Geisingberg

The Geisingberg is a striking basalt mountain in the eastern Ore Mountains near the town of Altenberg in Saxony. At the beginning of the professional winter sports, he was the venue for several competitions.

• 2.1 origin of the name
• 2.2 Touristic development
• 2.3 Early Winter Sports
• 2.4 Mining and quarrying
• 2.5 Conservation

Location

The Geisingberg is in the upper Erzgebirge between the mountain town of Altenberg and their district Geising. On the north and west side of the route of the Müglitztal path runs. With the realized here maximum gradient of 1:27 (37 per thousand ) it is one of the steepest still operating railway lines in Germany.

Hiking to the summit

• The easiest ascent leads from Altenberg on the track to the summit.
• Other hiking trails start in Geising and bears stone.
• About the Geisingberg the mountain hiking Eisenach -Budapest runs.

History

Origin of the name

The root word geut ( Germanic ) or geußen ( Frühneuhochdeutsch ) points to flow back and can be referred to the Geisingberg as the over-molded ( rain water ) mountain.

Touristic development

At the beginning of the 19th century there on the top of the pavilion, which have been used by the Saxon kings, especially King Anton, for hunting purposes. After initial attempts had failed to provide the guests of the mountain gastronomical, Carl Mutze seized from Geising the initiative and is designed around a maple tree on the top of a scaffold views and a log cabin. It is at this point in the 18 -meter high tower Louis was opened on September 27, 1891, lead to the observation deck 88 steps today.

1898 was built next to a guest house that was established in 1906 already demolished and replaced by a solid base built on mountain cottage. This was first cultivated only during the summer season and invites today for a visit.

Early Winter Sports

A known Skiabfahrtsstrecke on Geisingberg was once the so-called exit Saxony, among others, has been used to the German Ski Championships 1937. On the west side of the mountain existed until the 1950s, the ski jump ski jump of peace on which international competitions were held.

Mining and quarrying

Inspired by the near Altenberg found Zinnerzlagerstätte 1749-1794 and 1838-1842 also on the western slope of the Geisingberg degradation experiments instead of tin ore. It is also a 24 meter deep shaft was sunk. The mining experiments were, however, inconclusive.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, probably longer operated in a quarry on the western slope of the mountain basalt mining was intensified. 1908 was the installation of a cable car that transported the broken rock station Hartmann mill Müglitztal the web. Prior to a study conducted on March 1, 1930 detonation chamber, with 40,000 kg of explosives were carried out protests from the country club Saxon homeland security and other organizations, who feared an erosion of the mountain with the expansion of the basalt mining. The quarry was shut down then.

Conservation

The history of nature conservation goes back on Geisingberg until the early 20th century. In 1911 requested the National Association Saxon homeland security protection of Geisingberg meadows. 1925 bought the club then a first approx 10 hectare area and leased it to local farmers as hay meadow. This intensive agricultural use so that the mountain meadows exceptionally species-rich and worth protecting habitats and landscape elements (eg Nardus grasslands, low and intermediate bogs, wet meadows, unspoilt creeks and mixed forests ) was prevented, remained. Protect places of interest are the numerous stone back on the mountain slopes.

In the 1960s, the Geisingberg and part of the surrounding meadows have been designated as a nature reserve. In addition to the spruce grow here, beech, common ash, sycamore and Norway maple. The ground flora consists mostly of sub-continental species, including Woolly Buttercup, Sweet spurge and purple Hasenlattich.

In the 1990s, the area has been expanded to now over 300 hectares. The Federal Agency for Nature Conservation promoted between 1999 and 2008 with a budget of € 5.37 million to the sustainable protection and nature conservation enhancement of richly structured open landscape through a nature-friendly extensive land use within the project mountain meadows in the Eastern Ore Mountains.