Schwarze Koppe is a modest but charming summit in the Lusatian Mountains, right on the German-Czech border. At only 470 metres, it might not sound impressive, but its forested slopes and granodiorite outcrops at the top make it a worthwhile detour from the region's main trails.

The peak is covered by the Schwarzer Busch (Black Forest), part of the extensive border woodland stretching between Upper Lusatia and Northern Bohemia. The summit actually consists of two humps - the main one and a lower northern outlier. The atmosphere here is quiet and woodsy, with the watershed between the Spree and Sebnitz river basins running right across the mountain. In winter the trails can be snow-covered, while summer brings cool shade beneath the trees, far from any crowds.

How to reach the summit

• Neudorf (part of Sohland an der Spree) - border trail 'In the footsteps of the red wood ant', short hiking time, easy difficulty
• The road from Neudorf to Hainspach runs just west of the mountain, offering an alternative approach

Practical information

• The summit sits directly on the Czech-German border, within the area known as Schwarzer Busch
• Traces of former 19th-century stone quarries remain on the northern slope
• A ski jump called 'Schanze der Freundschaft' once stood at the old quarry site, dismantled in the 1970s

Few visitors know that in the 1930s skiers here launched jumps of up to 30 metres - today only faint traces in the landscape and local stories remain of that sporting past.