Siebengebirge

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Siebengebirge

Siebengebirge, 1900
Highest point
Peak Großer Ölberg
Elevation 460 m (1,510 ft)
Coordinates 50°40′46″N 07°14′54″E / 50.67944°N 7.24833°E / 50.67944; 7.24833Coordinates: 50°40′46″N 07°14′54″E / 50.67944°N 7.24833°E / 50.67944; 7.24833
Geography
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Area map of the Siebengebirge hills
Country Germany
Geology
Orogeny Volcanic
Period Oligocene
The castle Schloss Drachenburg is one of the landmarks of the Siebengebirge

The Siebengebirge (lit. "seven hills" in German) is a German upland range to the East of the Rhine, southeast of Bonn, consisting of more than 40 hills. It is located in the municipalities of Bad Honnef and Königswinter. It is of volcanic origin and came into being between 28 and 15 million years ago. Much of the territory covered by the Siebengebirge belongs to the Naturpark Siebengebirge, which is under environmental protection.

The highest peak is the Ölberg at 460 metres. It is a popular tourist destination for hiking, because of its natural beauty.

Hills

The seven most important hills:

  • Großer Ölberg (460 m)
  • Löwenburg (455 m)
  • Lohrberg (435 m)
  • Nonnenstromberg (335m)
  • Petersberg (331 m, Former name: Stromberg)
  • Wolkenburg (324 m)
  • Drachenfels (321 m)

Other hills:

  • Himmerich (366 m)
  • Trenkeberg (430 m)
  • Weilberg (297 m)
  • Stenzelberg (287 m)
  • Broderkonsberg (378 m)
  • Mittelberg (353 m)
  • Leyberg (359 m)
  • Jungfernhardt (320 m)
  • Geisberg (324 m)
  • Schallenberg (310 m)
  • Großer Breiberg (313 m)
  • Kleiner Breiberg (288 m)
  • Wasserfall (338 m)
  • Kleiner Ölberg (332 m)
  • Limperichsberg
  • Scharfenberg
  • Zickelburg (182 m)

Origin of the name

The origin of the name Siebengebirge is disputed. Four theories exist:

  1. The word sieben is derived from the word siefen, which denotes the wet valley of a stream.
  2. The oldest name (Moller, 1590) was not Siebengebirge, but Sieben Berge (septem montes, seven hills). Depending on the viewpoint near the river Rhine, one notices almost exactly seven hills, which are not always the same and not even the highest. Also, the number seven used to denote an arbitrary amount of items, was connected to magic and thus had a highly symbolic meaning. This makes it an obvious name for an area that was said to be sinister and impenetrable before the 19th century.
  3. The name Siebengebirge emerged from the word Siedengebirge which indicated the presence of soap boilers ("Seifensieder"), who were banned from the valleys because boiling soap smelled so bad.
  4. The most common, yet wrong interpretation is that the word specifies the seven major hills.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Siebengebirge.
Central Uplands of Germany
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