The Anton-Günther-Trail — a long weekend in the Ore Mountains

The Erzgebirge lie on the border between Saxony and Czech Bohemia. The picturesque landscape is characterized by densely wooded mountains, untouched moors, wide mountain meadows and quiet forest lakes. On the Anton Günther Trail, you can follow the traces of the folk poet on a four-day roundtrip — and experience the peaceful landscapes on both sides of the border.

Anton Günther was born in 1876 in Gottesgab, amidst the wooded mountains of the Erzgebirge. At that time, the border between Saxony and Austria-Hungary ran through the region, although Czechs, Hungarians and Germans lived here peacefully together. Anton Günther, who had initially worked as a lithographer and draughtsman in Prague, returned to Gottesgab in 1901. In Prague, he had already met with other people from Gottesgab and delighted the others with songs about his homeland in the Erzgebirge. Back in Gottesgab, he continued to sing and delighted people in Saxony as well as in Bohemia with his songs. Until his death in 1937, Anton Günther wandered through the Erzgebirge and delighted men, women and children with his songs.

After the horrors of the Second World War, the border in the Erzgebirge was closed for many years. Not until the 1990s did the Czechs and the Germans reflect on their common history. Even now, the memory of Anton Günther remains an important link. In 1995, the Anton Günther Trail was ceremoniously opened as the first cross-border hiking trail between Germany and the Czech Republic.

From Johanngeorgenstadt, the officially signposted Anton Günther Trail takes you on a four-day roundtrip to the most important milestones of the life of the poet and singer. In between, you hike through dense, untouched forests and up to panoramic mountain peaks. The four individual stages are quite short and therefore perfectly suited for occasional hikers. Sporty hikers can also hike the Anton-Günther-Weg without any problems in two or three days. At all stage destinations, you will find a good selection of comfortable and reasonably priced accommodation.

You can reach Johanngeorgenstadt on the region train or in your own car. As there is no cross-border bus service yet, the individual stages are not perfectly suited as day hikes. On the German side, the bus line 334 between Johanngeorgenstadt and Rittersgrün will serve you well, as well as the bus lines 330 and 414 between Rittersgrün and Oberwiesenthal. In the Czech Republic, you can take the bus line 421103 from Abertamy to Potůčky, the border village near Johanngeorgenstadt.

Timetables can be found at vms.de/startseite and dpkv.cz.