Pleß, Mountain peak in Breitungen, Germany

Pleß is a mountain peak near Breitungen that rises about 645 meters and is topped by an observation tower. From this vantage point, visitors can see across a wide valley toward other forested hills and a distant castle on the horizon.

The first viewing tower was a wooden structure built on the summit in 1921. It became dilapidated and was replaced in 1936 by a stone tower. During the GDR era the mountain became a military restricted area, and in 1962 the stone tower was demolished down to its natural stone base, which then carried military equipment. A third tower was built in 1999 beside that base.

The mountain's name was originally Bleßberg; because two Bleßbergs existed in the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, Duke George II ordered it changed to Pleßberg at the end of the 19th century, and the suffix "-berg" was soon dropped. The Pleßhaus, built in 1866/67 about 1 km north of the summit, became a popular excursion inn; in 1974 citizens had it dismantled and rebuilt as the "Seeblick" inn about 1.5 km south of Breitungen station.

The summit is reached on foot; since the Bundeswehr withdrew in the 1990s the area has been open again, and the long-distance Hochrhöner trail crosses both the summit and the Pleßhauswiese. The 1999 tower stands beside the accessible stone base of the 1936 tower, which a stairway leads up to as a viewing platform.

The Jägerstein, also called the Sachsenstein, has stood on the Pleß summit north of the tower since 2008. It recalls the ducal hunting tradition of the mountain, which was a princely hunting ground long before the Pleßhaus was built in 1866/67.