Fichtelgebirge

Fichtelgebirge, a mountain-system, chiefly situated in the NE. of Bavaria, once covered with pines (Fichte, 'pine'), and constituting a watershed between the head-feeders of the Elbe, the Rhine, and the Danube. Roughly speaking, it forms a rhomboid, lying between Hof, Baireuth, and Eger, its intersecting axes being disposed NE.—SW. and NW.—SE. The length of each axis thus measured is about 24 miles. The main chain forms the NW. fringe of the system, and at its SW. extremity wheels round so as to present a NW.—SE. strike, the average elevation of the peaks ranging from 2700 to 3200 feet. The highest summits are Schneeberg (3461 feet) and Ochsenkopf (3334). On the SW. edge the system falls away by steep gradients; but in the opposite direction its descent is much more gradual, the hills in the NE. averaging an altitude of 2000 to 2300 feet. In their northern extremities the Fichtelgebirge are connected by intermediate chains, on the one hand with the Erzgebirge, and on the other with the Thuringian Forest. Geologically they are composed principally of granite and primitive crystalline slates, with which are conjoined bands and intrusions of gneiss, micaceous slates, basalt, and some strata of the Tertiary age (Oligoëcin). The climate of the region is decidedly raw and cold; snow lies on the summits as a rule from October to May. Owing to the extensive forest tracts and the moory soil, mists are of common occurrence. The only industries carried on by the inhabitants are those connected with mining (chiefly iron and stone quarries), with the exploitation of the forests, and with the manufacture of glass. Of recent years the Fichtelgebirge have come much into vogue with tourists. See the admirable handbook by Ruclideschel (1881).