Höhenweg

Meraner Höhenweg, left the Passeier Valley

Schanfigger Höhenweg at Tritt above Medergen , Arosa Dolomites

High trails are driving or hiking trails that run on a mountain ridge (ridge trails) or parallel to it and therefore relatively flat.

Before the construction of the Kunststraßen in the 18th century, Höhenwege (often called Hohe Straße or similar) served as part of old roads for regional and national traffic. Their origins can often be traced back to Germanic or Celtic times. The high-altitude trails had the advantage that they were drier than trails in the valley and that no streams or rivers had to be crossed. These advantages became less and less important due to the progress in road and path construction , so that the high-altitude paths in the low mountain ranges quickly lost their importance.

Since the 19th century, high- altitude trails in the high mountains have often been laid out by alpine associations and usually represent the fastest connection between shelters , as they largely avoid greater loss of altitude.

Today's hiking trails near the valley also go back to old routes: in many valleys - where there were no old roads or mule tracks as long-distance traffic routes - level high-altitude trails were laid out on the slopes, from which steep branch paths ran in serpentines to the next settlements. On the one hand, the route on the valley floor was avoided, which was usually much more complex and maintenance-intensive in terms of route construction, and, on the other hand, goods could be transported a good part of the way by wagon, only the branch routes had to be mastered on foot or with pack animals.

Well-known high-altitude trails

Examples of historical high-altitude trails in Germany are the Rennsteig in the Thuringian Forest or the Rheinhöhenweg between Bonn and Wiesbaden. These paths were created to avoid obstacles in the valley, such as swampy passages.

Further, mainly tourist high-altitude trails: