Dreiländereck - somewhere and nowhere

The Germans have one of those compound words “dreiländereck” which neatly describes the point where the geographical borders of three countries come together.

The Brits don’t need such a word, as there is no such place in the British Isles. The Americans have a spot called Four Corners, which is the name of the only and lonely place where four states meet.

The dreiländereck near Zittau where Germany meets Poland and the Czech Republick

Now, in these days of open borders a dreiländereck is something of a disappointment. Without customs posts or fences, they look as if no-one really knows if they should be marked and if so how.

   

In the Bohemian Woods there's only a bench

In the Bohemian Forest where the Czech, Austrian and German borders meet, there are three stone markers, a bench and not 
much more. Along the river Oder, where Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic meet at Zittau, there is a flag for each – albeit at a bit of a distance from each other, together with an EU flag.  They hang limply in a meadow.

A former dreiländereck disappeared in 1990. It was where the DDR (East Germany), Czech and West German borders met. It is deep in a wood but still known for its old role where three borders connected.

There are a few more of these meeting points in Europe which could make them a goal for a super-randonné or a series of rides - though some of them are not so easy to get to. Austria, bordering eight different countries is a good central point and features in three junctions.

·      Half-a-day’s ride from Vienna is the Austria, Hungary and Slovakian dreiländereck.
·      To the south at Arnoldstein the borders of Austria, Italy and Slovenia meet.
·      Germany meets Holland and Belgium at Vaakserberg and at Sevenig Germany and Belgium come together with Luxembourg
·      Basel is the one big city which straddles three countries: Switzerland, Germany and France with clear distinctions in its suburbs – it’s easy to spot when you are in the French sector by the boulangeries
·      Finally, take a trip north to Scandinavia where Finland, Sweden and Norway meet in the middle of a pond.

It makes no sense, as in many ways these points are pretty uninteresting in themselves. But sometimes it is good to have an excuse for a bike ride into a lonely but beautiful part of the countryside.

Another Dreiländereck: http://europeanrandonneur.blogspot.co.at/2016/01/wailing-about-walls.html