| Rhön Mountains | |
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View from the Soisberg looking south towards the Rhön
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| Country | Germany |
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| Regions | Hesse, Bavaria, Thuringia |
| Part of | East Hessian Highlands |
| Coordinates | |
| Highest point | Wasserkuppe |
| - elevation | 950 m (3,117 ft) |
| Length | 70 km (43 mi) |
| Area | 1,860 km2 (718 sq mi) |
| Geology | Bunter sandstone, Muschelkalk, Keuper, Vulcanite |
| Orogeny | Low mountains |
| Period | 250 - 23 mya |
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Physical overview of the Rhön Mountains
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The Rhön Mountains are a group of low mountains in central Germany, located around the border area where the states of Hesse, Bavaria and Thuringia come together. These mountains, which are at the extreme southeast end of the East Hesse Highlands (Osthessisches Bergland), are partly a result of ancient volcanic activity. They are separated from the Vogelsberg Mountains by the Fulda River and its valley. The highest mountain in the Rhön is the Wasserkuppe (950.2 m) which is in Hesse. The Rhön Mountains are a popular tourist destination and walking area.
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The name Rhön is often thought to derive from the Celtic word raino (=hilly), but numerous other interpretations are also possible. Records of the monks at Fulda from the middle ages describe the area around Fulda as well as more distant parts of the Rhön as Buchonia, the land of ancient beech woods. In the Middle Ages beech was an important raw material. Large scale wood clearing resulted in the "land of open spaces" (Land der offenen Fernen), 30% of which, today, is forested.
Lying within the aforementioned states, the Rhön is bounded by the Knüll to the northwest, the Thuringian Forest to the northeast, the Grabfeld to the southeast, Lower Franconia to the south, the Spessart forest to the southwest and the Vogelsberg mountains to the west.
Thanks to former volcanic activity the Rhön can be divided into the Vorderer Rhön (Vorderrhön or "Rhön foothills"), the Kuppenrhön (geographical region 353, "Kuppen Rhön") and the Hohe Rhön (354, "High Rhön").
The terms Vorderer Rhön (Vorderrhön) and Kuppenrhön (Kuppiger Rhön) are somewhat misleading, since the Vorderer Rhön also consists mainly of Kuppen or low mountains with dome-shaped summits. The name has genuine historic origins: the Vorderer Rhön, as viewed from Thuringia, forms the foothills or "front" (vorne) of the mountain region.
In this gently rolling landscape numerous individual dome-shaped mountains rise on both sides of the border of Hesse and Thuringia and also, in some places, in Bavaria. These Kuppen are the remnants of former volcanos or volcanic
Five mountain regions may be distinguished:
The Hohe Rhön (or Hochrhön) extends into all 3 states and is bounded by the Vorderer Rhön in the northeast, the Grabfeld in the southeast, the Spessart in the southwest and the Kuppenrhön in the northwest. It also has five main mountainous regions:
The most well-known peaks in the Rhön Mountains include the:
The following rivers rise in the Rhön Mountains or flow by or through them (length given in brackets):
The name Rhön is believed to be of Celtic origin. Evidence of this is the Celtic settlement of Milseburg where there was a Celtic town with 1000 inhabitants. Furthermore there are circular embankments that could be both of Celtic and of Germanic origin in the Kuppenrhön on the Stallberg and the Kleinberg mountains. Many names of places, mountains and meadows in the Rhön have their origins in Celtic root words.
Up to the 10th century parts of the Rhön belonged to Altgau Buchonia. This term was coined by the Romans in Late Antiquity and described an ancient beech forest in the Rhön and the neighbouring low mountain ranges of the Spessart and Vogelsberg. Expansive stands of beech still exist today in the area.
Due to the outstanding field of view from the Rhön mountains, they became sites for hilltop castles in the Middle Ages. One example is Hauneck Castle (Burg Hauneck) on the Stoppelsberg, the ruins of which can still be seen. It served to oversee and protect traffic on the ancient road, the Antsanvia, as well as protecting the villages in the Haune Valley.
In the Middle Ages the Würzburg Defences (Landwehr) were erected on the Hochrhön for the protection of its farmers.
In 1991 UNESCO declared the Rhön a Biosphere Reserve on account of its unique high-altitude ecosystem.
As a result of its geography and geology the Rhön is an area with higher-than-average number of different habitats and species. But man, too, has generated valuable secondary habitats by creating a rich cultural landscape.
