Western Ore Mountains

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Map of natural regions in the Ore Mountains Erzgebirge Naturraum map de.png
Map of natural regions in the Ore Mountains

The Western Ore Mountains (German : Westerzgebirge) is a natural region that forms the westernmost part of the Ore Mountains in the German state of Saxony. It is also part of the major landscape unit known as the Saxon Highlands and Uplands. It extends eastwards to include the valley of the Schwarzwasser, and, below its mouth, that of the Zwickauer Mulde, and incorporates the western parts of the former major units known as the Lower and Upper Western Ore Mountains (Unteres und Oberes Westerzgebirge), no. 423, as well as the Southern Slopes of the Ore Mountains (Südabdachung des Erzgebirges), no. 420.

Contents

In the current classification system of natural regions, the Western Ore Mountains only covers the western part of the region that bore the same name in the preceding system, whilst the eastern part of that region is now part of the Central Ore Mountains. [1]

The higher regions of the Western Ore Mountains are part of the Ore Mountains/Vogtland Nature Park.

Geography

The Western Ore Mountains transition gradually towards the (south)west into the "historic" Vogtland region and include several of its villages, whilst the official boundary with the natural region of Vogtland largely follows the watershed between the rivers of the Zwickauer Mulde and, in the extreme south, the Zwota, with the Vogtland river of the White Elster, the central and southern part of this boundary lying somewhat to the east, so that the source regions of the eastern Elster tributaries are still counted as being in the Ore Mountains. The Vysoký kámen (Hoher Stein) near Erlbach is the southernmost mountain of the Ore Mountain range.

To the north the Western Ore Mountains descend to the gently rolling Ore Mountain Basin and the town of Zwickau, whilst the mountain range continues to the south on the far side of the border with the Czech Republic. The state border largely follows the ridgeline of the mountains, which continues southwest on both sides of the border into the Elster Mountains and the natural region of Vogtland. The 805 m high Hoher Brand, which is generally accepted as being in the Elster Mountains range, because it is located southwest of the Zwota, officially belongs to the natural region of the Western Ore Mountains.

In the south is the highest point on Saxon soil, the Auersberg (1019 m NN), northwest of Johanngeorgenstadt. It is overlooked by the 1,043 m high Blatenský vrch (Plattenberg) southeast of the town and on the other side of the international border.

Settlements

The following list includes all the towns and municipalities that lie wholly or partly within the Western Ore Mountains. Places that belong to the historic Vogtland, are marked with an asterisk (*).

Following the redrawing of the boundaries by the Saxon State Office, parts of Zwickau and Wilkau-Haßlau also lie within the Western Ore Mountains.

See also

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The Saxon Uplands, Saxon Hills or Ore Mountain Foreland is a strip of countryside of about 200 m to 500 m above sea level (NN) high, in the German state of Saxony, that lies immediately north of the German Ore Mountains and runs mainly through the areas of Zwickauer Land, Zwickau, Chemnitzer Land, Chemnitz, Mittelsachsen and the country south of Dresden. It borders on the Upper Pleißeland to the extreme west, the Ore Mountain Basin in the south and the Mulde Loess Hills to the north and east.

The Saxon Highlands and Uplands refer to a natural region mainly in the south of Saxony with small elements also in southeast Thuringia and northeast Bavaria. It comprises, from (south)west to (north)east, of the Vogtland, the Ore Mountains, Saxon Switzerland, the Upper Lusatian Plateau and the Zittau Hills.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Ore Mountains</span> Mountain range in Germany

The Eastern Ore Mountains form a natural region of Saxony that covers the eastern part of the Saxon Ore Mountains range. Together with the Western and Central Ore Mountains, it is part of the larger Saxon Highlands and Uplands region. Its southern continuation beyond the German border covers an area of roughly the same extent in the Czech Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ore Mountains/Vogtland Nature Park</span> Nature park in Saxony, Germany

The Ore Mountains/Vogtland Nature Park extends across the upper slopes of the Vogtland and Ore Mountains in southeastern Germany along its international border with Czech Republic. It is the longest nature park in Germany with a total length of 120 km. Its management organisation is the Zweckverband Naturpark Erzgebirge/Vogtland. It includes the following conservation areas:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Ore Mountains</span>

The Central or Middle Ore Mountains is a natural region that forms the central-western part of the Ore Mountains in the German federal state of Saxony. It is part of the overarching unit, the Saxon Highlands and Uplands. It forms the eastern part of the former major units, the Lower Western Ore Mountains and Upper Western Ore Mountains and is separated from the Eastern Ore Mountains in the east by the (included) valley of the Flöha, and from the Western Ore Mountains in the west by the (excluded) valley of the Schwarzwasser and, below its mouth, by the Zwickauer Mulde.

The Ore Mountain Basin or Erzgebirge Basin is a natural region in the German federal state of Saxony, that is part of the Saxon Lowland. To the north it borders on the Mulde Loess Hills and to the south on several natural regions in the Saxon Highlands and Uplands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leipzig Bay</span>

The Leipzig Bay(German: Leipziger Tieflandsbucht) or Leipzig Basin or Saxon Lowland or Saxon Bay is a relatively lakeless and highly fertile landscape in Central Germany, in northwestern Saxony and southeastern Saxony-Anhalt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Saxon Hills</span>

The Central Saxon Hills, is a region of Hügelland with indistinct boundaries in the centre of the German state of Saxony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natural regions of Saxony</span>

The classification of natural regions of Saxony shown here was produced between 1994 and 2001 by a working group called "Ecosystem and Regional Character" at the Saxonian Academy of Sciences in Leipzig as part of the research and development project "Natural Regions and Natural Region Potential of the Free State of Saxony" at a scale of 1:50,000 as the basis for the rural development and regional planning. This was also supported by the Saxon State Ministry of the Environment and Agriculture and the Saxon Ministry of the Interior.

References

  1. Map of the natural regions in Saxony at www.umwelt.sachsen.de (pdf, 859 kB)

Sources

50°24′N12°30′E / 50.4°N 12.5°E / 50.4; 12.5