High Meissner
| High Meissner | ||
|---|---|---|
 Hoher Meißner, above Rommerode |
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| Highest peak | Kasseler Kuppe ( 753.6 m above sea level ) | |
| location | near Hessisch Lichtenau ; Werra-Meißner-Kreis , North Hesse ( Germany ) | |
| Part of |
Fulda-Werra-Bergland in the East Hessian highlands |
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| Coordinates | 51 ° 13 '41 " N , 9 ° 51' 48" E | |
| Type | Low mountain range | |
| rock | Basalt , brown coal | |
| surface | 50 km² | |
The Hohe Meißner is up to 753.6 m above sea level. NHN high low mountain range / mountain range in the Fulda-Werra-Bergland , the northern part of the East Hessian mountainous region . With its peak location in the Berkatal community , it is close to the small town of Hessisch Lichtenau in the Werra-Meißner district in northern Hesse .
The Hohe Meißner is known nationwide as the possible home of the fairy tale Frau Holle . Together with large parts of the Kaufunger Wald and Söhre , it forms the extensive geo-nature park Frau-Holle-Land (Werratal.Meißner.Kaufunger Wald) . There are several protected areas on large parts of his mountain range, which is wooded in many places .
Origin / change of name
The original name of the Hoher Meissner is Wissener , the name was first mentioned in a document in 1195. It can be traced back to the Old High German root words wisa (meadow), wizon ( fortune teller ) or wiz (white). Probably the meaning of the name The White One is because winter starts early and lasts a long time with snowfall on the mountain. The name "Meißner" was first mentioned in 1530 in files of the Landgrave Hessian administration.
The mountain was slowly renamed by the youth movement . Through the First Freideutschen Jugendtag (1913) that took place on it , the Meissner became known as "Hoher Meissner" through the German newspapers. This place was already a popular destination for hikers before 1913 and since at least 1908 the mountain has been called "Hoher Meißner" by them. This naming could have matched the name of the popular destination of the Göttingen Wandering Birds, the Hohe Hagen . Over time there was more and more talk of the Hoher Meissner. A memorial stone with an information board is located at the parking lot near the Naturfreundehaus Meißnerhaus, which indicates this name change.
geography
location
The Hohe Meißner rises in the geo-nature park Frau-Holle-Land (Werratal.Meißner.Kaufunger Wald) between the cities and communities Bad Sooden-Allendorf (northeast), Berkatal and Meißner (east), Waldkappel (south), Hessisch Lichtenau ( West; largest city on the mountain massif) and Großalmerode (northwest). The summit of the flat, undulating high plateau is located 3 km south-south-west of the Berkatal district of Frankenhain and 2.5 km south-west of the Bad Sooden-Allendorf district of Dudenrode - in the municipality of Berkatal; the border to the city of Bad Sooden-Allendorf runs about 300 m northeast of it.
The Berka and its tributaries Hollenbach and Kupferbach , the Gelster tributary Laudenbach and the weirs tributary Vierbach have their source at or on the Hohen Meißner, which is predominantly wooded, around 10 km long and 5 km wide .
Natural allocation
The Hohe Meißner forms in the main natural unit group Osthessisches Bergland (No. 35), in the main unit Fulda-Werra-Bergland (357) and in the subunit Meißnergebiet (357.8) the natural area Hoher Meißner (357.81). In the north there is the northern Meißnervorberge (357.80), in the southeast the natural area Finkenberg-Dachsberg-Zug (357.82), both of which also belong to the Meißner area, in the west the natural area Velmeder Tal and in the south the natural area Waldkappeler Wehretal (357.54), both of which belong to the subunit Witzenhausen-Altmorschener Talung (357.5). In the east, the main unit Unteres Werraland (358) and the subunit Unterwerrasattel (358.0) are bordered by the natural area of Meißner foreland (358.03).
