Blankenberg, Thuringia

The Selbitz is a river of Bavaria and Thuringia, Germany. It is a left-bank tributary of the river Saale in the eastern Franconian Forest. It is a watercourse of tertiary importance. Its source lies about 650 metres (2,130 ft) above sea level from a pond northwest of the Helmbrechts quarter of Wüstenselbitz, flows around Helmbrechts at first in an easterly direction and then towards the north. As it continues it runs through the towns of Schauenstein, Selbitz and Naila, before flowing through the Höllental between Hölle and Blechschmidtenhammer cutting a channel into the dolorite rock up to 170 m (560 ft) deep. In the village of Hölle, a district of Naila on the left bank of the Selbitz, a 262-metre-deep (860 ft) mineral spring, the Höllensprudel, has been bored. From the mouth of the Thüringische Muschwitz at the exit of the Hölle Valley and at its own confluence with the Saale near Blankenstein the Selbitz forms the border between Bavaria and Thuringia for about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi). During the Cold War division of Germany (1945–1990), the Selbitz was part of the inner German border, with fences and guard towers on the Thuringian side in the German Democratic Republic to prevent east-west traffic. The footbridge between the Bavarian hamlet of Untereichenstein and Blankenstein is also the end of the Thuringian Rennsteig, a historical border path. The river is 36.6 kilometres (22.7 mi) long and falls a total of 236 metres (774 ft) during its course. The name "Selbitz" probably comes from the Slavic word zelenovica and would therefore mean something like "green stream". At almost any point the level of the Selbitz could rise theoretically without causing any problems, because it is mostly surrounded by meadows and in the town of Naila flows through a natural, but reinforced, channel between the station and the bridge by the football pitch. This enables the river to grow to more than twice its width during times of thaw, storms or heavy rain. From 2 to 4 December 2007 this could be observed. The area through which the river runs is surrounded to the left and right by strips of grassland that are used as meadows for sheep-grazing during times of the year when there is no snow.

Blankenstein is a village and a former municipality in the district Saale-Orla-Kreis, in Thuringia, Germany. On 1 January 2019 it became part of the new municipality Rosenthal am Rennsteig. Prior to 2019, Blankenstein had been the seat of the Saale-Rennsteig Verwaltungsgemeinschaft (municipal association), which was disbanded in the reorganisation.

Rosenthal am Rennsteig is a municipality in the district Saale-Orla-Kreis, in Thuringia, Germany. It was created with effect from 1 January 2019 by the merger of the former municipalities of Birkenhügel, Blankenberg, Blankenstein, Harra, Neundorf bei Lobenstein, Pottiga and Schlegel.

Blankenstein (Saale) station is a railway station in the municipality of Blankenstein, located in the Saale-Orla-Kreis district in Thuringia, Germany.

Zottelbach is a small river of Bavaria, Germany. It flows into the Saale near Issigau.

Thüringische Muschwitz (also: Moschwitz) is a river on the border of Bavaria and Thuringia, Germany. It flows into the Selbitz near Lichtenberg. On the side of Thuringia, in Saale-Orla-Kreis (municipalities of Schlegel, Harra, and Blankenstein), a nature protected area, Thüringische Muschwitz mit Grenzstreifen, has been opened. The area is 59 hectares (150 acres).

The Höllental (English translation: Hell Valley) in the Franconian Forest (Frankenwald) is a picturesque part of the Franconian region of Bavaria in southern Germany.

The Triptis–Marxgrün railway is a branch line in Germany that runs through the states of Thuringia and Bavaria, and which was originally built and operated by the Prussian state railways. It ran from Triptis via Ziegenrück, Bad Lobenstein and Blankenstein to Marxgrün. The only section still in service today is the stretch of line between Ebersdorf-Friesau and Blankenstein. The Thuringian section is also called the Oberlandbahn ("Oberland railway"); the Bavarian section the Höllentalbahn ("Hell Valley Railway").

Issigau is a municipality in Upper Franconia in the district of Hof in Bavaria in Germany. In lies on the Issig River.

Issigbach is a river of Bavaria, Germany. It passes through Issigau, and flows into the Selbitz near Lichtenberg.

Lichtenberg is a town in northeastern Bavaria, lying in the district of Hof in Upper Franconia. It lies on a hill above the valley of the river Selbitz, in the Frankenwald nature park.

Berg (German pronunciation: [bɛʁk] ) is a municipality in the district of Hof in Bavaria, Germany.