Dreibrüderhöhe or short Brüderhöhe is a mountain of

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

, southeastern

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is located near

Marienberg Marienberg is a town in Germany. It was the district capital of the Mittlerer Erzgebirgskreis (Central Ore Mountains district) in the southern part of Saxony, and since August 2008 it has been part of the new district of Erzgebirgskreis. As of ...

and can reached by a road branching off Bundesstraße 171, or on hiking routes from Marienberg,

Wolkenstein Wolkenstein is a town in the district Erzgebirgskreis, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Ore Mountains, on the river Zschopau, 22 km southeast of Chemnitz. The town is situated on a rocky spur near the confluence of the Zschopau ...

, Lauta,

Großrückerswalde Großrückerswalde is a municipality in the district Erzgebirgskreis, in Saxony, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north an ...

or Gehringswalde, among them the International Mountain Hiking Route Eisenach-Budapest (''EB'') which is now part of the

E3 European long distance path The E3 European long distance path, or just E3 path, is a long-distance footpath that is planned to run from the Portuguese coast to the Black Sea in Bulgaria. It is one of the network of European long-distance paths. Route The completed sect ...

Etymology

The name of the mountain is derived from a nearby former mine called ''Alte Drei Brüder'' (Old Three Brothers) and originates in a legend, according to which three brothers from Italy had discovered a vein of silver ore there.

Buildings

An 18 m tall

observation tower An observation tower is a tower used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, and woo ...

was opened in May 1883 by the Marienberg branch of the Ore Mountain Club, founded in 1878. It had been constructed by Maschinenfabrik C. Reinsch, Dresden, at a cost of 6000

Mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

. In 1884 the tower was named ''Prinzeß-Marien-Turm'' after the wife of then Prince Georg of Saxony. It became a popular touristic destination, so that in 1886 Gustav Loose, a member of the Marienberg branch of the Ore Mountain Club, opened a restaurant in the nearby mining office (Huthaus) ''Alte Drei Brüder'' which had been erected in 1853/1854. The mountain restaurant ''Dreibrüderhöhe'' remained property of the Loose family until 1977, when it was sold to Gebäudewirtschaft Marienberg (the municipal real estate management) who operated it until 1985. It then passed into the hands of the Marienberg Agricultural Production Cooperative who sold it in 1992. In 1992/1993 it was rebuilt into a hotel (''Berghotel Drei Brüder Höhe''). After access to the 1883 observation tower had been banned by the building inspectorate for several years, and because it stood near a restricted military area, it was pulled down and scrapped in 1977. Later the borough of Marienberg had a new 25.4 m tall observation tower built which was opened on 12 May 1994. It grants a good view across Marienberg and its surroundings. A slightly taller

radio tower Radio masts and towers are typically tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. There are two main types: guyed and self-supporting structures. They are among the tallest human-m ...

is located approximately 60 m north-east of the observation tower in a fenced-in area of restricted access. Mountains of Saxony Mountains of the Ore Mountains Marienberg {{Saxony-geo-stub