geomorphology
Hoher Meißner - highest mountain in northeast Hesse
The Hohe Meißner is crowned by a high plateau that is a maximum of 4.2 km long in north-south direction and a maximum of 2.2 km wide in east-west direction, measured from the 700 m height line upwards. Its highest point is the Kasseler Kuppe with a height of 753.6 m . This is not, as shown in many publications, the highest elevation in North Hesse , but “only” the highest in Northeast Hesse. The highest mountains in the northern part of Northern Hesse are located far to the west in the Upland ( Langenberg ; max. 843.2 m , approx. 91 km as the crow flies), the northeastern foothills of the Rothaar Mountains , and the highest of the administrative district of Kassel , which is often synonymous with the term North Hesse, is the Wasserkuppe ( 950.2 m , approx. 81 km as the crow flies) in the far south of the Rhön .
Dominance and prominence
With a dominance of about 59 km, the Meißner (more precisely: its summit, the Kasseler Kuppe ) is one of the most dominant mountains in Germany. The next higher point, which is closest to the Meissner, is at the same distance directly on the foothills of the 916.5 m high Großer Inselsberg in the south-east of the Thuringian Forest , which towers over its surrounding area like the Meissner.
In the north-eastern Harz , the next higher peak is only about 66 km away on the maximum 865.1 m high ridge Auf dem Acker , in the southern Rhön the height of the Meissner is only at the 756.9 m high Auersberg , about 70 km away reached, in the western Rothaargebirge only 84 km away on the 775.3 m high Kahler Pön .
For the prominent people of the Kasseler Kuppe, the reference mountain range is not the Thuringian Forest, separated by the Werra valley, but the Rhön, which is also located between Fulda and Werra. The lowest point to which you have to go down to reach the next higher point in the Rhön is northwest of Hönebach on the Fulda-Werra watershed between the Richelsdorf Mountains and Seulingswald , 426 m lower than the summit.
Mountains and hilltops
The mountains and peaks of the Hoher Meissner include - sorted by height in meters (m) above mean sea level (NHN):
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geology
The subsoil of the Hoher Meissner was formed 225 million years ago in the Triassic period and consists of shell limestone and red sandstone . In the Tertiary 20 million years ago there was a depression in the area where swamp forests grew in a tropical climate. They formed thick layers of peat from which brown coal deposits were built. As a result of volcanic activity 12 to 13 million years ago, through cracks and faults, thin- flowing lava emerged several times and filled the existing depression. The Hohe Meißner received a basalt cover that is still 150 m thick today , which made it more resistant to erosion processes than its basalt-free environment. During the extensive uplift of the entire region, which continues to the present day, the basalt plateau was carved out of the softer surrounding layers ( relief reversal ) so that the Hohe Meißner now clearly towers above its surrounding area.
The Kothsborn spring (ice spring) is a geological feature . Its unusually low temperature of only 0 ° C to max. 2 ° C is created by evaporation cold inside the basalt block heaps.
Protected areas
In large parts of the flanks of the High Meissner, and small parts of its high plateau which is protected area Meissner ( CDDA -Nr 6969;. 1970 reported; 9.3293 square kilometers large). These areas also include the Meißner and Meißner Vorland fauna-flora-habitat area (FFH No. 4725-306; 20.4282 km²) and the adjoining FFH area Werra - and Wehre valley (FFH No. 4825 -302; 244.8191 km²). The entire mountain range lies in the Meißner bird sanctuary (VSG no. 4725-401; 37.2078 km²).
Mining on the Hoher Meissner
The lignite mining began on the High Meissner from 1560 after in a stream Glanzkohlestückchen had found, and lasted until 1929 only underground on. The coal was mainly extracted for the salt boiler in Bad Sooden-Allendorf and later in the opencast mine - especially for the large power station in Kassel .
