Armesberg Pilgrimage Church and Stations of the Cross

The basalt cone is 731 meters high and is an extinct volcanic vent. Today forested and visible from afar, the cone lies on the old trade route Eger - Nuremberg. On its summit stands the listed pilgrimage church "To the Holy Trinity". An artistically designed Stations of the Cross are the trademark of the Armesberg.

Historic church on the former volcano. Unfortunately always closed. I have never been inside, no matter when and how often I have been up there. There are many legends and stories about it: The fires on the Armes mountain
The then pastor of Armesberg, Arckhauer, wrote the following: "It has been said all along that from time immemorial and even in my time, burning bright fires have been seen on the mountain at night. After much discussion, I was told by the late Johann Grüßl, former mayor of the town of Kemnath, that around twenty years ago at midnight he saw three large fires burning brightly on this mountain from Kemnath. Likewise, Mr. Johann Schreyer von Blumenthal from Grünberg and Bodenwöhr, who was also in Grünberg, tells us that he saw the Armes mountain mentioned many years ago completely ablaze for three hours, and that there have been several such signs of fire in my time." Pastor Arckhauer thought these fires were something unnatural and supernatural. The inhabitants of the surrounding villages recognized these fires as signs of a hidden treasure. No one dared to get to the bottom of the causes of the nightly fires because people believed that the dark forests were full of ghosts and monsters. For many years now, no one has ever seen fire or anything similar on the mountain. One explanation for the brightly burning fires could be the many ore and precious metal prospectors who were traveling through the area at the time, and whose nightly smelting fires were sighted.

Pilgrimage church, viewpoint, rest area, Geo-Info Center, playground, excursion restaurant Mesnerhaus (for the area a bit expensive, but quiet and nice location).