The Ore Mountain Club (German: Erzgebirgsverein) is one of the oldest and most tradition-steeped local history, mountain and hiking clubs in Germany. The club was founded in 1878. After the Second World War the club and its many branches were banned by the East German authorities, but it was refounded in West Germany in Frankfurt am Main in 1955. Only after the political events of Die Wende in 1990 was it newly founded in the Ore Mountains. At the end of 2008 the club had over 3,859 members in 61 branches. Before 1945 there were more than 25,000 members. In 1929 the Ore Mountain Club even had over 28,000 members in 156 branches and managed several accommodation houses on the Fichtelberg near Oberwiesenthal and the Schwartenberg between Seiffen and Neuhausen/Erzgeb.
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