Schwarzenberg – the Pearl of the Erzgebirge & How to Reach Us
Schwarzenberg, the Pearl of the Erzgebirge: UNESCO World Heritage, over 800 years of history and your journey to the Sonnenhotel Hoher Hahn in Bermsgrün.
High above the valley of the Schwarzwasser, where Saxony borders Bohemia, lies a town that has carried a special epithet for more than 150 years: Schwarzenberg, the „Pearl of the Erzgebirge“. Anyone who has been here once understands the name straight away. Castle and church sit enthroned on a rocky spur above the old town, all around the wooded heights of the Erzgebirge rise up, and over everything lies that particular calm that makes this region so restful. We would like to take you along – to one of the loveliest corners of Saxony and to your journey to us here in Bermsgrün.
The Pearl of the Erzgebirge
Schwarzenberg lies in the south-western Erzgebirge within the Erzgebirgskreis district and, as a major district town, is the lively heart of this area. Around 15,000 people live here across a good 46 square kilometres, embedded in a landscape shaped by deep valleys and gentle heights. The town itself lies on average at just under 470 metres above sea level, yet the municipal area reaches far higher – to over 800 metres.
Schwarzenberg owes its epithet „Pearl of the Erzgebirge“ to its unmistakable setting deep in the valley and to its historic townscape. Church and castle on the rocky spur form an ensemble that is not easily forgotten – one that has set generations of travellers raving.
A town with over 800 years of history
The roots of Schwarzenberg run deep. As early as around 1150, two watchtowers were built on a rocky spur above the Schwarzwasser to guard the old trade routes to Bohemia – the origin of the later castle and settlement. Schwarzenberg was first mentioned in documents as a town in the year 1282, then still under the name „Swartzenbergk“.
In the 16th century the face of the town changed: between 1555 and 1558, Elector August had the former fortress converted into a hunting lodge. Today Schloss Schwarzenberg houses the town museum and is an associated object of the UNESCO World Heritage – once the seat of the mining administration for the tin and iron ore mining of the western Erzgebirge. Right beside it stands the St.-Georgen-Kirche, built between 1690 and 1699 to plans by Johann Georg Roth of Lößnitz, with a free-spanning ceiling. Together, castle and church on the rock have shaped the town’s unmistakable silhouette to this very day.
UNESCO World Heritage on your doorstep
Schwarzenberg is part of a region of world rank. On 6 July 2019, the Montanregion Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in far-off Baku – a cross-border heritage made up of 22 components, 17 of them on the Saxon and 5 on the Czech side.
What this World Heritage tells is nothing less than over 800 years of mining history. Between 1460 and 1560 the Erzgebirge was Europe’s largest source of silver ore. In 1765 the world’s first mining academy was founded in Freiberg. And the silver thaler, minted from 1520 onwards, served as the model for the currencies of many European states – it is even regarded as a forerunner of the dollar. Anyone hiking through this landscape is therefore literally walking through European economic history.
Inseparably bound up with the region is the famous Erzgebirge woodcraft, too – angel and miner, nutcracker and Räuchermann, pyramid and Schwibbogen. Its heart lies in nearby Seiffen, where more than 60 workshops carry the seal „Echt Erzgebirge – Holzkunst mit Herz“. In Advent especially, this tradition transforms the entire region into a sea of lights.
If you would like to delve deeper into the treasures of the area, you will find many more ideas in our Erzgebirge Guide.
Der Hohe Hahn – our local mountain
Our hotel lies in Bermsgrün, a southern district of Schwarzenberg, just a few kilometres from the town centre. Up here, at around 670 metres, rises the very peak we are named after: the Hoher Hahn. At around 674 metres it ranks among the most striking elevations in the Schwarzenberg surroundings. From the summit the view stretches far across the Erzgebirge landscape – across to Fichtelberg and Klínovec, to Scheibenberg and Pöhlberg.
Bermsgrün is a rewarding destination in winter as well: the small winter sports area at 610 to 660 metres lies just a few kilometres from us, and a ski lift waits right at the edge of the village. Hiking and cycling trails begin directly at the house – the quiet hillside setting makes the Hoher Hahn the ideal starting point for every season.
How to reach us
Schwarzenberg and the surrounding Erzgebirge are easy to reach both by car and by train. We recommend planning the connection that suits you best in advance – do feel free to get in touch; we are always happy to give you precise directions for the final stretch to Bermsgrün.
If you arrive by e-bike or would like to explore the surroundings with a little electric assistance, you are in the best of hands with us: a lockable e-bike garage with a charging station is at the ready. That way every tour begins and ends conveniently right at the house.
Arrive and unwind
After a day in the Pearl of the Erzgebirge, our house invites you to settle in – with an indoor pool, Finnish sauna and a quiet wellness area, with culinary themed evenings in the restaurant and breakfast in the light-filled winter garden. For families there is a children’s playroom, an outdoor playground and a kids’ club, plus a tennis court and mini-golf right outside the door.
Der Hohe Hahn is your peaceful retreat above the town – and the perfect base from which to discover the „Pearl of the Erzgebirge“ and its World Heritage landscape entirely at your leisure. We look forward to welcoming you.