Haardt (Palatinate Forest)

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Haardt
The Haardt (lightened) as the eastern edge of the Palatinate Forest

The Haardt (lightened) as the eastern edge of the Palatinate Forest

Highest peak Kalmit ( 673  m above sea  level )
location Rhineland-Palatinate
Eastern edge of the Palatinate Forest
Coordinates 49 ° 8 '  N , 7 ° 48'  E Coordinates: 49 ° 8 '  N , 7 ° 48'  E
Type Fracture stage; Part of the western edge of the Upper Rhine Rift
rock Buntsandstein and Zechstein rock units
Age of the rock Buntsandstein 251–243 million years,
Zechstein 256–251 million years
surface about 100 km²
particularities Highest elevations in the Palatinate Forest; numerous castles and castle ruins; Mountain forests used to be used intensively for farming; Dominance of undemanding softwoods (mainly pines); closed stands of sweet chestnuts
f1
p5

The Haardt is about 30 km long, 2 to 5 km wider and up to 673  m above sea level. NHN high upland train on the eastern edge of Palatine forest ( Rheinland-Pfalz ).

Geoscientifically, it is managed as a landscape in Rhineland-Palatinate and marks the steep drop in the Palatinate-Saarland layered stepland against the broad valley of the Upper Rhine Rift . In the natural spatial structure concept of the low mountain range, it forms one of four sub-units of the Middle Palatinate Forest .

Surname

The name Haardt comes from the Old High German hart and actually means mountain forest or wooded slope , although this designation mainly refers to forests used by farmers . In the German-speaking world, the term is used in various linguistic variants with d, t or th at the end or with one or two a. It often appears in forest names such as Hardtwald near Karlsruhe and in place names such as Haardt an der Weinstrasse , the wine village above Neustadt, or Harthausen near Speyer . Using the example of Harz or the lemma of this article, it becomes clear that the naming of entire low mountain ranges or their parts can be traced back to this word root.

The names Ober- , Mittel- and Unterhaardt for the sections of the Palatinate wine-growing region on the German Wine Route are also derived from the Haardt . However, similar to the name Haardtrand for the same region, they are no longer common today.

The names Haardtgebirge, derived from the Haardt around 1960 for the entire Palatinate Forest and Neustädter Gebirgsrand for the Haardt itself, as used in the handbook of the natural spatial structure of Germany and the successor sheet Landau , did not gain acceptance .

Geography and geology

Fault line to the Rheingraben

The Haardt south of Neustadt / W .; from left to right: Kalmit (673 m), Taubenkopf (604 m), Hambacher Schloss, Hohe Loog (619 m)

The Haardt forms the eastern edge of the Palatinate Forest and extends from the Teufelsstein north of Bad Dürkheim to the Orensberg above Albersweiler in the Queichtal (see also the map in the info box). Morpho- and geologically it is a section of the western fault of the Upper Rhine Graben (Upper Rhine Plain), an old expansion zone of the earth's crust. Towards this elongated plain, east of the Haardt, the vineyard landscape of the Weinstrasse joins as a narrow, hilly strip , in which the German Wine Route runs.

In the west, the mountain range is delimited from the inner Palatinate Forest by the Lambrecht Fault. This fault line , named after the city of Lambrecht , runs parallel to the edge of the ditch at a distance of about 2 to 5 km and has led to the displacement of various rock layers by 80 to 100 meters. Therefore, in the Haardt z. B. the formations of the lower or middle red sandstone can be found at a correspondingly lower height than further to the west.

Striking mountains

The Kalmit , the highest elevation in the Palatinate Forest and thus also the Haardt

The Haardt mountains include - sorted by height in meters (m) above sea ​​level (NHN):
(after the dash, the location in southern (south of the Speyerbach ) and northern (between Speyerbach and Isenach ) Haardt as well as in northern Haardtsporn (north the Isenach); mountains in the west adjoining landscapes in lower case)

