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
Dec 21, 2025Dawn light through frosty trees, Sweden

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Apr 21, 2024Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Mar 14, 2024Wat Phra Ngam, Ayutthaya Historical Park, Thailand
Nov 13, 2023Serra de Tramuntana, Balearic Islands, Majorca, Spain
Jun 21, 2024Reticulated giraffes
Sep 10, 2025Hay bales in North Yorkshire, England
Feb 5, 2025Scottish Blackface sheep, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Jun 27, 2024Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence
Feb 4, 2026Red kite in snow
Apr 15, 2024Château de Chambord, France
Mar 4, 2026Purple crocus flowers, Seven Rila Lakes, Bulgaria
Feb 25, 2024Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, Canada
Jan 13, 2026Vale of Clwyd, Wales
Jul 21, 2024Kendwa village, Zanzibar, Tanzania
Dec 24, 2025Starling murmuration, Brighton, England
Sep 3, 2025Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
Jan 4, 2026Kings Mountain, Chugach Mountains, Alaska, United States
Feb 16, 2024Pyrrhuloxia bird
Dec 1, 2023Jasper National Park, Canada
Jan 8, 2025Great Wall of China
Jan 19, 2026Abraham Lake, Alberta, Canada
Dec 11, 2023Huangshan Mountains, China
Oct 28, 2023Castilla-La Mancha, Spain
May 19, 2025Mount Hamilton, San Francisco Bay Area, California, United States
Jan 29, 2026Milwaukee City Hall, Wisconsin, United States
Jan 30, 2026St. Michaels Mount in Marazion, Cornwall, England
Nov 7, 2023Kirkilai lakes, Biržai Regional Park, Lithuania
Feb 21, 2025Champaka Sarasi, Shivamogga, Karnataka, India
Sep 30, 2023Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, USA
Feb 12, 2026Blue-footed booby, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
Dec 24, 2023Town Hall Square, Tartu, Estonia