Compared with other low mountain regions, the Rhön is particularly rich in plant varieties. Its natural vegetation would probably be dominated by beech woods with scattered groups of other trees, but today beech trees are very much in decline. A few of these ancient woods were identified as core elements of the Rhön biosphere reserve. The higher beech woods are a habitat for rare, sometimes isolated, species of plant such as the Alpine Blue-sow-thistle, Giant bellflower and Annual honesty. The vegetation of the lower-lying beech woods has a mix of mountain and other varieties. In addition to common wildflowers like the Martagon lily, Lily of the Valley, Wild Chervil and Wild Garlic, various orchids also flourish here including Cephalanthera orchids, the Yellow Coralroot, Bird's-nest Orchid, Lady's Slipper and Lady orchid.
Only small areas of the Rhön landscape are essentially open: the high-moor bogs, the rock outcrops and the stone runs. These habitats are home to highly-specialised species. The high-moor bogs of the Langen Rhön - the Red Moor (Rotes Moor) and the Black Moor (Schwarzes Moor) are floristically important important links between the northern and Alpine high moors. Here, for example, can be found sundews, crowberry and cottongrass. Growing amongst the rocks of the volcanic mountains are rare species such as Cheddar Pink, Sweet William Catchfly, Oblong Woodsia and Fir Clubmoss.
There are no naturally-occurring coniferous forests in the Rhön, but notable species of wild flower such as the Lady's Slipper Orchid, Creeping Lady's Tresses and Burning-bush are found in the forests of mixed pine.
The cultural landscape formed by mankind over the centuries also has a great variety of habitats and plants however, today, the extensive grassland areas are amongst the most threatened and heavily cultivated habitats. It is on the semi-arid grasslands and juniper heaths that the Silver Thistle, symbol of the Rhön region, grows, alongside gentians, Pasque Flowers and Wood Anemones, as well as orchids like the Early Purple, Fragrant and Fly Orchids. Rarer flowers include the various Bee orchids and the Military, Lady, Burnt, Green-winged, Man, Pyramidal, Frog and Lizard Orchids. Along the southern fringes of the Rhön, on the so-called slopes of steppe heathland (Steppenheidenhängen) grow warmth-loving plants such as White Rock-rose, Erect Clematis and Honewort.
Amongst the most valuable habitats in the Rhön are the mountain meadows and fields of mat grass (Nardetum strictae) on the higher slopes.[1] Characteristic plants here include the Monkshood, Northern Wolfsbane, Common Moonwort, Martagon Lily, Greater Butterfly Orchid, Perennial Cornflower and Wig Knapweed.
Bog-bean, Grass of Parnassus' Western Marsh Orchid and Lousewort are found in the wet meadows and low marshes; and the extremely rare Large Brown Clover, Hairy Stonecrop and Pyrenean scurvygrass in the springwater marshes of the Hohe Rhön.
The wildlife in the Rhön mountains is similar to that of other low mountain ranges, but there are also some unusual species. In addition to the more common mammals such as roe deer, fox, badger, hare and wild boar, there are also smaller mammals such as the dormouse, common water shrew and Miller's water shrew. One unusual regional species is the alpine shrew. Birds occurring here include the black grouse, the capercaillie, the black stork, the eagle owl, the corncrake, the red-backed shrike and the wryneck. There are also two species endemic to the Rhön: the rove beetle and a local snail, the Rhönquellschnecke (Bythinella compressa).
The Dachmarke Rhön project (Rhön umbrella brand project) is run by the Rhön working group and its aim is to promote a common identity for the Rhön region and to present a unified view of the area to the outside world and to harmonise the marketing measures of the three participating federal states.
These mountains are a popular tourist destination. Hikers come for the nearly 6,000 km (3,700 mi) of trails through the picturesque scenery, and gliding enthusiasts have been drawn to the area since the early Twentieth century. More recently, farm holidays have been flourishing in the region.
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Towns and larger villages within striking distance of the Rhön are:
There are well-marked walks and hiking trails in the Rhön which are looked after by the Rhön Hiking Club (the Rhönklub). Among the most impressive is the Rhön-Höhen-Weg ("Rhön Heights Walk" or RHW) which is marked with a horizontal, red teardrop. It is 137 km long and runs from Burgsinn in Main-Spessart district through Roßbach, Dreistelz, Würzburger Haus on the Farnsberg, Kissinger Hütte on the Feuerberg, Kreuzberg (monastery), Oberweißenbrunn, through the Red and Black Moors, over the Ellenbogen and the Emberg via Oberalba, past Baier to Stadtlengsfeld and on to its destination at Bad Salzungen on the Werra River.
Also highly recommended are:
In addition the following run through the Rhön:
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