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ERZGEBIRGE

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Originally appearing in Volume V09, Page 759 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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ERZGEBIRGE , a See also:

mountain See also:chain of See also:Germany, extending in a W.S.W. direction from the See also:Elbe to the Elstergebirge along the frontier between See also:Saxony and Bohemia. Its length from E.N.E. to W.S.W. is about 8o m., and its See also:average breadth about 25 M. The See also:southern declivity is generally steep and rugged, forming in some places an almost perpendicular See also:wall of the height of from 2000 to 2500 ft.; while the See also:northern, divided at intervals into valleys, sometimes of See also:great fertility and sometimes wildly romantic, slopes gradually towards the great See also:plain of northern Germany. The central See also:part of the chain forms a See also:plateau of an average height of more than 3000 ft. At the extremities of this plateau are situated the highest summits of the range:—in the See also:south-See also:east the Keilberg (4080 ft.); in the See also:north-east the Fichtelberg (3980 ft.); and in the south-See also:west the Spitzberg (3650 ft.). Between the Keilberg and the Fichtelberg, at the height of about 3300 ft., is situated Gottesgab, the highest See also:town in Bohemia. Geologically, the Erzgebirge range consists mainly of See also:gneiss, See also:mica and See also:phyllite. As its name (Ore Mountains) indicates, it is famous for its See also:mineral ores. These are chiefly See also:silver and See also:lead, the layers of both of which are very extensive, See also:tin, See also:nickel, See also:copper and See also:iron. See also:Gold is found in several places, and some See also:arsenic, See also:antimony, See also:bismuth, See also:manganese, See also:mercury and See also:sulphur. The Erzgebirge is celebrated for its See also:lace manufactures, introduced by See also:Barbara Uttmann in 1541, embroideries, See also:silk-See also:weaving and toys. The See also:climate is in See also:winter inclement in the higher elevations, and, as the See also:snow lies deep until the See also:spring, the range is largely frequented by devotees of winter See also:sport, See also:ski, toboganning, &c.

In summer the See also:

air is bracing, and many See also:climatic See also:health resorts have sprung into existence, among which may be mentioned Kipsdorf, Barenfels and Oberwiesenthal. Communication with the Erzgebirge is provided by numerous lines of railway, some, such as that from See also:Freiberg to Brux, that from See also:Chemnitz to See also:Komotau, and that from See also:Zwickau to See also:Carlsbad, See also:crossing the range, while various See also:local lines serve the higher valleys. The Elstergebirge, a range some 16 m. in length, in which the See also:Weisse See also:Elster has its source, runs S.W. from the Erzgebirge to the See also:Fichtelgebirge and attains a height of 2630 ft. See Grohmann, Das Obererzgebirge and See also:seine Stadte (1903), and Schurtz, See also:Die Passe See also:des Erzgebirges (1891); also See also:Daniel, See also:Deutsch-See also:land, vol. ii., and Gebauer, See also:Lander and Volkerkunde, vol. i.

End of Article: ERZGEBIRGE

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