Bärental (Upper Franconia)

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Bear Valley
location Weismain , Lichtenfels District , Upper Franconia , Bavaria , Germany
Waters Krassach
Mountains Weismain-Alb , Northern Franconian Alb
Geographical location 50 ° 3 '36 "  N , 11 ° 15' 22"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 3 '36 "  N , 11 ° 15' 22"  E
Bärental (Bavaria)
Bear Valley
Type Kerbtal
rock Malm α - δ
height 340 to  465  m above sea level NN
length 3.7 km
climate Cool, moderately damp
flora Coniferous and mixed forests as well as open pastures
use Agricultural, forestry and tourist use
particularities Two completely preserved mills

The Bärental is a small, about 3.7 km long left side valley of the Weismain valley funnel in the Weismain Alb . It belongs entirely to the city of Weismain in the Lichtenfels district in Bavaria . The valley lies in the northernmost part of the Franconian Alb and is traversed by the Krassach . 16 people live in the valley, including the town of Krassach , 66 people (as of January 1, 2012). The three inhabited settlements are Herbstmühle , Krassacher Mühle and Krassach. The valley is particularly popular with hikers and lies entirely in the Franconian Switzerland-Veldenstein Forest Nature Park .

Geography and description

The Bärental begins in the Franconian Alb , about two kilometers northeast of Seubersdorf at an altitude of about 465 m above sea level. NN First the valley runs west and turns north just before Wunkendorf . Are located at the bend in the valley, the two natural landmarks Jura tower ( 50 ° 3 '7.1 "  N , 11 ° 15' 35.6"  O ) and Geierstein two distinctly salient rock needles with a height of 25 meters. Other large rock faces in the valley are the Bärentalwächter, the Felsentor, the Wunkendorfer Eck and the Krassacher Wand. Not far from the Jura Tower is the only larger cave in the valley, the Bärenloch. It is a karst horizontal cave that is freely accessible and about 12 meters long, 4 meters wide and 3–4 meters high. Bones from cave bears were found in the somewhat smaller fox cave . The Krassach rises about 300 meters north of the two rock needles. The autumn mill is another 300 meters north .

From the Krassacher Mühle, the valley expands significantly, so that, according to the narrower definition, the Bärental ends here after about 3 kilometers. The next village is Krassach . To the north of Krassach, the valley widens even more and becomes a kind of plain. From the east, north of Krassach, the Zillertal, in which the village of Niesten is located, also meets the valley. The Bärental ends there at the latest. In the further course one speaks of the "Weismain valley funnel", into which the Kleinziegenfelder valley also flows.

geology

At the beginning of the Bärental, the Kerbtal cuts into the upper marl limestone layers of the Malm-δ . In the further course the work limestone of the Malm-β- to -α-strata penetrates, from which the Krassach rises. This is followed by lower marl limestones of the same Malm layers, which, however, are largely covered by rubble and sedimentary rock in the valley floor . Behind the Krass Acher mill comes Doggerschicht forth.

The Bärental von Wunkendorf has been designated as a valuable geotope by the Bavarian State Office for the Environment (Geotope number: 478R019).

Flora and fauna

flora

The Bärental can be divided into two different natural spaces. The front part, starting at the Krassacher Mühle, is characterized by open meadows in the valley floor and mixed and deciduous forests on the valley edges. At the Krassach, the bank is mainly lined with alders and willows. From the autumn mill, the open areas disappear and the valley shows a continuous forest. First of all, a planted spruce forest begins, which, however, grows in the vicinity of the stream in a different location and therefore displaces numerous other species. At the calcareous Krassach spring there are increasingly narrow brook ash forests , where dense populations of opposed-leaved milkweed grow in spring . The narrow wooded fringes of alder, ash and willow on the river banks are the remnants of the former alluvial forests , which were completely cleared down to small remnants by human land use in the Middle Ages. Deciduous and mixed forests alternate again up to the end of the valley.

A specialty is the whitebeam variety Ades whitebeam ( Sorbus adeana ). It is a local demit in Bärental, which, like the Kordigast whitebeam, was discovered in the 1990s by the biologist Norbert Meyer, who specializes in whitebeams, and by him after the botanist Alfred Ade was named. Ade worked in the Weismainer area at the beginning of the 20th century and was the first to describe the local flora in detail. Except in Bärental, Ades whitebeam only grows in the Kleinziegenfelder Tal .

fauna

The fauna in Bärental does not differ significantly from that in other parts of the forest in Upper Franconia. So there are insects and vertebrates on small mammals up to singing birds, birds of prey and larger mammals such as red and black game numerous ways. The larger birds of prey include eagle owls in the valley. At the pinnacle Jura tower is a yearly inhabited Horst , which is clearly visible from the trail through the valley.

