The Upper Palatine Forest (german: Oberpfälzer Wald or ''Böhmischer Wald'', cs, Český les) is a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

that is divided between

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. It is part of the larger

Bohemian Massif The Bohemian Massif ( cs, Česká vysočina or ''Český masiv'', german: Böhmische Masse or ''Böhmisches Massiv'') is a geomorphological province in Central Europe. It is a large massif stretching over most of the Czech Republic, eastern Ger ...

and the German

Central Uplands The Central UplandsDickinson (1964), p.18 ff. (german: die MittelgebirgeN.B. In German die ''Mittelgebirge'' (plural) refers to the Central Uplands; das ''Mittelgebirge'' refers to a low mountain range or upland region (''Mittel'' = "medium" and ...

Geography

The German side belongs to the

Upper Palatinate The Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz, , ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, and is located in the east of Bavaria. Geography The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and numerous ponds and lakes ...

region of

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, it stretches about from the

Bavarian Forest The village of Zell in the Bavarian Forest The Bavarian Forest (German: ' or ''Bayerwald''; bar, Boarischa Woid) is a wooded, low-mountain region in Bavaria, Germany that is about 100 kilometres long. It runs along the Czech border and is co ...

in the south up to the Fichtel Mountains and the Steinwald range in the north. However, the highest peaks of the range lie along the eastern Czech side in the Plzeň Region of western Bohemia, northwest of the

Bohemian Forest The Bohemian Forest, known in Czech as Šumava () and in German as Böhmerwald, is a low mountain range in Central Europe. Geographically, the mountains extend from Plzeň Region and South Bohemia in the Czech Republic to Austria and Bavaria ...

. The southern rim runs from the

Cham Cham or CHAM may refer to: Ethnicities and languages *Chams, people in Vietnam and Cambodia **Cham language, the language of the Cham people ***Cham script *** Cham (Unicode block), a block of Unicode characters of the Cham script *Cham Albania ...

and Furth Basin across the border to the Všeruby (''Neumark'') mountain pass, which is part of the Main European Watershed. The other end is marked by

Waldsassen Waldsassen (Northern Bavarian: ''Woidsassen'') is a town in the district of Tirschenreuth in the Upper Palatinate region of Bavaria. Geography Waldsassen is the northernmost municipality of the Upper Palatinate region. In the northeast, it borders ...

, the northernmost town of the Upper Palatinate. The

Mittelgebirge A ''Mittelgebirge'' (German: ''Mittel'', "middle/medium"; ''Gebirge'', "mountain range") is a type of relatively low mountain range or highland area typical of the geography of central Europe, especially central and southern Germany; it refers to ...

range is a mountainous solid mass, its highest point Čerchov being at an altitude of . Prominent rocks include the Wolfenstein and the

Parkstein Parkstein (Northern Bavarian: ''Parkstoa'') is a municipality in the district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab in Bavaria in Germany. In 2020, it counted approximately 2,300 inhabitants. The origins of its castle, built atop a conical shaped mountain, ...

hill. Once a

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

area for

iron Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...

and

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

, the uplands feature many steep valleys, medieval castle ruins and numerous hiking trails. It is a popular destination for recreation. Rivers rising in the Upper Palatinate Forest include * Wondreb (''Odrava''), a tributary of the

Ohře The Ohře () or, slightly less commonly in English sources, the Eger (, Czech also: ''Oharka'' or ''Ohara'', Celtic: ''Agara'', pl, Ohrza), is a 316 km river in Germany (50 km) and the Czech Republic (266 km), left tributary of ...

, with Muglbach waterfall *the Waldnaab headstream of the Naab and its Pfreimd and Schwarzach tributaries *the

Mže The Mže (; ) is a long river, mostly in the Czech Republic. Its source is situated in the Griesbach Forest ( above sea level), Germany, near the village of Asch, in the municipality of Mähring, Tirschenreuth district. It forms the state bou ...

– headstream of the

Berounka The Berounka is a river in the Czech Republic, long, the biggest left tributary of Vltava, draining an area of . It carries the name Mže () for from its source in Germany, next to the Czech border, until its confluence with the Radbuza in Plze ...

– and its Hammerbach (''Hamerský potok'') tributary.

Highest peaks

Towns and municipalities

Towns

* Amberg, DE *

Bärnau Bärnau () is a town in the district of Tirschenreuth, Bavaria, Germany. It is situated near the border with the Czech Republic, 25 km northeast of Weiden in der Oberpfalz, and 26 km southwest of Mariánské Lázně. It obtained town ...

, DE * Poběžovice, CZ * Přimda, CZ *

Tachov Tachov (; german: Tachau) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 13,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Mže River. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administrative parts ...

, CZ * Rötz, DE *

Schönsee Schönsee is a town in the Schwandorf district of Bavaria, Germany, near the border with the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bo ...

, DE * Schwandorf, DE *

Tirschenreuth Tirschenreuth ( Northern Bavarian: ''Dirschnrad'', ''Diascharad'') is the capital city of the district of Tirschenreuth. It is located in the northeast of Bavaria, very close to the Czech-Bavarian border. Geography Tirschenreuth is located in th ...

, DE *

Vohenstrauß Vohenstrauß (or ''Vohenstrauss''; ) is a town in Germany, located in the north-eastern part of the Bavarian region Upper Palatinate The Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz, , ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, ...

, DE * Waldmünchen, DE *

, DE * Weiden, DE

Municipalities

Bad Neualbenreuth Bad Neualbenreuth (before September 2019: ''Neualbenreuth'')Bechtsrieth Bechtsrieth is a municipality in the administrative district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab in Bavaria in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous cou ...

Eslarn Eslarn ( Northern Bavarian: ''Isling'') is a market town and municipality in the district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab in Bavaria in Germany. Neighbouring communities The neighbouring communities clockwise: Waidhaus, Rozvadov, Třemešné, ...

Falkenberg Falkenberg is a locality and the seat of Falkenberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 27,813 inhabitants in 2019 (out of a municipal total of about 45,000). It is located at the mouth of river Ätran. The name consists of the Swedish ...

Floß Floß is a municipality in the district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab in Bavaria, Germany. Geography Town subdivision The civil parish Floß is composed of 35 official named districts.: Characteristics History The origin of settlemen ...

* Flossenbürg * Freudenberg * Klenčí pod Čerchovem * Leuchtenberg * Mantel * Moosbach * Nabburg *

Neunburg vorm Wald Neunburg vorm Wald is a municipality in the district of Schwandorf, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 21 km east of Schwandorf on the river Schwarzach, a tributary of the Naab. Mayor The mayor is Martin Birner (CSU). He was elected in 20 ...

* Neusorg * Niedermurach * Pleystein * Plößberg * Oberviechtach * Rozvadov * Schirmitz * Tännesberg * Waidhaus * Waldthurn

External links

www.oberpfaelzerwald.de
- Oberpfälzerwald.de (also available i
English

www.oberpfaelzer-waldverein.de - Upper Palatine Forest Club

www.bocklradweg.de - Cycling the od railway routes and info about the Upper Palatine Forest
{{German Central Uplands Forests and woodlands of Bavaria Mountain ranges of Bavaria Mountain ranges of the Czech Republic Bohemian Massif East Bavaria