Terrain cure trails - paths to health

Terrain health trail network
Photo: Urlaubsregion Altenberg / Erzgebirge

The mountain town of Altenberg lies at an altitude of 750 m in the Eastern Ore Mountains. The town is located 3 km north of the Erzgebirge ridge, a high plateau on the border with the Czech Republic characterized by gentle relief forms around 900 m. The lower and middle parts of the Osterzgebirge, which are aligned from west-southwest to east-northeast, are strongly structured due to geological faults near the Elbe valley and the strong weathering of the hard granites, porphyrites and basalts in the softer gneiss. Typical for the area around Altenberg is therefore the hilltop-ridge-trough relief, which is dissected by bedrock notch valleys. The latter landscape is formed by the Gottleuba, Müglitz and Weißeritz rivers, which cut up to 100 m deep. Individual elevations are formed by the striking Geisingberg (824 m) as a basalt hilltop and pronounced ridges such as the Pöbelknochen or the highest mountain in the Osterzgebirge, the Kahleberg (905 m).

The terrain trails that have been laid out provide access to the areas bordering Altenberg to the south around the Galgenteiche, the Kahleberg and the Raupennest. The network of paths leads south to the Georgenfelder Hochmoor nature reserve and to Zinnwald and west to Schellerhau. The maximum difference in altitude of the terrain spa trails is between approx. 900 m on the Kahleberg and approx. 710 m to the east in the direction of Geising. The terrain spa area is characterized by extensive spruce forests. Larger areas of meadows and open land can be found to the north and east towards the neighboring village of Geising.