At the Dammersfeldkuppe in Bavaria is the second highest mountain after the Wasserkuppe

Wasserkuppe

The Wasserkuppe is a high plateau , the highest peak in the Rhön Mountains within the German state of Hessen. Between the first and second World Wars, during the era of the so-called Golden Age of Aviation, great advances in sailplane development were made there.Remark: The German wording takes its...

  in the Rhön, a low mountain range straddling the states of Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

, Hesse

Hesse

Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...

 and Thuringia

Thuringia

The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....

 in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

Location

The Dammersfeldkuppe is situated in the districts of Bad Kissingen (Bavaria) and Fulda (Hesse) and is one of the peaks of the "High Rhön" (Hohe Rhön). Its dome is in Bavaria about 200 m southeast of the border with Hesse between Gersfeld

Gersfeld

Gersfeld is a town in the district of Fulda, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated on the Fulda River, in the Rhön Mountains, southeast of Fulda.-References:...

 (Hesse), Bad Brückenau

Bad Brückenau

Bad Brückenau is a spa town in Bad Kissingen district in northern Bavaria. It is situated in the Rhön Mountains, 30 kilometers south of Fulda.-Geography:Bad Brückenau is located in the valley of the River Sinn, in the western part of the Rhön Mountains...

 and Wildflecken

Wildflecken

Wildflecken is a municipality in the Bad Kissingen district, at the border of northeastern Bavaria and southern Hesse. In 2005, its population was 3,285; the postal code is 97772. Wildflecken is in the picturesque Rhön hills and nature-park....

 (both in Bavaria).

The entire mountain lies within the Wildflecken Military Training Area and is surrounded by the Bavarian Rhön Nature Park

Bavarian Rhön Nature Park

The Bavarian Rhön Nature Park straddles the junction of the German states of Bavaria,Hesse and Thuringia. 70 km² of the total 125 km² area of the nature park has been recognised by UNESCO as part of the Rhön Biosphere Reserve....

 and Rhön Biosphere Reserve

Rhön Biosphere Reserve

The Rhön Biosphere Reserve includes the entire central area of the Rhön Mountains, a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Thuringia.- Aim :In 1991 the Rhön was recognised at international level by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve...

.

The Rhine-Weser watershed runs through the Dammersfeldkuppe. The source of the Schmalnau is on the northern flank of the mountain; its waters flow through the Fulda

Fulda River

The Fulda is a river in Hesse, Germany. It is one of two headstreams of the Weser . The Fulda is 218 km in length....

 into the Weser. On the mountains southern flank rises the Kleine Sinn ("Little Sinn"), the Bavarian name of the Schmale Sinn

Schmale Sinn

Schmale Sinn is a river of Hesse, Germany.-See also:*List of rivers of Hesse...

, whose water makes its way via the Sinn, Franconian Saale and Main to the Rhine.

Annual training area walk

Because part of the Wildflecken Military Training Area extends over the Dammersfeldkuppe it is usually closed to the public. However a tradition that was started by the US Forces

United States armed forces

The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...

 and continued by the Bundeswehr

Bundeswehr

The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...

after the Americans pulled out of Wildflecken in 1994, is the annual summer walk or Volksmarsch through the out-of-bounds area. This provides an opportunity to walk across the otherwise inaccessible terrain and the summit of the mountain on specified paths.