The Moldanubian Zone is in the regional geology of Europe a tectonic zone formed during the Variscan or Hercynian Orogeny (400 to 300 million years ago, during the Devonian and Carboniferous periods). The Moldanubian Zone crops out in the Bohemian Massif and the southern part of the Black Forest and Vosges and contains the highest grade metamorphic rocks of Variscan age in Europe.
The Moldanubian Zone was introduced by German geologist Franz Kossmat in 1927. It has a generally higher grade of metamorphism than the Saxothuringian Zone to the northwest. The contact between the two is a thrust over which the Moldanubian Zone moved over the Saxothuringian Zone during the Variscan Orogeny. In the east the Moldanubian Zone is thrust over the Moravo-Silesian Zone, which is also generally lower grade.
- ^ Map is based on Franke (1992, 2000), Matte (2001), von Raumer et al. (2003) and Walter (2003)