Mandlstein

The Mandlstein rises 874 metres above sea level in the Waldviertel region of Lower Austria. It lies just north of Moorbad Harbach, its granite summit covered with almond-shaped erratic blocks stacked in striking patterns. The border with the Czech Republic runs along the northern edge of the mountain, making it a fine vantage point over the Sudetenland. The climb from the car park takes about twenty minutes and passes a memorial to the Heimatvertriebenen and a small sound pavilion. Along the path, bilingual boards in German and Czech explain the Green Belt Europe, the Waldviertel–South Bohemia cultural landscape and the story of the displaced. A circular route around the rocks reveals layers of stone shaped by erosion and leads down through the Stone Gate at the base of the crag. At the top, a steel viewing platform was added in 2013 on the western flank. Stone tables and benches invite rest on the southern slope, where every last Sunday in August the Heimatvertriebenen hold their annual gathering. A wooden peace cross, first raised in 1956 and rebuilt in 2013, stands on the northern face. Nearby a marble plaque honours Josef Gangl, the Bohemian Forest poet, while the name of the folk poet F.C. Castelli is carved into a central block on the western side.