aims of the club are the fostering of hiking, training of hiking guides, marking of footpaths, construction and maintenance of rock climbing facilities, observation towers and accommodation facilities, conservation work and support, landscape conservation, support of local culture, monument protection, running the Fichtelgebirge Museum and other local history and natural history collections, publication of the club magazine Der Siebenstern and other heritage publications, youth work and youth support.
In 1878 the Fichtel Mountains Section (Sektion Fichtelgebirg) of the German and Austrian Alpine Club was founded in Wunsiedel. From the outset it focussed only on the development of the Fichtel Mountains. In 1888 the section was disbanded and the FGV founded with its headquarters in Wunsiedel. For a long time it was headed by the master forester ( Forstmeister ) of Wunsiedel. Over the course of time branches were formed in the surrounding villages and around the turn of the 20th century membership numbers had risen to 1000.
The club enjoyed encouraging growth Aufschwung after the First World War, in 1924 it had 38 local branches with 7000 members. After the Second World War, which had brought the club's activities to a standstill, it underwent a rapid regeneration which saw the foundation of numerous youth groups. In 1936 the headquarters of the club moved to Hof; it returned to Wunsiedel in 2003/04.
The club headquarters is at Theresienstraße 2, 95632 Wunsiedel in the Haus des Fichtelgebirgsvereins (near the market place and town hall). There is a service centre that offers advice and guidance about hiking, paths, conservation, culture and local history. There is also a specialist regional library, shop, conference and exhibition rooms.
The club has branches in the following places: Arzberg, Asch (CZ), Bad Alexandersbad, Bad Berneck, Bayreuth, Berlin, Bischofsgrün, Brand/Opf., Ebnath, Fichtelberg, Franken, Gefrees, Goldkronach, Grafenreuth, Hallerstein, Hof/Saale, Hohenberg an der Eger, Kemnath, Kirchenlamitz, Kulmbach, Marktleuthen, Marktredwitz, Mehlmeisel, Münchberg, Nagel, Nemmersdorf, Neusorg, Niederlamitz, Nuremberg, Oberkotzau, Oberwarmensteinach, Pegnitz, Plauen, Pullenreuth, Rehau, Röslau, Schirnding, Schönwald, Schwarzenbach (Saale), Schwarzenhammer, Selb-Stadt, Selb-Plößberg, Sparneck, Speichersdorf, Thiersheim, Thierstein, Tröstau, Vordorf, Waldershof, Warmensteinach, Weidenberg, Weißenstadt, Weißenstein-Verein, Wunsiedel, Zell im Fichtelgebirge.
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The Fichtel Mountains, form a small horseshoe-shaped mountain range in northeastern Bavaria, Germany. They extend from the valley of the Red Main River to the Czech border, a few foothills spilling over into the Czech Republic. They continue in a northeasterly direction as the Elster Mountains, and in a southeasterly direction as the Upper Palatine Forest. The Fichtel Mountains contain an important nature park, the Fichtel Mountain Nature Park, with an area of 1,020 square kilometres (390 sq mi).
Wunsiedel is the seat of the Upper Franconian district of Wunsiedel in northeast Bavaria, Germany. The town is the birthplace of poet Jean Paul. It also became known for its annual Luisenburg Festival and the Rudolf Hess Memorial March held there by Neo-Nazis until 2005.
Bad Berneck im Fichtelgebirge is a spa town in the district of Bayreuth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the White Main river, in the Fichtel Mountains, 13 km northeast of Bayreuth. It lies in the northern part of the Bavarian province of Upper Franconia. Since 1857 it has been a spa, initially based on its climate and whey products. In 1930 it became a Kneipp spa and, in 1950, a Kneipp health spa.
Weißenstadt is a town in the district of Wunsiedel, in Upper Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the shore of the picturesque Weißenstadter See, in the Fichtel Mountains, on the river Ohře, 11 km northwest of Wunsiedel. The town got its name "White City" from the landmark church, once white now weathered dark grey.
The Kirchenlamitz–Weissenstadt railway was a German branch line in Bavaria. It was opened on 20 July 1899 as a Sekundärbahn by the Royal Bavarian State Railways.
