Seehaus Fichtelgebirge

Seehaus Fichtelgebirge is a year-round mountain hostel (Unterkunftshaus) operated by the Fichtelgebirgsverein in the Hohes Fichtelgebirge of northeastern Bavaria, Germany. It stands on the western slope of the Seehügel and is a Gemeindeteil (hamlet) of the municipality of Tröstau in the Landkreis Wunsiedel im Fichtelgebirge, Upper Franconia. The house is not reachable by road; guests arrive on hiking trails, which gives it a distinctly remote, walkers-only character. The site's origins lie in tin-ore mining. From the 17th century, miners worked the western slope of the Seehügel, and the building began as a Zechenhaus — accommodation for the mine workers. The Fichtelgebirgsverein took over the building in 1926, demolished the dilapidated structure in 1928 and erected a new hostel for hikers in the same year. Over the following decades the house was repeatedly extended and converted. The Seehaus is also a place of literary and historical note. On 1 July 1785, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe passed by on his hike from Wunsiedel to the Ochsenkopf, accompanied by Karl Ludwig von Knebel and Friedrich Gottlieb Dietrich, and described the tin mining there. Goethe mistook today's Seehausbrunnen for the source of the Main — an error probably arising because the local Zinnbächlein then still drained toward the Weißer Main and was only redirected about ten years later to the newly created Fichtelsee reservoir, and thus to the Danube. Today the Seehaus functions as a mountain inn and hostel for hikers, offering food and overnight accommodation in a setting shaped by mining history and the Fichtelgebirge landscape. It is owned and run by the Fichtelgebirgsverein, the regional hiking and heritage association, and remains a traditional waypoint on trails across the high Fichtelgebirge.

The Seehaus owes its existence to tin-ore mining, which was carried on from the 17th century on the western slope of the Seehügel in the Hohes Fichtelgebirge. The building first arose as a Zechenhaus, an accommodation house for the mine workers. On 1 July 1785, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe passed by the Seehaus — then still called Zechenhaus — during his hike from Wunsiedel to the Ochsenkopf, accompanied by Karl Ludwig von Knebel and Friedrich Gottlieb Dietrich, and described the tin mining there. Goethe took today's Seehausbrunnen to be the source of the Main; this error probably arose because the local Zinnbächlein at that time still drained toward the Weißer Main and was only redirected about ten years later to the newly created Fichtelsee reservoir, and thereby to the Danube. In 1926 the Fichtelgebirgsverein took over the building. In 1928 the association demolished the dilapidated house and erected a new Unterkunftshaus for hikers in the same year. Over the following decades many extensions and conversions were carried out. The Seehaus is a year-round managed Unterkunftshaus of the Fichtelgebirgsverein and can only be reached on hiking trails. It lies in the Hohes Fichtelgebirge in northeastern Bavaria and is a Gemeindeteil of the municipality of Tröstau in the Landkreis Wunsiedel im Fichtelgebirge (Upper Franconia, Bavaria).

• 1928

  The dilapidated house is demolished and a new Unterkunftshaus for hikers is erected in the same year.

• 1926

  The Fichtelgebirgsverein takes over the building.

• 1785

  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe passes the Seehaus (then Zechenhaus) on his hike from Wunsiedel to the Ochsenkopf and describes the tin mining.

A traditional, walkers-only mountain hostel and inn owned by the Fichtelgebirgsverein, rooted in the region's tin-mining history.

• Mountain hostel accommodation

• Hiker meals and refreshments

• Overnight stays for hikers

1. 1Seehaus Fichtelgebirge (Wikidata)wikidata.org
2. 2Seehaus (Fichtelgebirge) – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
3. 3Seehaus – Fichtelgebirgsvereinfgv-seehaus.de