Settlement, Population and Infrastructure

The sloping wall in Bärental (2012)

In the Bärental are the Herbstmühle and the Krassacher Mühle, which together have 16 residents (as of January 1, 2012). If you include the town of Krassach, there are another 50 residents. Since the Krassacher mill was built in 1286 at the latest, a permanent settlement of the valley can be assumed since then. The autumn mill was built at the end of the 18th century at the latest. The oldest traces of human settlement in the valley were found under the rock overhang of the sloping wall . They could be dated to an age of 8000 years and come from the Mesolithic .

A single-lane paved road branches off the LIF 24 district road from Weismain in the direction of Neudorf and leads through Krassach to the Krassacher Mühle. A well-developed gravel forest path begins behind the mill and leads to the Herbstmühle. From there a paved dirt road leads to Wunkendorf and another to the end of the valley. For the safety of climbers in Bärental and in the neighboring Kleinziegenfelder Valley, there is a station and accommodation for the Kulmbach mountain rescue section in an outbuilding of the mill .

Culture, customs and tourism

At the southern end of the Bärental there is a large clearing where a big festival is held every year on May 1st. There is a large crucifix there and a statue of the Madonna is set in a rock grotto . The Bärental is visited by numerous hikers in spring, summer and autumn because of its quiet location and largely untouched nature. The climbing rocks in the valley enjoy national fame in climbing circles. The mountain rescue section at the Herbstmühle holds the Juraturm festival every year on October 3rd.

literature

  • Jutta Böhm: Mill bike tour. Routes: Kleinziegenfelder Tal and Bärental , Weismain environmental station in the Lichtenfels district, Weismain / Lichtenfels (Lichtenfels district), 2000, 52 pages (numerous illustrations, canton)
  • Alois Dechant, Gerhard W. Peetz: hiking guide Weismain. Marie Link Verlag, Kronach, 2010
  • Johann B. Johannes: The small goat fields and bear valley in the northern Franconian Alb (Weismain Alb) , Munich 1937, sheets for nature conservation, Bavaria, 56 pages, 20th year, issue 1

Web links

Commons : Bärental (Upper Franconia)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Distribution of residents in the city of Weismain on January 1, 2012 ( memento from January 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), stadt-weismain.de, accessed on December 30, 2012
  2. a b c d e f g Topographic map of Bavaria - Bärental near Weismain , geoportal.bayern.de, accessed on December 30, 2012
  3. a b c d e f g h i Baerental NE von Wunkendorf (PDF; 173 kB), lfu.bayern.de, accessed on December 30, 2012
  4. a b Großer Juraturm - Bamberg areas  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , dav-felsinfo.de, accessed on December 30, 2012@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.dav-felsinfo.de  
  5. Frankenjura - Bärental In: Steinschlag No. 1, 2000, p. 7 (PDF; 628 kB)
  6. a b c d e f Dechant (2010), pp. 22-23.
  7. a b c d e f Geological map of Bavaria 1: 25,000, Kartenblatt 5933 Weismain
  8. Bavarian State Office for the Environment, Geotope Bavarian State Office for the Environment, Bärental NE von Wunkendorf (accessed on October 14, 2017).
  9. a b c Böhm (2000), p. 11.
  10. a b c Böhm (2000), p. 47.
  11. a b c List of plants of global or nationwide importance in the Upper Franconia administrative district , regierung.oberfranken.bayern.de, accessed on December 30, 2012
  12. a b Occurrence of Sorbus species in the Weismain Alb south of the Kordigast ( Memento of the original from July 27, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 12 kB), obg.uni-bayreuth.de, accessed on December 30, 2012  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.obg.uni-bayreuth.de
  13. Erich Walter: Mountain and Village - Kordigast and Burkheim . Government of Upper Franconia, Bayreuth, 1999, pp. 32–42.
  14. Böhm (2000), pp. 40-41.
  15. Böhm (2000), pp. 45-46.
  16. Finds from the Abri Scheile Wand ( Memento of the original from June 12, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , uf.uni-erlangen.de, accessed on December 30, 2012  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.uf.uni-erlangen.de
  17. ^ Wunkendorf ( memento from January 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), stadt-weismain.de, accessed on December 30, 2012