Botrange
| Botrange | ||
|---|---|---|
 Baltia Hills on the Botrange |
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| height | 694.24 m OP | |
| location | near Weismes ; Liege Province , Wallonia ( Belgium ) | |
| Mountains | High Fens | |
| Coordinates | 50 ° 30 '6 " N , 6 ° 5' 33" E | |
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| particularities | highest point in Belgium | |
The Botrange ([ botˈʁɑ̃ʒ ], also the name in the 19th century in the German Empire) in the municipality of Weismes in the eastern Belgian province of Liège is the highest point in Belgium with 694.24 m OP and is located in the High Fens .
The Baltia Hill heaped up on the Botrange (named after the Belgian Lieutenant General and Governor General for the Eastern Cantons, Baron Herman Baltia ) was created to bring Belgium's highest point to 700 m .
Surname
In 670 the place was mentioned in a document of King Childerich II as Sicco Campo ("dry field"). The name Botrange , formerly also Bodringen or Baldringen , points back to the past. Germanic “ soon ”, old French “ builds ” means “brave” and “bold”. Baldringen was therefore the seat of Baldur, the brave and bold.
Geographical location
The Botrange lies within the High Fens in the High Fens-Eifel Nature Park . It is located between Sourbrodt , a district of the municipality Weismes , in the south-southeast, and the core of the municipality Jalhay , in the northwest. The villages are connected by roads leading over the elevation.
history
From 1815 to 1920 the border with Belgium was further north at Baraque Michel . At that time the Botrange belonged to Prussia and the Rhine Province . On Prussian maps their height is given as 692 m , 2 m less than Belgian heights. This results from the fact that the Prussians derived their height information from the Amsterdam level , while Belgium derived it from a level near Ostend .
When the Belgians took over the area, the Belgian government had this area re-measured (according to Belgian standards and height network information). With the help of this measured "stone hill" as a reference point, the land was then measured using its coordinates and an exact height of 700 m OP .
During the Prussian period, Baraque Michel was the highest point in Belgium.
Towers and transmitter botrange
The top of the tower built in 1933/34 by François Fagnoul from Ovifat on the Botrange was crowned by a steel weather vane with the omitted name SICCO CAMPO - in the dry place - until the Second World War (1939–1945) . In the meantime, the top of the tower serves as a radio contact transmission system and has a real height of 718 m .
In November 2013, it was agreed to build a new, 50 m high tower with parabolic antennas on the Botrange in order to improve the data exchange ( real-time rate ) with directional radio between the stock exchanges in London and Frankfurt am Main , since data transmission via communications satellite or fiber optic cables is a little Delay brings with it what bothers in stock exchange trading. The data transfer takes place in real time via the Botrange intermediate station, which was set up directly next to the existing tower.
Worth seeing
About one kilometer south below the Botrange is the Botrange Nature Park Center with changing exhibitions on regional and nature topics as well as a permanent exhibition. Baraque Michel (hostel; approx. 674 m ) with the Fischbach chapel about 100 meters to the south is located just under 3 km to the northwest .
Individual evidence
- ↑ cf. Discussion at BRF : Hohes Venn-Eifel Nature Park facing new challenges , June 14, 2016, “Over the Top” stops at Botrange , December 18, 2016.
- ↑ Brockhaus Konversations-Lexikon, Edition 14, Volume 9, Leipzig / Berlin / Vienna 1894, p. 279, entry Hohes Venn. "Its highest point is the botrange of 695 m absolute, but low relative height."
- ^ Map of the German Empire, 455. Eupen. , from 1897, on wikipedia.org
- ↑ Belgischer Rundfunk News: New tower for the Botrange (accessed on December 30, 2013)
- ↑ Botrange Nature Park Center , on centrenaturebotrange.be