region

The Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) are situated in the south-east of Germany and in the south of the Free State of Saxony adjacent to the Bohemian border.

They are bounded by

• the Elbe Sandstone Mountains/ Elbsandsteingebirge (also known as Saxon Switzerland) and a wide basin named Döhlener Becken in the east and north-east

• the Vogtland in the west

• the north-west Bohemian Tertiary basin in the south (Czech Republic)

• the Erzgebirgisches Becken and Frankenberger Zwischengebirge in the north.

The German-Czech border runs more or less along the ridge top, at an average of 700 m above sea level. The highest elevations are the Keilberg on the Czech side and the Fichtelberg on the Saxon side of the border. The Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) gently slope down north-west towards the Mittelsächsisches Bergland; while there is a steep gradient southward to the valley of the River Ohre.