Much less famous than the nearby divided railway station this is a perfectly normal post Schengen border crossing with old border infrastructure being repurposed. Nevertheless it was of interest with many signs and border markers to find and explore. Bayerisch Eisenstein, until 1951 just Eisenstein is a village and a municipality in the Regen district, in Bavaria, Germany.
Bayerisch Eisenstein is located within the Bayerischer Wald, and borders the Bavarian Forest National Park (Germany’s first national park, established in 1970) and is an all year outdoor holiday resort. It is one of a trio of connected places in the area. The other two are Železná Ruda (known in German as Böhmisch Eisenstein or Markt Eisenstein) and Špičák (Dorf Eisenstein), both in the Czech Republic. In August 2006 Bayerisch Eisenstein and Železná Ruda signed a twinning agreement.
It is a rural area. On the Czech side there are duty free shops which sell alcohol and cigarettes as well as Vignettes for motorway use in the Czech Republic. As a Schengen border there are normally no controls but in 2021 COVID protocols and a concern with illegal migration meant controls were more evident across the EU. Since May 2025 Czech travellers heading to Germany, particularly Bavaria and Saxony, were subject to increased checks at land border crossings as German authorities tighten migration controls. We visited this point as part of the IBRG LIVCO-25 expedition.
Date of Visit: 30 August 2025
Barry's Borderpoints 