The best dog-friendly hikes and walks around Oderwitz

Today they are hardly ever used in their original function, but only technical and historical monuments of a long tradition of craftsmanship: The heavy millstones inside were moved solely by the power of the wind as driving energy and thus, for example, grain grains were ground into flour (so-called grain mills ) or the oil is pressed from (e.g. olive) fruits (so-called oil mills). Thus, these ancient windmills are the best evidence that humans were clever enough to harness the power of the wind for a number of centuries - long before the discovery of electricity and the inventions that followed. So what is celebrated today as modern (so-called green or renewable) energy is basically just the proverbial "old hat in a new guise".

Until the middle of the 14th century the kingwood was a royal domain. In 1345, King John of Bohemia granted the town of Zittau the right to cut wood to build bridges and rebuild houses that had burned down, but was denied ownership and forest rights. Duke Heinrich von Jauer, who had received the town and surrounding area from King Johann as a dowry, pledged it to a gentleman from Riedburg for 50 marks. This led to differences between the city and the duke. In 1357 the brothers Heinrich, Johann and Ramvold von Riedburg transferred the rights to the forest to the city of Zittau for the old sum. John of Bohemia's son, Charles IV, confiscated the royal wood in 1359 as a dilapidated chamber estate. It was only in 1365 that the town was given the opportunity to purchase the estate for 600 shocks of Prague groschen and one gold mark. At this time, the von Riedburg brothers again claimed the king's wood and tried to enforce this claim through robbery and murder. Therefore, in the week of Pentecost 1368, the Zittau team set out to catch the robbers. Shortly thereafter, they were hanged on the gallows in Zittau.[2] After the Oberlausitzer Pönfall, the estate was confiscated from the city of Zittau by Ferdinand I and had to be purchased again. From 1952 the Löbau State Forestry Service managed the Oderwitz district and thus the Königsholz.

On the northern slope of the Sonnenhübel, phonolite plates protrude through the ground, which are known as Steinklunsen, Steinklunsten or simply Klunsen, similar to the Steinklunsen near Beiersdorf. Together with the Birkberg and the Geiersberg, these rock formations on the Sonnenhübel form an outpouring and the eastern edge of the Oderwitz Basin. Coarse weathering debris from these slabs, together with nutrient-poor Ranker brown soil, covers the upper slopes of the mountain. On the lower slopes there is also occasional phonolite rubble, but due to a loess loam layer and the influence of backwater there are also brown earths with a medium nutrient content such as Pseudogley. Source: Wikipedia

Sun sanctuary of Upper Lusatia. A legend tells of Prince Wenzelslaus. When the city of Zittau still belonged to the Kingdom of Bohemia, a gentle, wise king ruled there; he left behind an underage prince who was not begrudge the crown by a false uncle. He announced that the prince had had an accident while hunting in the forest, and boldly put the crown on his head. But secretly he had hired assassins to kill the prince, but they took pity on him and released him. He escaped and begged his way to Zittau, where a wealthy shoemaker took care of the poor boy who came up to him. He was doubtful whether he should really take him for a prince and therefore kept wisely silent, but he loved the boy like a father, taught him his trade and had him instructed in more sciences than a shoemaker needs. So some years passed, the Bohemians were oppressed by their illegitimate king and were tired of his rule. Now the exiled prince decided it was time to show himself to the people. The news spread that Prince Wenzeslaus, as the banished prince was legally called, was still alive and had become a courageous, brave prince. Many people flocked to him, and when they saw him and recognized his resemblance to his dead father, they proclaimed him king. The place where this happened, between Zittau and the later added town of Herrnhut, is still called the Königsholz [234] and the house where the shoemaker lived then still has a gilded crown carved in stone over the door. Source:https://de.wikisource.org/

Great view of the surroundings from the summit.

Cozy rest area with shelter on the summit of the Sonnenhübel.

Departure with fun

Worth seeing windmill and small mill museum. More information: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birkm%C3%BChle and http://www.birkmuehle.de/Muehle/