Oberwiesenthal lies in the county of Erzgebirgskreis, on the border with the Czech Republic that follows the course of the Pöhlbach stream as far as Bärenstein. The highest elevation in the borough is the Fichtelberg which, at, is the highest mountain in Saxony. Other important mountains in the region around Oberwiesenthal are the:
The "new town in the Wiesen valley" was founded in 1527 by the lords of Schönburg as a mining town because, one year earlier, silver ore had been found in the region. By 1530 the new settlement had been granted town rights and, in 1559, its ownership passed to the House of Wettin. Mining operations finally wound up in the 19th century and tourism increasingly took its place during the 20th. However, after the Second World War, there were attempts by the Russians to mine uranium for the nuclear arms race in the Zechengrund, today a nature reserve. Traces of their activity are still visible. On 1 September 1921 Oberwiesenthal was merged with the town of Unterwiesenthal further down the valley, which had first been mentioned in the records in 1406 and had town rights by 1510.
The town council of Oberwiesenthal consists of 14 councillors and the directly elected mayor or Bürgermeister, who presides over the council. The local elections of 7 June 2009, which had a voter participlation of 62.5%, the following result:
Party
FDP
CDU
BfW
Die Alternative
Die Linke
Total
Seats
5
5
2
2
0
14
Stimmenanteil
35.1%
33.4%
13.5%
12.6%
5.4%
Mayor
Heinz-Michael Kirsten was elected mayor in January 2002. By February 2002 the Annaberg district office had declared this result void due to unpermitted election advertising. This resulted in a five-year legal battle by all sides that ended with a decision in 2007 by the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig, that confirmed the decision in February 2007 by the administrative appeals tribunal of Bautzen as legal. Heinz-Michael Kirsten was then sent on leave by the regional authority. On 4 November 2007 a new election took place in which no party achieved an absolute majority. In the second round of elections on 18 November the independent candidate, Mirko Ernst, was elected mayor.
Twinnings
Fichtelberg, town "friendship" since 3 October 1990
Distance post on the market square ; whole milepost on the footpath to the "New House" in the Zechengrund and remnants of a half-milepost from the village of Hammerunterwiesenthal
