Herbstein rock tour
The Herbstein Felsentour is a circular hiking trail in Herbstein in the Hoher Vogelsberg Nature Park , in Hesse . It is part of the Vogelsberg extra tours and is certified as a hiking trail with a quality rating . It bears the seal of approval "Quality Trail Wanderable Germany" from the German Hiking Association .
Hike start
Entry options for car drivers are the parking spaces at the VulkanTherme Herbstein and at the Kolping holiday village in Herbstein. The thermal bath Herbstein stop and the bus stop in Lanzenhain in the center of the village are suitable for users of public transport. Both stops are served on weekends and on public holidays from May 1st to the end of October by the Vulkan-Express, a bicycle and hiking bus operated by the Oberhessen transport company. The rest of the time, the connection takes place via the 391 / VB 45 bus (Lauterbach-Gedern).
Hiking route
Depending on the walking distance, you can walk the circular route in three ways. As a large lap of 19 km, a medium lap of 12.8 km or a small lap of 7.6 km. The small round begins and ends in Lanzenhain. For the middle round you start from Herbstein.
description
Boulders of all sizes are the main theme of this tour: Lava solidified to basalt as evidence of volcanism in the Vogelsberg . Many natural paths and dirt roads are features of this route, which is characterized by gentle ascents and descents. The circular hiking trail gives impressions of the nature park landscape: alternating forest and meadow sections, passages through mixed beech forests and sections along rock formations. At the Kolping holiday village, the path leads along 200-year-old boundary stones and past (according to own information) Germany's 1st Bible Park. Crossing a lively meadow stream (after the snow has melted), the Eichhölzch water in the Aspertzer Grund, is an experience. In the summer this brook mostly fell dry.
Sights along the way
The Schalksbach ponds
The ponds are located in the area of today's municipality Lautertal (Vogelsberg) and were created in the 18th century by the noble family of the Riedesel for fish farming purposes. Today they are owned by the Graf Westerholt family. The area of the Schalksbachteiche is a biotope worth protecting : It is located in a nature reserve and bird sanctuary and is also an FFH ( Fauna-Flora-Habitat ) area. The " pipe grass " to be found here is particularly worthy of protection - a water and marsh plant society of outstanding importance nationwide.
The peculiarity of this pond landscape ("lake without depth") lies in its biodiversity, which is promoted by the intensive exchange of nutrients that takes place here . In addition, migratory birds like to rest here, for example ospreys .
The Kreuzkapelle
In a forest clearing, right on the path of the Felsentour, not far from the Herbstein VulkanTherme is the Kreuzkapelle, built in 1853/54 in a mixture of the English Tudor and Swiss house style. Since 1938 there has been a figure of St. Boniface in a niche at the top of the gable . A structural feature of the chapel are the visible oak beams and the blood-red setting of the niches. Every year, on the Sunday after the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (14.9.), There is a procession to the Chapel of the Cross. Behind the small church there is a fenced-in private cemetery of the counts Ballestrem and Westerholt families.
The geotope "Felsenruhe"
This natural monument near the Kolping holiday village Herbstein is a striking, up to 8 m high cliff made of alkali basalt . A sea of blocks has accumulated at the foot of the southern slope. The cliff has a length of approx. 300 m. The hiking trail of the rock tour runs parallel to the cliff with its steep, wide gaps and gives an impression of the massive shape of this striking geotope. 50 ° 34 ′ 15 "N, 9 ° 19 ′ 51" E
The "Burgfrieden" geotope near Lanzenhain
The route of the Herbstein rock tour leads serpentine-like through this extensive basalt block sea, located in a mixed beech forest , which is located between the YMCA holiday village and the district of Lanzenhain. 50 ° 32 ′ 33 "N, 9 ° 18 ′ 46" E
The "Diebstein" geotope near Lanzenhain
This 577 m high, wooded, impressive rock formation northwest of Lanzenhain marks the highest point of the circular hiking trail Felsentour. This outcrop can also be easily reached via a 1 km slightly ascending dirt road from Lanzenhain. It got its name because hunting and wood thieves were handed over to the jurisdiction of the Riedesel here in earlier centuries . The Diebstein geotope was proposed as a natural monument . The rock formation, which is up to 20 m high, consists of alkali basalt . The striking fissure divides the rock into rough pillars and cuboids. Physical weathering processes have created a large block of rock at the foot of the rock . The color of the basalt rock is dark gray. As phenocrysts dark green are Olivine with the naked eye detectable. 50 ° 32 ′ 33 "N, 9 ° 18 ′ 46" E
Refreshments
You can stop off in the bistro of the VulkanTherme Herbstein - here the spa park terrace is also open when the weather is nice. In addition, you can be catered for in the Kolping Holiday Village Herbstein - but a reservation is required here. To make a stop at the VulkanTherme, the tour can also be started in Lanzenhain.
swell
- Family History Working Group Herbstein (Ed.): Stadtbuch Herbstein, Herbstein 2012
- Hess. State Office for Geology (Ed.): The Vogelsberg geotope in the largest volcanic area in Central Europe, Wiesbaden 2009