[3] The town's silhouette is marked by the opposing rocks Ottenstein and Totenstein, which like the Schlossberg consist of Augen gneiss.

Although the town has incorporated several nearby communities over recent years, its population numbers remained stable at approximately 20,000 inhabitants.

[5] The communities that border on the town are Grünhain-Beierfeld in the northeast, Raschau in the east, Breitenbrunn and Sosa in the south and Bockau and Lauter in the west.

Thick copse of sycamore, aspen, mountain ash, hazel and wild cherry grows on the terraces at the forest edge.

[6] Schwarzenberg was first documented in 1282 as “civitas Swartzenberg”, but potsherds excavated in 1977 date back somewhat further to c.1200 and the official year of establishment has been fixed at 1150.

The town developed out of a fortification which is believed to have been created by Duke Heinrich II of Austria to protect an important trade route between Pleissnerland and Bohemia in the otherwise unsettled area.

It is generally believed that the town was in fact named after the appearance created by the thick, dark forest.

Schwarzenberg's skyline is dominated by the ensemble of church and palace, the latter having been built on an old castle's foundation walls.

With the help of the oldest known drawing of Schwarzenberg, a pen and ink work by Wilhelm Dilich from the late 1620s, one can get an idea of the town's original appearance.

At the end of today's Oberen Schloßstraße rises the palace (Schloss), which was once built as a castle, and which, over the course of its history, has been expanded and remodelled many times.

After Germany's surrender in the Second World War, Schwarzenberg remained, for historically unclear reasons, unoccupied at first.

[1] Schwarzenberg's arms show the dragon slayer Saint George, who according to legend is held to have taken on the lindworm at the Totenstein (“Dead Man’s Stone”), which was a lasting threat to the townsfolk.

While fleeing from the figure, Saint George is said to have tried to leap across the river Schwarzwasser on his horse, landing on the Ottenstein on the other side.

Tourism is now the main industry, with the town being an excellent base for hiking tours during summer.