Leupoldsdorf is a village in the municipality of Tröstau in the district of Wunsiedel im Fichtelgebirge in Bavaria, Germany.
Schneeberg is the highest mountain in the Fichtel Mountains, a mountain range in Upper Franconia in northeast Bavaria, Germany. It can be readily identified from a distance by its squat tower - a relic of the Cold War. The summit comprises a jumble of granite rocks and a rock pillar (Felsburg) on which the Backöfele observation tower stands and is still dominated by the relics of military installations including its Cold War listening post.
The Fichtel Mountain Nature Park lies in the tri-border area of Saxony, the Czech Republic and Bavaria and has an area of 1,020 km2 (390 sq mi). It is maintained by the Naturpark Fichtelgebirge e. V. in Wunsiedel.
The Röslau or Rösla is a right-hand tributary of the river Ohře in northeast Bavaria in Germany.
The Kösseine is a massif in the High Fichtel mountains in Germany, lying in northeast Bavaria south of Wunsiedel. The highest elevation of this granite massif is the summit of the Große Kösseine, 939 m above sea level (NN). The border between the Bavarian provinces of Upper Franconia and Upper Palatinate runs over the Kösseine as does the European watershed between the North Sea and the Black Sea. Around the Kösseine are the settlements of Wunsiedel, Marktredwitz, Bad Alexandersbad, Waldershof, Hohenhard, Neusorg, Brand, Ebnath, Nagel and Tröstau, tourist resorts within the Fichtel Mountains.
The Nußhardt is the third highest mountain in the Fichtel Mountains in the south German state of Bavaria at 972 m above sea level (NN). It lies in the far northeast of the state and has a rocky summit characteristic of the Fichtel Mountains. The summit area with its felsenmeer and tor is a nature reserve with an area of 5.5 hectares. In addition the Nußhardt is incorporated into the geotope register of the Bavarian State Geological Department under No. 472R013.
The Großer Waldstein is part of the Waldstein range in the Fichtel Mountains of Germany. It is known primarily for its rock formations caused by spheroidal weathering, its ruined castles and the only remaining bear trap (Bärenfang) in the region.
With its 827-metre-high (2,713 ft) peak the Große Kornberg is the northeast cornerstone of the Fichtel Mountains in south Germany. It forms a wooded ridge, which is recognisable from a long distance by its former military surveillance tower It is also the local 'house' mountain of Schönwald and Schwarzenbach an der Saale.
The Bundesstraße 303 is a German federal highway that runs from west to east, beginning at the A 7 autobahn west of Schweinfurt and ending at the border with the Czech Republic east of Schirnding. It runs through the eastern part of Lower Franconia and the whole of Upper Franconia.
The Jean-Paul-Weg is a 150 km hiking trail in Germany in honour of the writer Jean Paul Friedrich Richter (1763–1825), leading through the Franconian Forest, Fichtel Mountains, and Little Switzerland.
The Nuremberg–Cheb railway is a 151 km long, non-electrified main line, mainly in the German state of Bavaria. It runs from Nuremberg via Lauf an der Pegnitz, Hersbruck, Pegnitz, Kirchenlaibach, Marktredwitz and Schirnding to Cheb in the Czech Republic. The route is also known as the RightPegnitz line or the Pegnitz Valley Railway (Pegnitztalbahn). It was built as the Fichtel Mountains Railway (Fichtelgebirgsbahn). The Nuremberg–Schnabelwaid section of it is part of the Saxon-Franconian trunk line (Sachsen-Franken-Magistrale).
The Mainkreis was one of the 15 administrative districts of the Kingdom of Bavaria between 1806 and 1837. The district was named after its main river Main and renamed Obermainkreis in 1817. It was the predecessor of the Regierungsbezirk Oberfranken.
The Hoher Stein is a rock formation at the northeastern foot of the Bergkopf mountain, part of the Waldstein ridge in Germany's Fichtel Mountains.
Sechsämtertropfen is a liqueur produced in Germany.
