Höllental (Franconian Forest)

Location of the Hell Valley in the Hof district

The Höllental (until 1900 Höllenthal ) in the Franconian Forest is the section of the Selbitz river valley between Hölle and Blechschmidtenhammer in the Hof district . It is under nature protection . A pedestrian bridge over the valley, the Frankenwald Bridge, has been planned since the mid-2010s . It should become the longest bridge of its kind.

geography

Höllental power plant with fountain; the pipeline to the water tower can be seen above the Selbitz

The narrow valley is traversed by the Selbitz, which after the end of the Höllental forms the border between Bavaria and Thuringia . From the end of the Second World War until the reunification in 1989, the border was not passable there. Geographically, the Höllental belongs to the communities of Lichtenberg , Issigau and Naila in the Hof district in Bavaria . Höllentalstraße, a private road that is closed to traffic, runs along the western bank of the Selbitz. However, it can be used as a cycling and hiking trail. The Frankenweg , a long-distance hiking trail, leads through the Höllental and meets the Rennsteig at the end of the valley near Blankenstein . The Röhrensteig runs east of the Selbitz on the mountain slope on the pipeline, the water supply of a power plant. The plant at the northern end of the Höllental generates electricity with the water from the Selbitz, which is dammed up with a weir at the valley entrance in the south.

geology

Noteworthy are an outcrop of fossil pillow lava on one of the steep slopes of the valley and the diabase rock.

Geotope

The valley is designated as geotope 475R004 by the Bavarian State Office for the Environment . See also the list of geotopes in the district of Hof .

Mineral water springs

Mineral water from the Höllental is marketed

There are several Sauerbrunnen near the village of Hölle at the entrance to the Höllental . Your water is called Höllensprudel by the Höllensprudel fountain management of the Kohlensäurewerk Hölle Dr. Fritz Wiede GmbH & Co. markets. Until 1907 only the carbonic acid of the springs was given to breweries. Then began the sale of mineral water for end users. In 1928, lemonade , then called Brause , was produced for the first time . The production of beverages was expanded considerably. Even before the Second World War , 400,000 beverage bottles were filled annually. As a result of the division of Germany , 80% of the sales market for Höllensprudel was lost. In spite of this, production could be increased to 20 million bottles by 1988. The reunification allowed to double sales over: There were dispensed over 50 million bottles. Deit soft drinks are also made with hell fizz. Höllensprudel is mainly sold in Northern Bavaria , Saxony and Thuringia as well as in some urban centers . The company has now stopped producing carbon dioxide.

railroad

The Marxgrün-Blankenstein railway , known as the Höllentalbahn, used to run through the Höllental . A reactivation of the route is planned.

The Höllenthal stop on the Hof – Bad Steben railway line is named after the valley. The old spelling of the valley name has been preserved in the name.

Attractions

Nature park information center in Lichtenberg train station (Ofr)

View over the Höllental from the Hirschsprung

Weir at the beginning of the Röhrensteig for the power plant
Teufelssteg (new building after being destroyed by a fallen tree)
Pulpit tunnel
Railway bridge at the power station
Kesselfelstunnel
Power plant with water tower at the end of the Röhrensteig, water fountain and operational building in Swiss style
Jungfernsteg
Hirschsprung crag , situated high above the valley with a wooden deer; According to legend, deer cornered several times tried to save themselves by jumping into the valley;
King David viewpoint , high above the valley, near the Hirschsprung;
Selbitzmühle at the valley exit
Information center of the Franconian Forest Nature Park in Lichtenberg (Ofr) train station at the exit of the valley
Show mine Friedrich-Wilhelm-Stollen at the valley exit

Frankenwaldbrücken project

The "Frankenwaldbrücken" project comprises two pedestrian bridges: The actual one

"Frankenwaldbrücke" or " Höllentalbrücke ", which spans the Höllental at the level of the power station and the second
"Lohbachtalbrücke", which connects the first bridge to the Höllentalstadt Lichtenberg .

The project idea was developed around 2015, the plans for implementation are ongoing.

Trivia

The Triptis – Marxgrün line was regularly used by Adolf Hitler's special train from Berlin to Berchtesgaden. During the day, the train was parked in the Kesselberg tunnel in Höllental in a bombproof manner, for safety reasons it was only driven at night.