Stinksteinwand and Schwalbenthal
A good indication of the centuries of mining on the Hohen Meißner is the "Stinksteinwand", which is located above the former mining authority settlement of Schwalbenthal high up on the eastern slope of the mountain range. This place was nearly destroyed by a mining landslide in the 1920s. Today only the former mining authority remains. Coal used to be mined there underground. From 1952 onwards, coal was also mined over the surface where the Kalbesee is now. First the basalt armor had to be removed, which is about 150 meters thick here. This also created the stink stone wall. Finally, the lignite mining began. For financial reasons, this was discontinued in 1970 and, after demonstrations, never resumed in 1974. As a result, the open-cast mine also left a characteristic hollow in the mountain on the east side of the Meißner. There is a risk of landslides around Kalbe and Schwalbenthal. The former Bergamt Schwalbenthal is closed.
Probably in the 17th century. Even as underground mining, which was brown coal in fire fall, as they in contact with oxygen for self-ignition tendency. So were there always smoldering in the seams observed, which is manifested at the surface by the characteristic smell of burning and smoke outlet to this day. Several such smoke outlets with sulfur sublimates ("sulfur flowers ") are located in the southern part of the opencast mine, 400 m north of the Schwalbenthal car park. Entering this area is prohibited for safety and nature conservation reasons.
In the 20th century, too, all attempts to extinguish these coal seams that were in the seam fire failed , so that you can often perceive a sulfur-like smell of not completely burned lignite - sometimes even very strong - not only in the parking lot in Schwalbenthal. The lignite uncovered after the open pit was covered with earth. In the excavation pit, which is up to 30 meters deep, a 2 hectare lake, the Kalbesee, was formed.
The Gasthaus Schwalbenthal, located a little below the Stinksteinwand on the mountain slope, is the last remnant of a former mining settlement with around ten houses, whose houses had to be demolished as a result of landslides . You can also see the Schwalbenthal mining cemetery (about 400 meters from the inn) and Haus Halde, an old miner's house on the new Schwalbenthal mine, with a dump on the coal road that leads down to Germerode .
Bransrode
On the northwest side of the mountain range, the last underground tunnel at the Bransrode miners' settlement was closed. The begun shortly thereafter Basalt - pit mining was operated by 2003. As part of the extension of the federal motorway 44 in the Werra-Meißner district, basalt mining was resumed, but is currently on hold again.
Kalbe (ex-open pit)
From 1952 to 1974, lignite was mined from 1952 to 1974 on the basalt dome of Kalbe , which can still be seen on the former open-cast mine area where the “Kalbesee” formed.
Attractions
There are vantage points at various locations on the Hoher Meissner :
- Kalbe : From the 719.5 m high basalt dome you can see the Werra Valley , the Eichsfeld-Hainich-Werra Valley Nature Park , Harz , Thuringian Forest and the Rhön . This viewpoint can be reached, for example, via a path starting at the Frau-Holle-Teich .
- Schwalbenthal: Easier to reach than the above-mentioned Kalbe basalt hilltop , there is a similarly good vantage point 108 m below at a junction of Landesstraße 3241, which comes from Meißner- Vockerode in the direction of Meißnerhaus: just a few meters below or east of the stink stone wall mentioned here The "Schwalbenthal vantage point" is located above a parking lot, from which you can enjoy the view of Vockerode (approx. 290 m ), which is around 322 m lower, from a height of 612 m , but also look over towards Thuringia .
- Meißnerhaus and Berggasthof Hoher Meißner: From the south-western side of the mountain massif you can see from the Naturfreundehaus Meißnerhaus (approx. 665 m ) or from the Berggasthof Hoher Meißner (approx. 715 m ) not far to the south-east of it, among other things, to the Kellerwald , Habichtswald and Kaufungen Forest .