  • Kalmit (672.6 m) - southern part, district of southern wine route; highest elevation among other things of the Palatinate Forest; with Kalmit and Felsenmeer transmitters on the Hüttenberg (Kalmit's southwestern foothills)
    • Taubenkopf (603.8 m) - northeast summit, town of Neustadt an der Weinstrasse
  • Kesselberg (661.8 m) - west of the southern part, district of Südliche Weinstrasse
  • Roßberg (637 m) - west of the southern part, district of Südliche Weinstrasse
  • Hochberg (636 m) - southern section, southern wine route district
  • Hohe Loog (619 m) - southern part, town of Neustadt an der Weinstrasse
  • Blättersberg (617.5 m) - southern part, district of southern wine route; with Rietburg and Ludwigsturm observation tower
  • Schafkopf (617 m) - west of the southern part, district of Südliche Weinstrasse
  • Teufelsberg (597.6 m) - southern section, southern wine route district; with Anna chapel and summit cross, bishop's cross
  • Orensberg (581 m) - west of the southern part, district of Südliche Weinstrasse; with a ring wall and rock plateau Orensfelsen
  • Weinbiet (554 m) - northern part, town of Neustadt an der Weinstrasse; with the ring wall of the Heidenburg , observation tower Weinbietturm and transmitter Weinbiet
  • Vorderer Langenberg (545 m) - northern part, Bad Dürkheim district
    • Eckkopf (516 m) - east summit, Bad Dürkheim district; with an observation tower
  • Stabenberg (496 m) - northern part, town of Neustadt an der Weinstrasse; with an observation tower
  • Peterskopf (487 m) - Leininger Sporn west of the northern Sporn, Bad Dürkheim district; with observation tower Bismarck tower
  • Weilerskopf (470 m) - Leininger Sporn west of the northern Sporn, Bad Dürkheim district; with sandstone monolith prayer rock and telecommunications tower Weilerskopf
  • Teufelsstein (317 m) - northern spur, Bad Dürkheim district; with legendary boulder Teufelsstein

Elevation profile

Bismarck tower on the Peterskopf

If you order the main mountains orographically from north to south, you get the following height profile (indented each of the dividing rivers; on the left in lowercase before a slash for each immediately adjacent mountains to the west, provided that they are higher):

flora

As the etymological analysis of the name “Haardt” suggests (see section Name) , the forest is the dominant landscape element in this part of the Palatinate Forest.

Forest history

Before human intervention, the Haardt had been around since the 3rd millennium BC. Covered mainly by oaks , beeches and some autochthonous pine stands , to which the sweet chestnut was added with the advance of the Romans in the 1st century AD , which found good growth conditions especially in the climatically favored lower regions of today's Palatinate Forest.

Since the Middle Ages, especially since the Salier and Staufer epochs , extensive colonization and development measures have taken place in the low mountain range, so that a diverse agricultural use of the mountain forest has subsequently become possible. This was particularly true of the Haardt forests, which were easily accessible from the wine-growing region to the east, which was already relatively densely populated at that time. Initially, the focus was merely on collecting wood and berries, as well as hunting, but later increasing population pressure and the emergence of large-scale industries (e.g. paper mills , iron and glass works ) made it necessary to use the forest more and more systematically as a source of fuel and building materials to exploit. The Haardt was also of particular importance for viticulture , as z. B. for the planting of vineyards wooden poles were mainly taken from chestnut forests (" Kammertbau "); needles and leaves that were crouched together on the forest floor were used to fertilize the vines and as litter for the stable .

Haardtwald on the Bildbaumhang, near Hohe Loog

Over the centuries, this overuse led to massive damage and even devastation of many Haardt forests. Due to the permanent withdrawal of organic material, the soil became impoverished, so that only the most undemanding tree species, namely pines - often in crippled form - could exist. Only the establishment of a regulated forest administration in the 18th and 19th centuries put an end to this overexploitation . Above all in the 19th century, the devastated areas were systematically reforested by the Bavarian State Forestry Administration at the time , with pine trees being used mainly because of the damaged soils. Further improvements were made in the 1950s and 1960s. With targeted forestry programs, attempts were made to transform the existing pine monocultures into mixed forests and thereby bring about a gradual amelioration of the impoverished soils. According to Meyer (1996), however, these efforts have so far met with little success.

Today's forest structure

Tree species and
area proportions 		in
percent
jaw 70
Douglas fir 7th
beech 6th
Sessile oak 4th
Sweet chestnut 4th
Spruce 4th
larch 2
rest. Hardwoods 1
otherwise. hardwoods 1
otherwise. softwoods 1

Without human influence, the Haardt, like the entire Palatinate Forest, would primarily be covered by oak and beech forests that are relatively poor in species . Centuries of agricultural and forestry use (see section forest history ), however, led to a completely different type of economic forest , which today is made up of 84 percent coniferous and only 16 percent deciduous trees . As expected due to the history of the Haardtwald, pine takes the top position with 70 percent of the area, while other softwoods such as Douglas fir (7 percent), spruce (4 percent) and larch (2 percent) only play a subordinate role (see adjacent table). The poorly represented hardwoods consist mainly of beech - 6 percent share of the area -, furthermore oak and sweet chestnut with 4 percent each; sweet chestnuts are to be found especially in lower elevations at the eastern foot of the Haardt, where they are often found in larger stands.

