Kickelhahn
| Kickelhahn | ||
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 View from the Pörlitzer Höhe to the northeast flank of the Kickelhahn |
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| height | 861.1 m above sea level NHN | |
| location | Ilmenau , Thuringia , Germany | |
| Mountains | Thuringian Forest | |
| Dominance | 5.8 km → Kleiner Finsterberg (875 m) | |
| Notch height | 146.3 m ↓ capercaillie | |
| Coordinates | 50 ° 39 '56 " N , 10 ° 52' 53" E | |
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| rock | porphyry | |
| Development | Lookout tower, restaurant | |
The Kickelhahn is 861.1 m above sea level. NHN high mountain on the northern edge of the central Thuringian Forest . It is the local mountain of the city of Ilmenau in Thuringia . The visits of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and other personalities gave the Kickelhahn a certain cultural and historical significance.
On the Kickelhahn there is an observation tower from 1855, a Telekom tower, a transmission mast, the Goethe house, the foundations of a hunting lodge and a restaurant. The Jagdhaus Gabelbach and the Berghotel Gabelbach are located south of the summit .
geography
At 861 meters, the Kickelhahn is the highest elevation in the Ilm district. Historically, it was also the highest mountain in Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach . Its massif is bounded by the Ilm valley in the west and north, the Gabelbach in the east and the Langebach in the south. This means that the mountain lies entirely within the Ilm catchment area . Only in the south-east between the springs of Gabelbach and Langebach is a saddle just under a kilometer wide at an altitude of about 750 meters , which forms the transition to the Hohe Tanne (805 m).
There are a few other peaks in the Kickelhahn massif, such as the Hohe Schlaufe (735 m), the Gabelbachskopf (704 m), the Dachskopf (686 m), the Kammerberg , the Höllkopf and the Steinbachskopf . The extension of the massif is about three kilometers in east-west and about four kilometers in north-south direction. The difference in altitude to the Ilm Valley in the northeast is around 400 meters.
Only small rivulets arise at Kickelhahn , with the Sophien and Zinks springs being among the better-known springs in the area. Another special feature are the Grosser Hermannstein and Kleiner Hermannstein rocks to the northwest of the summit . Places directly adjacent to the Kickelhahn are Ilmenau , about two kilometers northeast, and Manebach , about two kilometers northwest. A little further to the south is Stützerbach .
The Kickelhahn is completely forested, with only winds who thrive on its tip and in the uppermost part of the western slope . Otherwise dominate spruce - monocultures that take over again damage during storms, such as by hurricane Kyrill on 19 January 2007. The forest is part of the Forest Revieres Kickelhahn and owned by Thuringia Forest (public institution right).
The Kickelhahn is also geologically part of the Thuringian Forest. Like this one, it consists of porphyry rock. A small coal deposit was mined on the west side in Manebach by the end of the 19th century .
Road network
There are several ways to get to the Kickelhahn. The Goethe hiking trail also runs over the summit. The direct route from Ilmenau begins on the outskirts of the city on Waldstraße and leads steeply and relatively straight over the Hohe Schlaufe to Kickelhahn. The ascent from the city takes about an hour via this route. A second popular hiking trail to Kickelhahn starts at the hiking car park on the Herzogröder Wiese on the upper reaches of the Gabelbach, about 700 meters above sea level on the road from Ilmenau to Neustadt am Rennsteig . Here, a well-developed road leads to the summit in about thirty minutes on foot. The panorama path, which also begins at the hikers' car park and first leads north around the summit and only then leads upwards, is less steep. There is also a hiking trail from Manebach to the Kickelhahn, which runs over the Hermannsteine. Many other hiking trails run right across the paths to the summit through the forest at Kickelhahn.
Cultural history
The current name of the mountain comes from the 18th century. The Kickelhahn was previously called Cammerberg , as was the part of Manebach to the right of the Ilm. There are several theories about the origin of the name. It probably goes back to the popular name "Kickelhahn" or "Gickelhahn" for the capercaillie . The mountain and its surroundings were rich in capercaillie and therefore a preferred hunting ground for the Weimar court society. Another theory wants to derive the name Kickelhahn from the name of the original owner, the Count Henneberg , in whose county it was the highest mountain. The Kickelhahn was later also the highest point in the Grand Duchy of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach .
In 1776 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , still in his function as Mining Minister , visited the Manebach coal mines on the western slope of the mountain. On May 7, 1776, Goethe was also at the Großer Hermannstein for the first time, whose cave he liked to visit in later times to draw or write. His last visit to the cave is dated August 29, 1813. The local researcher Willi Ehrlich suggests that the impressions of Hermannstein inspired Goethe to the following passage:
"And when the storm roars and creaks in the forest
The giant spruce, Dashing, neighbor branches
and neighboring tribes squeezing down touches
and muffled her case and hollow of the hills thunder,
then you lead me to secure cave, show
me then myself, and my own breast
Secret , deep miracles open up. "
A well-known drawing by Goethe with a view from the Kickelhahn on the “steaming valleys” of the Thuringian Forest was made in the summer of 1776 for Charlotte von Stein .
Goethe, who visited Ilmenau a total of 28 times, hiked to Kickelhahn several times between 1780 and 1831, mostly as the companion of Duke Carl August von Sachsen-Weimar.
A few minutes from the summit is the "Goethe House", which was built by Duke Carl August in the summer of 1783 as a hunting lodge below the summit. On September 6th, 1780, Goethe wrote his poem " Wanderer's Night Song - A Same" (" Above all peaks is peace ... ") on the wall of boards of a small hunting lodge.
