Dommelberg
| Dommelberg | ||
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 The Dommelberg (left), seen from the Schwerinerhütte in the Koblenz city forest, with the Rhine and the city of Koblenz |
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| height | 225 m | |
| location | Rhineland-Palatinate , Germany | |
| Mountains | Hunsrück | |
| Coordinates | 50 ° 18 ′ 0 ″ N , 7 ° 35 ′ 0 ″ E | |
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| rock | Slate and sandstone | |
| Age of the rock | 350 million years | |
The Dommelberg is a hill on the Kühkopf (mountain) in the Koblenz city forest on the periphery of the Hunsrück . With its two knolls (north knoll 225 m, south knoll 218 m) it is the oldest settlement core of the area, archaeological site, hiking area and lookout point.
history
The Dommelberg was a fortified prehistoric hilltop settlement from the urn field culture to the Iron Age . Their structure can still be clearly seen. There were three ramparts around the north knoll and one around the south knoll. During the excavations around 1900 and in 1936/37, the archaeologists identified two phases of expansion of the fortification, which suggest two different colonization phases:
From the first phase around the 11th to 10th century BC, the outer earth wall on the north side with a ditch in front and the only wall on the south crest. The two inner walls in the north (one in the summit area and one approx. 20 m lower) go back to the late Hallstatt period or early La Tène period (approx. 6th - 5th century BC). The older walls were additionally reinforced with stone walls and posts . A gate system was determined in the wall at the south summit based on the postings.
It is not clearly established whether the function of the complex was originally a refuge , a meeting place or a religious place of worship; At least in the late phase, archaeologists now assume permanent settlement. The fortification was only on the Hunsrück side; on the Rhine it was not necessary as a natural barrier due to the steep rock faces.
The facilities were destroyed in prehistoric times. A restoration by the Romans , who settled in the area of today's Koblenz city forest, farmed and mined iron ore in late antiquity, is not documented. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, all traces of settlement are lost. It is also not clear since when the Dommelberg has been forested; Sources of the 16th century speak for the first time of a forest in the former settlement area.
With the development of the city forest as a recreational area for the Koblenz citizens in the 19th century, the hiking trails on the Dommelberg were also laid out. Systematic documentation of the geological and archaeological aspects has existed since 1992.
Geography and landscape
The Dommelberg is forested throughout. Beech trees predominate, in the summit area also interspersed with oak, robinia and linden.
The east side drops almost 150 m steeply towards the Rhine in a rugged slate rock face . The formation is comparable to that at the Rittersturz (vantage point) and was also formed about 350 million years ago in the Emsium , a stage of the Lower Devonian (formerly called Koblenz stage ).
A viewing platform with benches and a refuge opens the view to the north up the Rhine with the city of Koblenz on the left bank of the Rhine and the districts of Koblenz-Horchheim , Koblenz-Pfaffendorf and the Ehrenbreitstein fortress on the right bank of the Rhine to Vallendar and the heights of the Westerwald .
The Königsbach rises to the west of the Dommelberg .
Infrastructure
Two educational trails established by the city of Koblenz in 1992 converge on Dommelberg, the geological and regional study trail and the archaeological trail . Station 9 of the geological and regional study trail at the vantage point explains the terrace formation in the Upper Middle Rhine Valley , which is clearly visible here.
The archaeological explanations are conveyed by a plaque in front of the outer - older - wall on the north side.
literature
Hans Bellinghausen: 2000 years Koblenz. Harald Boldt-Verlag, Boppard 1971, pp. 36-38
Michael Koelges: The cultural and historical past: a lot of ups and downs in the history of the Koblenz city forest. In: Our city forest. ed. from the city of Koblenz, Office for Real Estate and Forests. Koblenz, 1993, pp. 47-55.