There are also deficits in the forest composition, since pine monocultures (“pure stands”) still account for 55 percent of the total forest area, while mixed stands - pines with mostly undergrown beeches and sessile oaks - 45 percent of the area compared with others Growth areas of the Palatinate Forest are underrepresented.

The age structure of the Haardtwälder also has asymmetrical features. The average age of the trees is 75 years, with stands in the age range from 1 to 80 years dominating, while older ones (160 years and more) are completely absent. Pines are represented relatively evenly in different age groups, while younger specimens predominate in sweet chestnuts, spruces and, above all, Douglas firs . These data point to the major reforestation programs in the 19th century and to more recent developments in the second half of the 20th century (for more details see section Forest history ).

history

Hambach Castle

Numerous castles and castle ruins date from the Middle Ages , the most famous of which is Hambach Castle , which was originally called Kästenburg and became a symbol of freedom because of the Hambach Festival of 1832.

For more information on the history of the Haardt see under Palatinate Forest .

literature

  • August Becker: The Palatinate and the Palatinate . 7th edition. Pfälzische Verlagsanstalt, Landau / Pfalz 2005, ISBN 3-89857-193-9 , p. 92–199 (first edition: 1857).
  • Michael Geiger: The Palatinate Forest in a geographical overview . In: The Palatinate Forest . Portrait of a landscape. Verlag Pfälzische Landeskunde, Landau / Pfalz 1987, ISBN 3-9801147-1-6 , p. 9-58 .
  • Michael Geiger (Ed.): Haardt and Weinstrasse - Contributions to regional studies . Publishing house of the Palatinate Society for the Advancement of Science, Speyer 1996, ISBN 3-932155-14-9 .
  • Michael Geiger: The landscapes of the Palatinate . In: Michael Geiger (ed.): Geography of the Palatinate . Verlag Pfälzische Landeskunde, Landau / Pfalz 2010, ISBN 978-3-9812974-0-9 , p. 92-113 .
  • Daniel Häberle : The Palatinate Forest . A contribution to the regional studies of the Rhine Palatinate. Georg Westermann Verlag, Braunschweig and Berlin 1913, p. 7th ff .
  • Karl Heinz: Palatinate with Wine Route . Landscape, history, culture, art, folklore. Glock and Lutz Verlag, Heroldsberg 1976, p. 21st ff .
  • Emil Heuser: New Palatinate Leader . 14th edition. Waldkirch Verlag, Ludwigshafen / Rhein 1979, p. 121–265 (first edition: 1900).
  • Klaus Meyer: The Haardt Forests: yesterday - today - tomorrow . In: Michael Geiger (Ed.): Haardt and Weinstrasse - Contributions to regional studies . Publishing house of the Palatinate Society for the Advancement of Science, Speyer 1996, ISBN 3-932155-14-9 , p. 248-249 .
  • Heinz Wittner: Great Palatinate Leader . German hiking publisher Dr. Mair & Schnabel & Co., Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 3-8134-0106-5 , pp. 83-148 .

Web links

Commons : Haardt  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Adalbert Pemöller: Geographical land survey: The natural spatial units on sheet 160 Landau id Pfalz. Federal Institute for Regional Studies, Bad Godesberg 1969. pp. 8–9.
  2. ↑ a b State Office for Surveying and Geographic Base Information Rhineland-Palatinate: Topographic maps 1: 25,000 and 1: 50,000 . Retrieved April 1, 2011.
  3. ↑ a b c d Michael Geiger et al. (Ed.): The Palatinate Forest in a geographical overview . In: The Palatinate Forest, a portrait of a landscape . Publishing house Palatinate cultural studies, Landau / Pf. 1987, p. 19.
  4. ↑ Michael Geiger: Haardt and Weinstrasse in a geographical overview. In: Michael Geiger (Ed.): Haardt and Weinstrasse - Contributions to regional studies . Publishing house of the Palatinate Society for the Advancement of Science, Speyer 1996, pp. 6–35.
  5. ↑ Map service of the landscape information system of the Rhineland-Palatinate nature conservation administration (LANIS map) ( notes )
  6. ↑ a b c Klaus Meyer: The Haardt Forests: yesterday - today - tomorrow . Pp. 250-251.
  7. ↑ Michael Geiger: Haardt and Weinstrasse in a geographical overview. Pp. 6-7.
  8. ↑ a b c Klaus Meyer: The Haardt Forests: yesterday - today - tomorrow . P. 251 f.
  9. ^ Karl Heinz: Palatinate with wine route, landscape, history, culture, art, folkism . Glock and Lutz Verlag, Heroldsberg 1976, pp. 102-109.