Goethe was last on the Kickelhahn in 1831, accompanied by Johann Christian Mahr . After a letter from Mahr, Goethe visited the hunting lodge again to see whether his verse was still on the wall. When he discovered him, he was deeply touched and said: "Yes, just wait, you will soon rest too". Goethe also told his friend Carl Friedrich Zelter about this event in a letter.
The Goethe House burned down on August 12, 1870 due to the inattention of berry collectors who stayed overnight and was faithfully rebuilt in 1874 by the Association for the Beautification of Ilmenau under the direction of Karl Friedrich Schwanitz . Today you can read the poem “Wanderer's Night Song” in 15 languages inside the Goethe House.
In addition, you can see the foundation walls and the cellar of a ducal stalking house , which was probably used around 250 years ago and was uncovered again in 2004 by archaeologists .
Kickelhahnturm / Marienturm
When Ilmenau developed into a health resort in the 1830s, more and more guests came to the city and to the Kickelhahn, so that already at this time there were requests for a lookout tower on the mountain. However, the city, with its 2,700 inhabitants at the time, was unable to finance such a construction project.
In 1852 a stone tower was built on the neighboring Schneekopf in Saxony-Gotha . When Grand Duke Karl Friedrich and his wife Maria Pawlowna visited the Kickelhahn in the autumn of that year, they also wanted a stone observation tower on the highest mountain in the Grand Duchy. For this, Maria Pavlovna initially donated 1000 thalers. The tower was to be built under the direction of the city administration with Mayor Johann Christian Hertzer . The material for the quarry stone masonry was obtained nearby at Kickelhahn itself, while the sandstone for the ornaments came from the Martinroda quarries. The foundation stone was laid on May 8, 1854. The tower was completed after a year and was opened as the Marienturm in honor of Maria Pawlowna on May 12, 1855 - the actual construction costs were 2,200 thalers. This makes it the oldest surviving observation tower in the Thuringian Forest (after the Schneekopfturm was demolished after the Second World War) and one of the oldest in Germany. It comprises 107 steps up to the viewing platform at a height of 882 meters. The height of the tower until then is 21 meters. In the first year of its existence, 865 visitors signed the tower book. In 1955, 100 years after it was built, 10,000 visitors were counted.
The tower offers a good view of the northern foreland of the Thuringian Forest as far as Gotha , Erfurt and Weimar . When visibility is very good, the Brocken in the Harz can also be seen . To the south and west, the view extends only a few kilometers to the ridge of the Thuringian Forest on the Rennsteig . The most striking mountain visible here is the Schneekopf . The Thuringian Slate Mountains can be seen to the southeast. In addition to the Long Mountain , the upper basin of the Goldisthal pumped storage plant is particularly striking .
tourism
The Kickelhahn is a traditional hiking destination for locals and tourists in Ilmenau alike. The city's students have also hiked the mountain for decades. In addition to the Goethe hiking trail , the touristic development also includes the observation tower from 1855, which can be climbed free of charge, as well as a daily open restaurant from 1953 on the summit. The Berghotel Gabelbach has existed since 1912 at a height of 700 meters south of the Kickelhahn.
All year round, visitors also use the Kickelhahn as a sports area. While runners and mountain bikers predominate in summer, the Kickelhahn is a cross-country skiing area in winter . In addition, the descent to Ilmenau is also suitable for tobogganing . Over 350 meters in altitude are overcome on the approximately three-kilometer route, with the descent taking around 15 minutes.
Events on the Kickelhahn are the Kickelhahnfest on the last Sunday in August as well as several sporting events such as the Kickelhahn mountain run, the mountain time trial (cycling) and the beer athlon of the TU Ilmenau .
In 2007 the construction of a cable car to the Kickelhahn was discussed. While Lord Mayor Gerd-Michael Seeber spoke out in favor of it, critics particularly criticized the cost of such an investment. Ultimately, these plans were rejected again.
In order to promote tourism in the region and the Kickelhahn, scaled-down replicas of the Kickelhahn Tower and the Goethe House were erected in the course of the redesign of the station forecourt in Ilmenau in 2000.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Map services of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation ( information )
- ^ Etymology on the website of the city of Ilmenau
- ↑ Willi Ehrlich: Ilmenau, Gabelbach, Stützerbach . Weimar 1974, p. 55.
- ^ Wulf Segebrecht: Johann Wolfgang Goethe's poem "Above all peaks there is peace" and its consequences. On the practical value of classical poetry. Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich 1978, pp. 15 and 25ff.
- ↑ Goethezeitportal.de , accessed on June 13, 2016
- ↑ Garden arbor article from 1881
- ↑ Hartmut Stabe: Towers in the Grand Duchy of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach - Discover - Visit - Hike . Weimar 2005. ISBN 3-930687-46-1 . About the> Marienturm: pp. 27–44.
- ↑ Cable car on the siding ( Memento from October 21, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Annual report of the City of Ilmenau 2007
- ↑ Gerd-Michael Seeber wants to stay in office . In: insuedthueringen.de, January 10, 2012
literature
- Willi Ehrlich: Ilmenau, Gabelbach, Stützerbach. The Goethe memorials and the “In Goethe's footsteps” hiking trail. National research and memorial centers for classical German literature, Weimar 1974.
- Hartmut Stabe: Towers in the Grand Duchy of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach - Discover - Visit - Hike . Weimar 2005. ISBN 3-930687-46-1 . About the> Marienturm: pp. 27–44
