Ore Mountains, Saxony, Germany Dec 21, 2024

Ore Mountains, Saxony, Germany

Today"s image takes us to Saxony in Germany. Here we can see a halo—an optical phenomenon caused by ice crystals in the atmosphere—around the sun, photographed in the Ore Mountains. These mountains stretch along the Czech–German border, dividing the historic regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. Towering over the landscape are two peaks: Klínovec in the Czech Republic, standing at 1,244 metres and Germany"s Fichtelberg at 1,215 metres. Centuries of human activity have left their mark here, creating a rich cultural landscape. Mining has shaped the terrain with its tips, dams, ditches and sinkholes, altering habitats for plants and animals. Remarkably, this region was also the birthplace of the transformation of mining and metallurgy from small-scale craftsmanship to large-scale industry—a crucial prelude to the Industrial Revolution.

© Martin Ruegner/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Dec 21, 2023Ljubljana, Slovenia

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Nov 11, 2023Val di Funes, South Tyrol, Italy
Nov 28, 2023Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, Canada
Sep 15, 2023Glenariff Forest Park, County Antrim, Ireland
Apr 11, 2025Tulips, Netherlands
Nov 11, 2024Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada
Sep 5, 2025Santa Monica Pier
May 30, 2024Everglades National Park, Florida, USA
Aug 16, 2025Colourful beehives, Italy
Sep 4, 2023Marshes of Bourges, France
Apr 29, 2025Garden at Château de Villandry, Loire Valley, France
Oct 30, 2025Camels, Rajasthan, India
Jul 23, 2024Methoni Castle, Messinia, Greece
Oct 22, 2024Palazzo Zuccari, Rome, Italy
Jan 6, 2025Flooded crypt, Basilica of San Francesco, Ravenna, Italy
Sep 13, 2025Point Reyes National Seashore
Dec 1, 2023Jasper National Park, Canada
Oct 20, 2024Three-toed sloth in Costa Rica
Sep 19, 2025Thousand Islands region, St. Lawrence River, USA-Canada border
Jul 30, 2025Ribadesella, Asturias, Spain
Jun 10, 2025Everglades National Park, Florida, United States
Sep 8, 2023The Circus, Bath, Somerset, England
Jul 27, 2024Vineyards above the Moselle River, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Sep 26, 2023Venice Skatepark, Los Angeles, California, USA
Nov 8, 2025Bandon Beach in Bandon, Oregon, United States
Sep 18, 2025Dunquin Pier, County Kerry, Ireland
Sep 20, 2025Swing carousel at Oktoberfest, Munich, Bavaria, Germany
Mar 31, 2024A great egret in the Pantanal
Aug 28, 2024Sacré-Cœur Basilica, Paris
Jan 27, 2025Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, United States
Aug 24, 2023Shark Fin Cove, California, USA