  Recent progress in cosmic ray physics covering the energy range from about
10^{14} eV to 10^{19} eV is reviewed. The most prominent features of the energy
spectrum are the so called `knee' at E ~ 3 * 10^{15} eV and the `ankle' at few
10^{18} eV. Generally, the origin of the knee is understood as marking the
limiting energy of galactic accelerators and/or the onset of increasing outflow
of particles from the galaxy while the ankle is considered to mark the
transition from galactic to extragalactic cosmic rays. Alternative theories do
exist and shall be sketched. A key observable to answer the still open
questions about the cosmic ray origin and to discriminate between various
models is given by measuring the chemical composition or - more directly - by
measuring energy spectra of individual cosmic ray mass groups. The status of
present analyses is critically discussed and new experimental endeavors carried
out in order to improve both the statistics and the quality of data
particularly at energies above the knee will be summarized.
