Cross-border trail

Krásná

Krásná (formerly Šumburk) is a village mentioned since 1608, now part of the municipality of Pěnčín in the Jablonec nad Nisou district. However, it is a much older place. The original farmstead stood here in the 13th century. This place achieved even greater, in fact European, importance in the Mesolithic, when material for stone axes was mined here from the local metabasite. Axes were then exported to a significant part of Central Europe.

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The springs of Žernovník

An important place in the common regional mythology. The setting of the legend of the Skeleton and the place of the alleged mysterious discovery of the skeleton of a soldier from the Silesian Wars, part of the common cultural heritage of the Neisse Euroregion. Similar legends about the discovery of dead soldiers are also very common in the Zittau Mountains.

Archaeological findings from the local stone axe mining site are a certain equivalent of similar, but significantly younger finds of axe molds from Oybin. Both sites, Krásná and Oybin, are thus significant evidence of the common past of the Euroregion's foothills.

Císařský kámen Lookout Tower

Císařský kámen lookout tower is located in Vratislavice nad Nisou in Liberec, on the hill of the same name at an altitude of 637 m. Císařský kámen hill is the westernmost part of the Maršovice Highlands, its original name was Špičák or also Uhlířský vrch and was changed to Císařský kámen in 1778. The visit of Emperor Joseph II. made the old name forgotten. The emperor chose the hill to supervise the works on the fortifications during the War of the Bavarian Succession. A memorial plaque is carved into the granite stone at the very top. The development of lookout towers began in the 1880s, when tourist associations on both sides of the border competed in their construction. There are reportedly 615 observation towers built in Bohemia, and another 105 in Saxony, especially in the border areas with the Czech Republic. Císařský kámen is said to be an observation tower for observation towers.

Proseč

Lückendorf

For centuries, the village lived on the importance of the Jablonec merchant route (Gabler Straße in German), which enabled the creation of a larger village and was also the main source of income for the local population. There were a number of inns here and the locals also made a living by hitching horses over the nearby mountain ridge. The historic customs house is still preserved here, although trade has long been conducted elsewhere and is now duty-free within the EU. The distinctive cultural heritage, natural beauty and clean air gave the impetus to transform the border village into an air spa.

Scharfenstein

Scharfenstein is a prominent rock formation, standing on a wooded ridge between Brandhöhe and Töpfer, about 1 km east of Oybin and 1 km north of Lückendorf. The massive rock tower, projecting about 45 meters above the ridge crest, was once referred to as the Matterhorn of the Zittau Mountains.

Due to its distinctive shape, Scharfenstein was probably used as a lookout point in the Middle Ages. The carved steps on the north side probably date from this time. Around 1900, Scharfenstein acquired its first climbing equipment. Since the mid-1950s, Scharfenstein has also been used for climbing. In the 1970s, the climbing equipment was modernized and at the 1st Scharfenstein Festival in 1993, a summit book was laid for tourists and a new meteorological tower was erected.

Kelchsteine

The Kelchsteine (Chalice) natural monument is one of the most famous natural monuments of the Zittau Mountains. It can be found about 1 km south of Oybin in a shallow forest valley on the left side of the road to Lückendorf. The massive rocks are made of chalk sandstone, which is colored pink to deep red due to the higher content of iron oxide hydroxides. Because the sandstone in the lower part of the rocks is less solid than below the summit, erosion has created overhangs of various sizes on the rocks. This remarkable rock has also become a symbol of the local climbing sport, practiced on both sides of the border by climbers from Bohemia and Germany. It has attracted climbers since time immemorial. As early as 1785, lumberjacks climbed it, who attached a sign with their names to one of the pine trees on the summit. The actual development of climbing began on September 3, 1911, when Dresden climbers scaled the rock with the help of a tree in its northwestern corner. The first flawless ascent without artificial aids along today's Alter Weg route by Siegfried Schreiber (a German sculptor, painter and draftsman) dates back to June 26, 1946.