The Schneekopf () near

Gehlberg Gehlberg () is a village and a former municipality in Thuringia, Germany. Formerly in the district Ilm-Kreis, it is part of the town Suhl Suhl () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located SW of Erfurt, NE of Würzburg and N of Nuremberg. W ...

in the

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

n county of

Ilm-Kreis Ilm-Kreis is a district in Thuringia, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the city of Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Th ...

is and thus the second highest peak in the

Thuringian Forest The Thuringian Forest (''Thüringer Wald'' in German language, German ) is a mountain range in the southern parts of the Germany, German state of Thuringia, running northwest to southeast. Skirting from its southerly source in foothills to a gorg ...

after its western neighbour, the

Großer Beerberg The Großer Beerberg is a mountain, , whose summit is the highest point in the Thuringian Forest and the state of Thuringia. It is located between the three villages of Heidersbach, Goldlauter and Gehlberg in the borough of Suhl. The mountain ...

(). The ''Adler'' Saddle between them is only about 59.4 metres lower than the two summits. To the east some distance away is its

subpeak A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

, the ''Sachsenstein'' (), to the south are the ''Teufelskreise'' () and ''Fichtenkopf'' (). The ''Goldlauterberg'' () further south marks the transition to the mountain of

Großer Finsterberg The Großer Finsterberg is a mountain, , in the Thuringian Forest not far from the villages of Stützerbach and Schmiedefeld am Rennsteig. It is the third highest peak in the German state of Thuringia. Description The volcanic origin of the Gr ...

().

Description

The

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

is of volcanic origin and consists of

porphyry Porphyry (; , ''Porphyrios'' "purple-clad") may refer to: Geology * Porphyry (geology), an igneous rock with large crystals in a fine-grained matrix, often purple, and prestigious Roman sculpture material * Shoksha porphyry, quartzite of purple c ...

. It is known for the Schneekopf balls (''Schneekopfkugel''), balls of porphyry ( druse) that occur here that form

agate Agate ( ) is a banded variety of chalcedony. Agate stones are characterized by alternating bands of different colored chalcedony and sometimes include macroscopic quartz. They are common in nature and can be found globally in a large number of d ...

in the interior of

crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

s. They were formed during a volcanic eruption in the

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years, from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.902 Mya. It is the s ...

. On the northern slopes of the mountain rises the

Wilde Gera Wilde Gera is a river of Thuringia, Germany. At its confluence with the Zahme Gera in Plaue, the Gera is formed. See also *List of rivers of Thuringia A list of rivers of Thuringia, Germany: A *Alster * Apfelstädt * Ascherbach * Aum ...

stream. From the summit plateau there is a good all round view of other summits in the Thuringian Forest and the Rhön mountains, over the

Thuringian Basin The Thuringian Basin () is a depression (geology), depression in the central and northwest part of Thuringia in Germany which is crossed by several rivers, the longest of which is the Unstrut. It stretches about from north to south and around fro ...

as far as the Ettersberg near Weimar and of the winter sports resort of Oberhof. In very good visibility, for example during winter inversion weather conditions, the view extends as far as the

Brocken The Brocken, also sometimes referred to as the Blocksberg, is a mountain near Schierke in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, between the rivers Weser River, Weser and Elbe. The highest peak in the Harz mountain range, and in Northern Germany, ...

in the

Harz Mountains The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, is a Mittelgebirge, highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The nam ...

, the Schneeberg and the western

Ore Mountains The Ore Mountains (, or ; ) lie along the Czech–German border, separating the historical regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. The highest peaks are the Klínovec in the Czech Republic (German: ''Keilberg'') at ab ...

. In addition, the

Wilde Gera Viaduct Wilde is a surname. Notable people with the name include: In arts and entertainment In film, television, and theatre * Andrew Wilde (actor), English actor * Barbie Wilde (born 1960), Canadian actress * Brian Wilde (1927–2008), British actor ...

(on the A 71), which has a span of 252 metres - the largest

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its structural load, loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either si ...

in Germany, is also visible. Schneekopf WildeGera.jpg, View from the Schneekopf of the Wilde Gera Viaduct (A 71) Fernmeldeturm auf dem Schneekopf im Winter.jpg, Communications tower on the Schneekopf in winter Schneekopfturm.JPG, The observation tower on the Schneekopf Neue Gehlberger Hütte 121023.jpeg, The New Gehlberger Hut Schneekopf, Thüringer Wald im Winter.JPG, View from the Schneekopf in winter

Literature

Ludwig Bechstein Ludwig Bechstein (24 November 1801 – 14 May 1860) was a German writer and collector of folk fairy tales. He was born in Weimar, the illegitimate child of Johanna Carolina Dorothea Bechstein and Hubert Dupontreau, a French emigrant who disappea ...

: ''Sagenbuch des Schneekopfs und des Thüringischen Henneberger Landes''. Veröffentlichung 1837; Verlag Rockstuhl, Bad Langensalza, Reprint 2009,

References

External links

Von der Gemeinde Gehlberg betriebene „offizielle“ Website des Schneekopfs
(mit Webcams)

(Neue Gehlberger Hütte)

{{Authority control Mountains under 1000 metres Ilm-Kreis Thuringian Forest Suhl