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Like many other villages in the area of Bad Neualbenreuth, also Wernersreuth has a close connection to the monastery of Waldsassen. It was first documented in 1140 as “Wernherisrvte”. It lies 606 metres above sea level right in the middle of an ancient clearing area which slopes to the south. The ending “-reuth” derives from the German word “roden”, which means “to clear woodland”. The cleared area is still discernible almost completely, even after 900 years. The hillside protects the village against the icy cold Bohemian wind which often blows from the east.
The Bohemian wind is a choppy meteorological fall wind, like the so called “Föhn” in southern Bavaria. Especially during winter, you can clearly notice this wind. When a high-pressure area hovers above the enclosed basin in the Czech Republic and enough cold air has gathered, then the lower air layers are pushed over the hill chains of the so called “Oberpfälzer Wald” (Upper Palatinate Forest) and “Bayerischer Wald” (Bavarian Forest). This phenomenon is also common in Saxony, Upper and Lower Austria, because these regions are also surrounded by notable uplands.
Most of the time, this dry and cold wind leads to fantastic, sunny weather. If, however, warm fronts coming from the west meet the Bohemian wind in winter, the meteorological conditions lead to heavy snowfall or freezing rain. This guarantees snow above 1000 metres until spring.