Ore Mountains

(Local Name: Erzgebirge) Land: Saxony

Situation and topography

The Erzgebirge range lies on the German-Czech border, extending for some 130km/80mi from southwest to northeast between the Elstergebirge and the Elbsandsteingebirge (Elbe Sandstone Hills), with a breadth of 40km/25mi. The hills, mainly built up from granites, gneisses, mica schists and porphyries, rise out of the Middle Saxon Uplands, gradually increasing in height towards the southeast from 350-450 m/1,150-1,475ft to 800-900 m/2,600-2,950ft and beyond the crest - which marks the frontier between Germany and the Czech Republic as well as the centuries-old boundary between Saxony and Bohemia - falling steeply down to the Ohre (Eger) rift