Places on the bicycle route: Zschorlau

The Zschorlau community with its district of Albernau is gently nestled in the hills of West Erzgebirge. The highest point is the southern Steinberg Mountain (733 m asl), which over towers both towns. The surroundings of both Zschorlau and Albernau are interesting to explore. They are starting points for many hiking and cycling tours.

Zschorlau originated as a “Waldhufendorf” (a form of rural settlement established in an area of forest clearing with the farms arranged in a series along a stream). A certificate of incorporation or other sources that would trace the origin and first settlement of the town does not exist. However, it can be assumed that around 1150 to 1250 the entire West-Erzgebirge, probably the Erzgebirge ridge being the only exception, was made accessible for settlement. The further history of the site was formed by the mining industry, specifically of silver deposits in the Schneeberg and Zschorlau mining region. Witnesses to history are the mine at St. Anna Freudenstein and the hoistway door of the shaft (the oldest preserved iron steel shaft tower of the old West-Erzgebirge mine) is still impressively preserved. The Zschorlau stream still flows through the town. Its source is the Filzteich Lake, which was built at the end of the 15th century as a water reservoir for the Schneeberg mining industry and which today is a popular recreational area.