Other attractions on the Hoher Meissner include (sorted alphabetically):
- Frau-Holle-Teich - small, legendary still water
- Kalbe - former open-cast lignite mine with Kalbe lake and Kalbe panoramic mountain
- Kitzkammer (natural monument - a rock niche between basalt columns)
- Seesteine - basalt rocks in a forest park with former still waters
- Meißner mountain game park - on the lower southeast slope, 1.5 km southwest of Germerode
Fairy tale / legend
The Hohe Meißner is also located in the land of the fairytale character Frau Holle on the Frau Holle path . The Mother Hulda Pond , a protected nature pond on the mountain massif should bottomless according to local legends and the entrance to Frau Holle otherworld be. Since 2004 there has been a wooden statue of Frau Holle by the pond.
Sport and leisure activities
At the Hohen Meißner there is a winter sports area with three ski slopes (two of them with ski lifts ) for downhill skiing as well as extensive trails for cross-country skiing . There are also many extensive and signposted hiking trails (see section Traffic and Hiking ). Since June 8, 2008, a permanent timekeeping system ( Stoppomat ) has been in operation for cyclists, runners, Nordic walkers, skaters and hand bikers . The best time with 19:30 min. is currently held by the former German champion Dirk Müller .
Transmitters
The Hohe Meißner is an important broadcasting location of the Hessischer Rundfunk (HR) for VHF and digital television ( DVB-T ).
In April 1952, the Hessischer Rundfunk began testing radio operations , which was completed in June 1952. Three years later the television station was put into operation on the Hoher Meissner.
Antenna structures or transmission systems on the Hoher Meissner:
- 220 m high, grounded, guyed steel framework mast for VHF and TV
- 155 m high, grounded, guyed steel framework mast, which carries a trap antenna for medium wave, directional radio antennas and spare antennas of the TV station HR
- 40 m high freestanding steel lattice tower with cellular antennas and VHF spare antennas
On September 3, 2019, a maintenance gondola crashed from a height of around 50 m, three occupants died.
Military use and listening stations
During the Second World War, there was an aviation weather and a night fighter control station here. During the Cold War there were three listening stations on the Hoher Meissner. Initially a small listening system of the American army built on the Kalbe in 1959, later probably used by the BND. Two new wiretapping complexes arose later: On the plateau of the Hoher Meissner, a system was operated jointly by the US Army and the telecommunications reconnaissance company (Fm AufklKp) 947 of the German Armed Forces from Hessisch-Lichtenau; on the northeast slope, the Federal Intelligence Service had the code name "Bundesstelle für Fernmeldestatistik" built its own facility. After 1990 the stations were given up and gradually dismantled until 2002.
First Free German Youth Day
On October 11th and 12th, 1913, between 2000 and 3000 participants, mostly young people, met on the Hoher Meißner for the First Free German Youth Day , a “festival of youth” and a meeting of the youth movement . This event was intended to be a counter-program to militaristic commemorative events on the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig (October 1813); The Monument to the Battle of the Nations was inaugurated on October 18, 1913 ; this, too, was the cause of great public attention for this 100th anniversary.
Traffic and walking
The Hohe Meißner can be reached via state roads branching off from federal roads 7 , 27 and 451 ; the first and last named federal road are connected to an already completed section of the northeast Hessian part of the A 44 . A section of the “Frau-Holle Route” of the German Fairy Tale Route runs over the Meißner west flank and in particular over the southern part of the Meißner high plateau and the Meißner east flank within the framework of the state roads 3241 and 3242 .
The Frau-Holle -pfad , the Grimmsteig , the Hessenweg 11 and the certified Premiumweg Hoher Meißner lead across the high plateau of the Hohen Meißner . The Sälzer Weg runs past the southern end of the mountain range .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Map services of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation ( information )
- ↑ cf. Mogge / Reulecke 1988: Hoher Meißner 1913, p. 390
- ^ Hans-Jürgen Klink: Geographical land survey: The natural space units on sheet 112 Kassel. Federal Institute for Regional Studies, Bad Godesberg 1969. → Online map (PDF; 6.9 MB)
- ↑ Measurement via placemarks , verification via BfN map services ( memento of the original from December 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ KH Wedepohl: The tertiary basaltic volcanism of the Hessian sink, In: Sigmund Koritnig (editor): On the mineralogy and geology of the area around Göttingen with western Harz and parts of the northern Hessian mountainous region. Der Aufschluss, special volume 28, 1978, pp. 156-167.
