FICHTELGEBIRGE, a mountain group of Bavaria, Germany, forming the centre from which three extensive mountain ranges proceed,—the Erzgebirge in a N.E., the Frankenwald in a N.W., and the Böhmerwald in a S.E. direction. The streams to which it gives rise flow towards the four cardinal points,— e.g., the Eger eastward and the Saale northward, both to the Elbe; the Main westward to the Rhine, and the Naab southward to the Danube. The chief points of the mass are the Schneeberg and the Ochsenkopf, the former having a height of 3490, and the latter of 3340 feet. The whole district is pretty thickly populated, and there is great abundance of wood, as well as of iron, vitriol, sulphur, copper, lead, and many kinds of marble. In some of the streams mother-of-pearl is found. The inhabitants are employed chiefly in the iron mines, at forges and blast furnaces, and in charcoal burning and the manufacture of blacking from firewood. The Fichtelgebirge are not much visited by strangers, the only important points of interest being Alexandersbad (a delightfully situated watering-place) and the sandstone labyrinth of Luisenburg.