Westerwald-Lahn-Taunus Geopark

Geopark Westerwald-Lahn-Taunus Logo

The National GeoPark Westerwald-Lahn-Taunus is a joint initiative of the districts of Altenkirchen , Lahn-Dill , Limburg-Weilburg , Westerwald and Marburg-Biedenkopf . The 3,846 km² area extends into the federal states of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate and lies entirely within the natural spatial unity of the German low mountain range threshold .

The Geopark is first and foremost a "Geopark of raw materials" and impresses with the diversity of the natural resources. From prehistoric times to the present day, the mining and processing of raw materials play an important role for the people of the region. Working with marble , stone and iron as well as clay is the basis for the prosperous economic and cultural development and, as it were, the common thread that runs through the entire Geopark.

The Westerwald-Lahn-Taunus Geopark has been certified as a " National GeoPark in Germany" since November 8, 2012 .

Stations

In the so-called geographic information centers, historical and geological information is presented, and paleontological and archaeological finds from the region are made accessible. There are a total of ten geographic information centers in the Westerwald-Lahn-Taunus Geopark:

There are also a number of geopoints that mark other interesting stations. This includes:

• The Alvensleben tunnel ,
• the basalt park in Bad Marienberg ,
• the mining village of Nanzenbach ,
• the mining and city museum Weilburg ,
• the ruins of the Freienfels castle in Weinbach ,
• the castle Runkel ,
• the Assberg roof slate pit in Limbach (Westerwald) ,
• the Devon-Platz Epgert ,
• the Hauberg open-air museum in Haiger-Offdilln ,
• the headframe of the Georg pit in the Flammersfeld community ,
• the Hadamar Glass Museum ,
• the world of bells Burg Greifenstein ,
• the Ypsilanta mine ,
• the Hausertorstollen Wetzlar ,
• the local history museum of the city of Asslar in the castle of Werdorf ,
• the Bad Marienberg home parlors ,
• the forest of huts in the Dermbach tunnel ,
• the Catholic Church of St. Peter and Paul Bad Camberg ,
• the Altenberg monastery in Solms-Oberbiel ,
• the medieval forge in Wissenbach ,
• the Roman Forum Lahnau-Waldgirmes ,
• the Josefsglück slate tunnel in Brachbach ,
• The castle Braunfels ,
• the Selterswassermuseum (see also: Selterswasser ) in Niederselters ,
• the stone-strong experience of Solms ,
• the pottery and hemp museum in Breitscheid ,
• the Villa Grün in Dillenburg .
• the Wilhelmsteine

There are also numerous geotopes and geo-routes.

geography

With Westerwald and Taunus, the Geopark is formed from two low mountain ranges of the Rhenish Slate Mountains with average altitudes of up to 656 m above sea level in German comparison ( Fuchskaute im Hohen Westerwald), with the highest elevation being an unnamed point of the Rothaargebirgshauptkamm in the area of ​​the Dietzhölztal community with 673 damn. The rivers Lahn and Sieg separating the two low mountain ranges as well as some tributaries such as Dill and Weil form river landscapes with valleys, some of which are deeply cut into the relief, which at the same time represent the main settlement axes with cities such as Wetzlar, Betzdorf, Dillenburg and Weilburg. Aside from the great valleys, there are some other main areas of settlement such as B. Montabaur, Westerburg, Rennerod and Hachenburg. A total of 820,480 inhabitants (2011) live in the Geopark.

Natural structure

The GEOPARK Westerwald-Lahn-Taunus lies entirely within the natural spatial unity of the German low mountain range threshold and in the Rhenish Slate Mountains comprises most of the Westerwald landscape , the Gladenbacher Bergland , the Lahn Valley with the Limburg Basin and parts of the Hintertaunus and Rothaar Mountains . In the extreme east, a small part of the natural spatial unit of the West Hessian mountainous region around Wetzlar is involved.

