The Ore Mountains form the border between Saxony and the Czech Republic over a length of 150 kilometres. The highest peak in Saxony is the Fichtelberg (1215 m), but the nearby Klínovec/Keilberg in the Czech Republic is slightly higher (1245 m). So don't expect Alpine giants - the mountains of the Ore Mountains are much older, eroded into friendly round shapes, but still too high to be called hills. It owes its name to the wealth of ores that were mined there for a long time. Since 2019, the mining area in this mountain range (the Montanregion) has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The discovery of silver and tin ores in the 15th century led to the mountains being inhabited and partly deforested. As the ore resources became increasingly scarce, people looked for alternatives for income, such as the production of wooden toys. Watermills, which until the 18th century served as stamp mills for tin ore, were converted and then powered simple wood turning machines. The mining past has been preserved in the form of industrial heritage in various mining museums and museum mines
The current Christmas tradition, sculpture and crafts such as woodcarving also originate from the former mining period. Toys and beautiful Christmas decorations such as small wooden figures, pyramids, wooden light arches, trees and angels are still made by hand here. Furthermore, almost every village has its own large light pyramid and/or light arch. The Advent and Christmas season is therefore particularly atmospheric with the many traditional Christmas markets and lights behind almost every window of every house.

Vast hills stretch across the landscape and dense forests, wide-angle views and a dense network of trails attract people to become active here again. In the foothills of the mountains you will also find historic towns and spas.

This route starts in Freiburg, the unofficial capital of the Ore Mountains and ends in Litoměřice at the confluence of the Elbe (Czech: Labe) and Eger (Czech: Ohře) rivers.

The entire city centre of Freiburg is part of the World Cultural Heritage. Many houses from the period from around 1500 have been preserved in whole or in part. Some parts of the medieval city wall are also still present, including the old Donatsturm tower. Freiberg has several church buildings of cultural-historical importance:
The late Gothic Freiberg Cathedral with the famous late Romanesque portal ('Goldene Pforte'), two Silbermann organs and the 16th century pulpit, the so-called 'Tulip Kanzel'. The St. Peter's Church (Stadtkirche St. Petri), with another Silbermann organ; built around 1200, in 1734 and extensively renovated several times in the 20th century. The 71-metre-high church tower (Petriturm) dates largely from 1731.
The northwestern corner of the city centre is occupied by a large castle. This Schloss Freudenstein was built in the 16th century. In the 17th century it became part of the city wall and in the 18th century a granary (drying loft) for the miners living here; at that time the windows were also made smaller. The castle is partly used as an archive room. There is also a mineral museum (terra mineralia) and a restaurant.
To the northeast of the city centre is the Himmelfahrt Fundgrube mining complex, which includes the Reiche Zeche silver mine; in the centre is the Freiberg City and Mining Museum, housed in a listed building near the cathedral.
There is much more to mention and especially to discover, but you are now going for the tour. When leaving the city, fill up the fuel tank and then to the next destination: Frauenstein.

The Gottfried Silbermann Museum is located in Schloss Frauenstein. This permanent exhibition about the organ builder Gottfried Silbermann and his brother shows, among other things, the history of the castle, post and traffic. Next to Schloss Frauenstein is the mountain ruin of Burg Frauenstein, which was completely destroyed after a fire.

The proprietor on the edge of the village of Cämmerswalde has a restaurant with its own aircraft museum next door. For a pittance you can enter the 'museum', where three aircraft from the GDR era are on display. A helicopter, a jet fighter and a passenger plane from Interflug. The interior actually looks very good, but it can never have been practical. In addition, it is freezing cold in the plane. Would the passengers have been so cold in the past? Despite the fact that the museum is extremely small, it is fun to experience what an aircraft looked like years ago.

The most striking sight of Neuhausen is Schloss Purschenstein. This palace is situated on a hill and is clearly visible throughout the village. The palace has been badly damaged several times in history and is now managed by a Dutch businessman. You will also find several museums that are worth a visit. The Nussknackermuseum is world famous. It is the first museum for the Nussknacker in Europe and has more than 5000 examples from all over the world. There is also a Glashüttenmuseum and an 'Alte Stuhlfabrik', a collection of old motorcycles, the largest music box in the world and so on. So get off and have a look.

The town of Seiffen is rightly called the Christmas village of Germany, Seiffen is also a spa town. The beautiful town is famous for its many Christmas traditions and woodcarving. When the tin and silver mines yielded little, the families looked for new ways to earn a living. In addition to making lace and weaving, they started to focus on making wooden toys and Christmas decorations such as the so-called nutcrackers, the light arches, Christmas pyramids and other figures. Seiffen is now the centre of woodcarving in the Ore Mountains. Today, the church has become world famous because the model can be seen on many light arches, pyramids and other ornaments. The nearby school and town hall are also often depicted on light arches and other ornaments.
During Christmas time it is extra cozy here, there is a large Christmas market and there are many other stalls with goodies and local wood carvings. Especially during the Christmas market it can be very busy here, so it is important to arrive early if you are by car otherwise the search for a parking spot can take a long time.
The open-air museum was opened in 1973 as a branch of the Seiffen Toy Museum. The focus is on the woodworking industries in the Ore Mountains, especially on the workshops, machines and technologies for the production of toys in the Ore Mountains. One of the focal points is the tyre turning shop from 1760, which has been preserved on site.

You now cross over to the Czech Republic and soon arrive in Kliny, where the longest zip line in the Czech Republic is. Definitely worth a visit and then you drive on to the mining village of Cinovec, in the past a lot of tin was mined, but is now very topical due to the largest discovery of Lithium in Europe. Don't be surprised if there is already a lot of activity in this remote area near the border.

The rock town of Tisá with bizarre sandstone formations is a paradise for hikers and climbers. Like many other rock formations, the Tiské stěny rock formations were created millions of years ago by sandstone formation on the ocean floor. The gigantic rock formations were then formed by erosion from wind and rain, among other things. The end result is a fantastic area of bizarrely shaped rocks, meter-high rock formations, narrow passages and breathtaking views. You can also visit the famous lookout tower on Děčínský Sněžník nearby. The stone tower Děčínský Sněžník has stood on the highest table mountain in the Czech Republic since 1864. From the top there is a beautiful view of the Lusatian mountains and the Bohemian Switzerland National Park.

From here, a pleasant route along the Elbe leads to Terezin, a fortified town that was used as a concentration camp and ghetto Theresienstadt from November 1941 to May 1945. The camp in the fortress usually served as a transit camp for Jews who were deported to Auschwitz or other extermination camps. In total, around 140,000 Jews were imprisoned in Theresienstadt, of whom around 5,000 were from the Netherlands. From 1943, Theresienstadt was used by the German propaganda services as a model camp to mislead the Allies. A film was even made of life in the camp that deliberately gave a distorted picture of the conditions in Nazi concentration camps.

The end point is approaching. The city of Litoměřice has a beautiful historic center with dozens of streets and squares. The colorful Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance buildings in the middle of the city center, mostly bordered by well-preserved Gothic fortifications, will enchant every visitor. So a toast to the city after your ride. We hope you enjoyed it!