One of the charms of this low mountain range is that its weather is lovely in summer and rough in winter. Thus there are a lot of winter sports offered in the “Erzgebirge” (literally: Ore Mountains), while during summer hikers and mountain bikers favour this area too. Besides, there is much to find out about car industry and mining.

The “Erzgebirge” is well known for products of craftsmanship like Christmas pyramids, nutcrackers, Schwibbogen (a kind of candle-holder) and hand-carved wooden incense burners in the shape of men, called Räuchermännchen. Typically delicately worked products are on sale especially during Advent season. During Christmas season you can see them everywhere in Germany – whether in windows of private flats, as decoration in department stores and shops or on Christmas markets.

The Saxon car industry started in 1904 in Zwickau. It is exactly in this city where you can visit the August Horch Museum in which besides many other vehicles “Trabbis”, one of the symbols of the GDR era, are on show. The Trabant, East Germany’s legendary car, was built in Zwickau till 1991. Zwickau got internationally renowned for music as well, thanks to composer Robert Schumann.

More information: http://www.erzgebirge-tourismus.de/en/

Photo: Fichtelberg, Edith Czech/Shutterstock