Nature and mining trail "Zum Hohen Forst"

Station 1: Alte Wiesenburger Landstraße

The starting point of the 5.9 km long hiking trail, created in 2001/2002, is the path between the Kirchberg district hospital and the Burkersdorf waterworks, a district of the town of Kirchberg in the southern part of the Zwickauer Land region. The nature trail begins on the Alte Wiesenburger Landstraße.

Once you arrive at station 1, the path leads you to the first information board with directions for the nature and mining trail. In this area, you have a charming view over the Erzgebirge foothills with the town of Zwickau, its Marienkirche church, the districts of Marienthal and Eckersbach and the Volkswagen Mosel plant. On a clear day, you can see as far as Thuringia and Leipzig. The Kuhberg near Stützengrün and the neighboring mountains of the Vogtland round off the panorama.

Station 2: Beautiful view of the Silberstraße and Weißbach

After approx. 1 km, a seating area at the edge of the forest invites you to linger. You can see the Silberstraße below and the village of Weißbach in the valley with its beautiful half-timbered houses and the Salvatorkirche, which was rebuilt in Baroque style in 1693 and dates back to 1515. The wooded mountains of the Erzgebirge stretch as far as the horizon. A display board provides information about the Silver Road between Schneeberg and Zwickau. In the immediate vicinity of the seating area, above the forest, there is a former mining site from the 13th - 20th century.

Station 3: Hiking rest area, nature conservation station and "Engländerstolln" mine

Between 1943 and 1945, 20 English and later South African prisoners of war, under the guidance of German miners, excavated a search tunnel here to extract ore containing tungsten. In 1991, the Freiberg Mining Authority sealed the mouth hole with a 6 m thick concrete seal. In 2001, the Kirchberg Friends of Nature and Local History bought the overgrown slag heap site from the Treuhand and began to transform it into a colliery site according to tradition. In 2002, the nature trail was publicly inaugurated and the Kirchberg mining fraternity was founded with a flag dedication ceremony. On January 1, 2003, the fraternity joined the Saxon State Association of Miners', Miners' and Miners' Associations and has been taking part in mining parades ever since.

The opening and excavation of the "Engländerstolln" in 2003 was the prerequisite for gaining access to the old "Martin-Römer-Stolln" from the 13th/14th century. Since then, our mountain brothers have been trying to reopen it step by step.

The association's "Zechenplatz" site, which is located on the nature and mining nature trail, covers an area of 6,490 m². Various biotopes exist here:

• the "Engländerstolln" as a typical winter habitat for bats (greater mouse-eared bat and brown long-eared bat, pug bat, water bat), amphibians, insects and reptiles
• the part of the forest with mixed forest character
• the old mining dump
• Habitat for many bird species (wren, tit species, woodpeckers, warblers, etc.), insects, small mammals and rare plant species.
• In addition, various models for nesting boxes, insect hotels and display boards were set up as visual aids for schoolchildren and visitors.

The entire core center in the "High Forest" area is integrated into our work during guided tours as a link between natural cycles, forest management and nature conservation in its biological diversity.

Station 4: Pingenfeld of the "Martin Römer gallery"

After a tour of the gallery, walk back past Station 2 and take the half-left path past the "Wolfsschacht", our new weather shaft coop built in 2016. This is the start of the mine workings of the old "Martin-Römer-Stolln". Before we enter the walled mining area - a display board also provides information about the history - the path leads (excellently) uphill to the next station.

Station 5: Center of the deserted mining town of Fürstenberg

Here we find relics of the old medieval hilltop castle, which was surrounded by ramparts and a moat and has a 2.80 m deep cistern. The complex is one of the largest in the district. There is another information board on the rampart.

A few meters further on, we can enter the former mining center.

The entire mining area, covering around 10,000 m², has numerous pits and, with a well-trained eye, you can also see where pit houses were once located. The deserted mining town of Vurstenberg or Fürstenberg naturally had a much larger radius. The pottery found in the ground can be dated to the 13th to 18th centuries.

After leaving the mining area, we come to the Reitsteig (salt trail), which leads in the direction of Salzstraße and ultimately forms the link between the nature and mining trail "Zum Hohen Forst" and the Schneeberg-Neustädtler mining trail.

Along the Reitsteig, where the former "industrial plants" can be assumed based on the slag finds, our tour leads to the right at around 566 m above sea level in the direction of the "Kleiner Hirschenstein", an impressive rock massif.

Station 6: At the "Kleiner Hirschenstein"

An old beech tree, its mighty roots clinging to the rock, and the silence interrupted by the soft rustling of the leaves, exude an air of times long past. Rumor has it that it was a sacred grove. From a geological point of view, this is the boundary of the Kirchberg granite massif, depicted on a display board. The ancient tree disappeared a few years ago and a new one is growing up.

Via a forest aisle, the hiker reaches a forest path downhill, the "Little Wing", which we follow to the junction with Wiesenburger Landstraße. To the right and left of the path are again witnesses of the old mining industry.

Station 7: "Die Hechtlöcher" and the "Martin-Römer-Stolln" mine shaft

After crossing the Alte Wiesenburger Landstraße, you come to two large pits of the "Martin-Römer-Tiefen-Erbstolln", popularly known as the "Hechtlöcher".

A display board provides information about the second time the mine was excavated between 1795 and 1820 and commemorates Martin Römer, the successful mining entrepreneur and district governor of Zwickau.

After returning to the Alte Wiesenburger Landstraße, it is possible to return to the starting point of the hike. However, it is advisable to continue.

Station 8: "Large forest meadow"

Visitors reach the Große Forstwiese via an old hollow path. The name Große Forstwiese is mentioned in old maps and contemporary documents. It is a natural, extensively used meadow with a rich variety of flora and fauna. A display board provides information about mining and ore processing in the upper Rödel valley and introduces hikers to old mining tunnels in the village of Hartmannsdorf. The last stop is on the Gerichtsweg trail at the Gerichtseiche oak tree.

Station 9: "Court oak"

For centuries, most of the villages in the Rödel Valley belonged to the Wiesenburg estate, whose seat of power and administration was Wiesenburg Castle. The owners of the manor exercised jurisdiction. Anyone summoned to court from Hartmannsdorf to Wiesenburg used the shortest connection between these two places, the court route. A display board describes mining in the town and the hammer mills in the old Kirchberg. The "Am Graben" mining gallery, which was opened to the public as a visitor mine in 2001 by the Kirchberg Friends of Nature and Local History, provides a further opportunity to learn about mining in the region and its history. In 2012, the "Alt-Kirchberg" museum was opened directly on the town's old market square. The listed building houses exhibition rooms on the history of the town of Kirchberg and provides information on our nature conservation work.

Finally, our nature trail leads from the Gerichtseiche back to the starting point of the hike to the parking lot, station 1.

Sturdy shoes are recommended.

www.hartmannsdorfer-forst.de - Central information page for the hiking area

www.kirchberger-bergbrueder.de

Sign up for a guided tour and stop off at the "Engländerstolln" hat house. The mountain brothers provide an authentic experience in the Ore Mountains/Krušnohoří mining region.

• Sturdy shoes are recommended.
• Keep your distance from the pings so that you do not fall in.