Fichtelberg (Oberfranken)

Fichtelberg
Coat of arms
Fichtelberg
Location of Fichtelberg within Bayreuth district
Coordinates: 49°59′57.68″N 11°51′4.52″E / 49.9993556°N 11.8512556°E / 49.9993556; 11.8512556Coordinates: 49°59′57.68″N 11°51′4.52″E / 49.9993556°N 11.8512556°E / 49.9993556; 11.8512556
Country	Germany
State	Bavaria
Admin. region	Oberfranken
District	Bayreuth
Government
• Mayor	Jose-Ricardo Castro Riemenschneider (Christlich Sozialer Förderkreis)
Area
• Total	5.17 km2 (2.00 sq mi)
Elevation	685 m (2,247 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	1,872
• Density	360/km2 (940/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	95686
Dialling codes	09272
Vehicle registration	BT
Website	www.fichtelberg.de

Fichtelberg is a municipality in the district of Bayreuth in Bavaria in Germany. It is a state-recognised climatic spa.

Fichtelberg lies on the southeastern slopes of the Ochsenkopf, the second highest summit of the Fichtelgebirge mountains, and the most populous place in the Fichtelgebirge Nature Park. Fichtelberg lies on a major European watershed. Two rivers rise above the suburb of Neubau, the White Main, one of the two headstreams of the Main, which flows westwards to the Rhine, and the Fichtelnaab, which flows south and enters the Danube. Since 1857 Fichtelberg has belonged to the Bavarian provinces of Upper Franconia.

The only parish that borders immediately on Fichtelberg is Mehlmeisel.

The origin of the name Fichtelberg, as well as the Fichtelgebirge, is probably to be found in mining lore and not, as long suspected, its dense, spruce forests. At the time the name originated, pollen analysis shows that in the North Bavarian region mixed forests of beech, fir and spruce existed. It was only due to the mining and smelting industry, that hardwood species were decimated and faster-growing spruce was planted to supply wood for the mines. At first, only a mountain called Vythenberg where the St. Vitus mine was located, was mentioned in a charter of 1317; this later became the Ochsenkopf. The original name later evolved into the word Vichtel or Fichtel and was eventually used for the entire terrain of present-day Fichtelgebirge. The first written record of the Viechtlpergs dates to 1508.

The history of the site at Fichtelberg is dominated by ore mining of the mining company Erzgrube Gottesgab im Gleißingerfels am Fichtelberg. In 1600 the uppermost reaches of the Fichtelnaab valley near the present villages of Neubau and Fichtelberg was still covered with a rugged, forest-covered wilderness. Finds, such as a serpentine pendant in 1922 on the Ochsenkopf or a stone axe head excavated in 1935 east of Fichtelberg, suggest that the area around Fichtelberg was already inhabited in the Neolithic period, at least by hunters passing through. The absence of other finds, however, rules out any permanent settlement until the beginning of the 17th century. This was probably due to the steep slopes and significantly higher altitude along with a harsh climate and less fertile soils. Iron ore mining in the upper Fichtelnaab valley began in 1478, but only a small settlement of a few houses extended from the south up to the outskirts of what is now Fichtelberg today.