Podhorni vrch, Nature reserve in Ovesné Kladruby, Czech Republic.
Podhorní vrch is a forested mountain about 4 km northeast of Mariánské Lázně, with two peaks: the southern at 850.1 m and the northern at 849.7 m. A metal radio tower stands in the saddle between them, and the summit rock of the southern peak opens views over the Tepelská vrchovina, Slavkovský les, Smrčiny and Český les.
Podhorní vrch is a volcanic cone of olivine nephelinite formed in the Tertiary, with estimates in the sources ranging from about 12–15 to 17 million years ago; it is among the youngest remnants of volcanic activity of the Ohře rift. The summit area was declared a nature reserve in 1997 by the Administration of the Slavkovský les Protected Landscape Area, covering 31.85 ha, to protect relics of Tertiary volcanism and rock and forest plant communities.
The name Podhorní vrch is commonly shortened to Podhora locally. Goethe visited the area on 21 August 1821 during a trip to Teplá Abbey and unexpectedly found volcanic rock here; a specimen is still held in his Weimar collection as no. 7318.
A red-marked hiking trail leads from Mariánské Lázně through Zádub-Závišín up to the summit. The railway line 149 from Mariánské Lázně to Karlovy Vary runs along the southern foot of the mountain. The summit rock of the southern peak opens views toward the Tepelská vrchovina, Slavkovský les, Smrčiny and Český les.
The rock formations contain olivine-nephelinite dating back around 17 million years, studied and collected by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Samples from this site were brought to his collection in Weimar and remain preserved there.
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