Sonneberg (Neusalza-Spremberg)

The Sonneberg is a hill in the Lusatian Highlands of eastern Germany, standing 401 metres above sea level. It lies in a forested area near the Czech border, about 500 metres southwest of the village of Sonneberg. The hill is also called the Buchberg because beeches dominate the forest. Its name comes from the late setting sun over the treetops in the west. The hill was once owned by a farmer called Wauer, after whom it was also named. The Sonneberg is one of the highest points in a 15-hectare woodland. Its flattened summit has blocks of granodiorite and a peak of nepheline basalt. An old quarry on the northern slopes shows columns of basalt formed by ancient lava. These volcanic features date from the Tertiary period. The quarry is now filled with water, resembling a crater lake. The Sonneberg overlooks the village of Sonneberg in a western valley. The forest merges into woods that once belonged to a now vanished Czech village. Several streams collect into the Sonnebergwasser, which feeds fish ponds and a forest swimming pool. A field track from Neusalza-Spremberg leads over a railway bridge to the hill.