The main sub-units in the Westerwald are the landscapes of Kroppacher Schweiz , High Westerwald and the economic landscape of Kannenbäckerland . The Wildenburgische Land, north of the Sieg River, also belongs to the Geopark. The Gladenbacher Bergland along with the Schelderwald and Hörre as well as the Struth and parts of the Rothaargebirge (from the southeast slope of the Kalteiche to the Sackpfeife) are located in the Lahn-Dill-Bergland Nature Park . In the Taunus, the Geopark includes the Goldene Grund.

geology

National geotope: UNICA marble quarry Villmar

Today the 3,800 square kilometer area of ​​the GEOPARK Westerwald-Lahn-Taunus belongs to the right bank of the Rhine slate mountains. The Geopark itself is characterized by two large geological structures: the Lahn-Dill-Mulde and the Westerwald. The two geological building units have their very own geological development line and differ greatly in their landscape.

The Rhenish Slate Mountains consist of sedimentary rocks from the ancient times (Paleozoic). During the Devonian and Lower Carboniferous in particular, sediments were deposited in the shelf area of ​​an ocean then located in the region and formed a thick layer of deposits. Even today, numerous fossil sites in the Geopark testify to the diverse flora and fauna of the Devonian Sea at that time.

The sediments are interspersed with igneous rocks , the formation of which was linked to intense volcanic activity during the Devonian. These rocks of volcanic origin from ancient times are found particularly in the Lahn-Dill-Mulde. In contrast to the younger volcanic rocks of the Westerwald, the Paleozoic volcanic rocks were metamorphically overprinted in the course of the Variscan mountain formation . Keratophyre , Diabase and Diabastuffe belong to these rocks, which stand out due to their green color .

During the phase of the Devonian volcanism, the Roteisensteinlager also emerged , the mining of which has shaped the economic development of the region over many centuries. The ores were formed through chemical processes in the volcanic rocks , during which iron, calcium and silicon were released. As ore sludge, they were deposited in nests on the sea floor and formed the iron ore deposits.

During the Variscan mountain formation, which was caused by the collision of the major continents Gondwana and Laurussia and which began in the area of ​​the Geopark in the Carboniferous, the sediments deposited on the sea floor underwent a metamorphosis. They were unfolded and slated and slate and quartzite formed. The area of ​​the Geopark was raised as part of the mountain formation and has not been flooded by the sea since then.

During the Tertiary , tropical to subtropical climates prevailed in the area of ​​the Geopark. The region had a rich flora and fauna, as fossil finds show. The Stöffelmaus , a mouse-like small mammal with flight skins that lived 25 million years ago, became famous.

The warm and humid climate led to intensive chemical weathering processes in the limestone deposits of the Devonian reef limestone. Numerous karst phenomena formed such as the caves in Breitscheid and Kubach or the Kegelkarste in the Schneelsberg quarry.

National geotope: the basalt columns of the "Druidenstein" near Herkersdorf (Sieg)

As a result of tectonic floe movements, which began in the early Tertiary, fault zones formed in which igneous melts from the interior of the earth could rise to the surface. Intense volcanic activity was the result. The igneous rocks formed in this way today form the geological and landscape-defining structure of the Westerwald. Since these rocks - mostly basalt or basalt-like volcanic rocks - are usually harder than their surrounding rock, they were modeled out of the underground over the course of millions of years and today they form impressive geological forms.

The landscape that visitors to the Geopark can find today was created only recently according to geological time standards. During the Quaternary , cold and warm periods alternated. Even if the area of ​​the Geopark did not experience glaciation, the strong climatic fluctuations led to intensive weathering and erosion processes. The river systems in particular released extensive erosion forces that continue to this day. If the river's transport power weakens, the loose rock material is deposited elsewhere. The effects of the warm and cold periods on the fluvial erosion of the Lahn and Dill and their tributaries led to the formation of a series of river terraces in the Geopark, which are still visible today. The floodplains only emerged after the last ice age.

Web links

Commons : Geopark Westerwald-Lahn-Taunus  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Westerwald-Lahn-Taunus Geopark
• Geopark Westerwald-Lahn-Taunus VR tours

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.geopark-wlt.de