*A short walk along the Velký Špičák educational trail to a magical Krušné hory viewpoint: 2 km*

• The Ore Mountains (Krušné hory) straddle the Czech-German border, extending for some 160 km separating north Bohemia from Saxony. The mountain region is one of the most complex and studied geological zones in Central Europe. The extensive metal ore deposits also resulted in the area becoming a hugely important and historic mining area. The area now has a UNESCO World Heritage Listing.
• The range is unusual in that is a wide almost plateau-like top (mostly around 800m -1000m altitude) which descends gently towards Saxony (Germany), whereas the Bohemian side has a a more dramatic descent to the lowland areas. The reason for this unusual profile is that the range was uplifted along a fault line on the Bohemian side during the intense seismic activity that created the Alps some 30 million years ago. The intense seismic activity also involved volcanism, which gave rise to the remarkable profile of basalt peaks running in a long stretch across north and northwest Bohemia, as well as the famous mineral springs of the Bohemian spa areas.
• A great way to appreciate the unusual nature of the geology and get a sense of the breadth of the sloping plateau area is to climb the peak of Velký Špičák (965m), whose summit offers a majestic 360 degree panorama. The peak is a volcanic cone shape and rises some 100m above the surrounding forest landscape. There is a short marked trail (less than 1 km) to the summit from a small car park off the side road out of the village of Kovářská.
• The trail has seven information boards (Cz/De) discussing the landscape and forests of the region. One panel discusses a remarkable air battle that took place on 9 September 1944. The battle involved a massive formation of US bombers and fighters, which were intercepted by German fighter planes. Over 50 aircraft were shot down, several in the area around Kovářská and Velký Špičák. There is a museum dedicated to the battle in the village.
• The trail has a couple of steeper sections near the top, but otherwise is not difficult (unless conditions are icy). There is just over 100m to ascend/descend from the car park. The nearest refreshments are in the village of Kovářská, 3 km down the road.

Note: click ‘Show on Mapy.com’  to go to a full screen version of the route directly on the mapy.com site. This can be used for on line navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file.

Directions

• From the car park, follow the green arrow signs from the first info board. Once on the correct footpath, the route is obvious and is pretty up straight uphill until just below the summit when the path zig zags to the top
• The route down is the same same as the uphill route