- ↑ Arno Semmel: Geomorphology of the Federal Republic of Germany: basics, research status, current issues, discussed on selected landscapes. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart, 5th edition 1996. ISBN 3 515 06897 X , on p. 117.
- ↑ V. The ice fountain ( Memento of 16 October 2004 at the Internet Archive ), on archive.org, in The High Meissner , from eltmannshausen.de
- ↑ Kothsborn source (ice source) (in Hoher Meißner ), on wiki-de.genealogy.net
- ↑ Bergwildpark Meißner , accessed on May 8, 2017, at tierpark.naturpark-mkw.de
- ↑ Maintenance nacelle on the transmission tower crashed from 50 meters - three dead. Article on welt.de, September 3, 2019.
- ^ Gerhard Piper: listening state Germany. The SIGINT landscape since 1945 in east and west . Heise Medien, Hannover 2015, ISBN 978-3-95788-028-4 .
- ↑ Making a fire, dancing, being free , ZEIT story No. 02/2013, on zeit.de
- ↑ EntdeckerTour Premiumweg P1 Hoher Meißner , on naturparkfrauholle.land
literature
- Ernst Baier, Cord Peppler-Lisbach, Volker Sahlfrank: The flora of the old district of Witzenhausen with the Meißner and Kaufunger forest . 2nd, supplemented and improved edition. Writings of the Werratal Association Witzenhausen, issue 39.Werratal Association (WTV) Witzenhausen, Witzenhausen 2005, ISBN 3-9807194-2-1
- Erich Hildebrand (edit.): Land to Werra and Meißner - A home book . Korbach: Bing-Verlag 1983, with essays by 40 authors, 384 p., Very numerous. Fig
- Karl Kollmann : Frau Holle and the Meißnerland On the trail of a myth . Eschwege 2005: Historical Ges. Des Werralandes / Werratalverein (ed.), 168 p
- Manfred Lückert : The Meißner - A life with the mountain. History between Höllental, Werratal and Gelstertal (with articles by Karlfritz Saalfeld, F. W. Moosebach and Horst Beck), Rockstuhl Verlag, Bad Langensalza 2011, ISBN 978-3-86777-180-1
- Bodo Mrozek: From Hoher Meissner to tent camp democracy - historians are looking for traces of the youth movement . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Frankfurt am Main No. 83 of April 10, 2013, p. N 4 (natural sciences)
- Thomas F. Klein: Hessisch Lichtenau - Ms. Holle lives deep in the Hohe Meißner . [with a small map of the "Hohen Meißner"]. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, August 9, 2013, No. 183, Frankfurt am Main 2013, p. 56
- Susanne Rappe-Weber: The awakening of youth - The 1st Freideutsche Youth Day , [on the Meißner, today: "Hoher Meißner"] is celebrating its 100th anniversary . In: Communications from the Association for Hessian History and Regional Studies Kassel 1934 e. V, No. 64, July 2013, pp. 62-83
- Susanne Rappe-Weber: event, memory, redefinition. The Freideutsche Jugendtag on the Hoher Meißner 1913 , in: Journal [Yearbook] of the Association for Hessian History and Regional Studies [ZHG], Volume 117/118, 2012/13, Kassel 2013, pp. 197–204, 4 fig.
See also
Web links
- Geo-Naturpark Frau-Holle-Land - Werratal.Meißner.Kaufunger Wald (official site), on naturparkfrauholle.land
- Map / aerial photo of the Meißner with 500 m contour line and all important elevations in the area, placemarks ( Google Earth required)
- Landscape profile Hoher Meißner of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation ( information )
- Aerial video of the Hoher Meißner (from Hessischer Rundfunk )