Named for the low mountain range along the border of Saxony and Bohemia, about 150 km in length and rich in forests. This region is relatively densely populated, owing to its past richness of silver and tin ore (“Erz”, in German). Pitchblende (“Joachimsthaler Pechblende”), first found in the Erzgebirge, was used by the Curies {see planet  (7000)} in 1898 to isolate the radioactive elements polonium and radium. The Sternwarte Drehbach, which is situated in Middle Erzgebirge, contributed an extensive series of observations to the minor planet in 1997, thereby enabling it to be numbered. (M 31299) Name proposed by the first discoverer. _ _.