Hohe Acht
Encyclopedia
At , the Hohe Acht is the highest mountain in the Eifel
mountains of Germany. It is located on the boundary between the districts of Ahrweiler and Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate
.
. The mountain is a tertiary
volcano
, whose cone is composed of Lower Devonian
rock and whose summit is made of basalt
.
, based on plans by the architect
, Freiherr von Tettau, Berlin
, was the silver wedding of Emperor
William II
and Empress Augusta Victoria
as well as the commemoration of Emperor William I
The tower is 16.3 metres (53.5 ft) high and its walls are one metre thick at ground level. The work was carried out by master bricklayer
s, Karl and Johannes Leidinger, from Adenau
using local brick. The cost of construction was 18,000 marks
. The tower has been a protected monument since 1987.
The Emperor William Tower offers a superb view across the whole Eifel (including the mountains of Scharteberg
, Döhmberg, Michelsberg, Hochthürmerberg, Schöneberg
, the nearby Nürburg Castle and Hochkelberg
), as well as the Siebengebirge
and its Großer Ölberg and, in conditions of good visibility, as far as the Westerwald
, the Taunus
, the Hunsrück
and the Lower Rhine.
s around the Hohe Acht and, at many places there are good views over the Eifel landscape.
In winter the Hohe Acht has some very good winter sport
facilities including prepared cross country skiing trails, toboggan
runs and ski lifts.
is known as the Hohe Acht.
Eifel
The Eifel is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the south of the German-speaking Community of Belgium....
mountains of Germany. It is located on the boundary between the districts of Ahrweiler and Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
.
Geography and geology
The Hohe Acht is located in the High Eifel east of AdenauAdenau
Adenau is a town in the High Eifel in Germany. It is known as the Johanniterstadt because the Order of Saint John was based there in the Middle Ages. The town's coat of arms combines the black cross of the Electorate of Cologne with the lion of the lords of Nürburg...
. The mountain is a tertiary
Tertiary
The Tertiary is a deprecated term for a geologic period 65 million to 2.6 million years ago. The Tertiary covered the time span between the superseded Secondary period and the Quaternary...
volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
, whose cone is composed of Lower Devonian
Devonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
rock and whose summit is made of basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
.
Emperor William Tower
In 1908/09 the Emperor William Tower (Kaiser-Wilhelm-Turm) was erected on the Hohe Acht. The reason for the construction of this stone observation towerObservation tower
An observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision. They are usually at least tall and made from stone, iron, and wood. Many modern towers are also used as TV towers, restaurants, or churches...
, based on plans by the architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, Freiherr von Tettau, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, was the silver wedding of Emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
William II
William II, German Emperor
Wilhelm II was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, ruling the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. He was a grandson of the British Queen Victoria and related to many monarchs and princes of Europe...
and Empress Augusta Victoria
Augusta Victoria
Augusta Victoria is a church-hospital complex located on the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem. Augusta Victoria was built in 1907 as a center for the German Protestant community in Ottoman Palestine. The complex, completed in 1910, included the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Ascension with a 65-metre...
as well as the commemoration of Emperor William I
William I, German Emperor
William I, also known as Wilhelm I , of the House of Hohenzollern was the King of Prussia and the first German Emperor .Under the leadership of William and his Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, Prussia achieved the unification of Germany and the...
The tower is 16.3 metres (53.5 ft) high and its walls are one metre thick at ground level. The work was carried out by master bricklayer
Bricklayer
A bricklayer or mason is a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The term also refers to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of masonry. In British and Australian English, a bricklayer is colloquially known as a "brickie".The training of a trade in...
s, Karl and Johannes Leidinger, from Adenau
Adenau
Adenau is a town in the High Eifel in Germany. It is known as the Johanniterstadt because the Order of Saint John was based there in the Middle Ages. The town's coat of arms combines the black cross of the Electorate of Cologne with the lion of the lords of Nürburg...
using local brick. The cost of construction was 18,000 marks
German gold mark
The Goldmark was the currency used in the German Empire from 1873 to 1914.-History:Before unification, the different German states issued a variety of different currencies, though most were linked to the Vereinsthaler, a silver coin containing 16⅔ grams of pure silver...
. The tower has been a protected monument since 1987.
The Emperor William Tower offers a superb view across the whole Eifel (including the mountains of Scharteberg
Scharteberg
The Scharteberg is a mountain, high, near Kirchweiler in the district of Vulkaneifel and is one the highest peaks in the Eifel region of Germany. On the summit is the Eifel Transmitter which belongs to SWR and is used for FM radio and television....
, Döhmberg, Michelsberg, Hochthürmerberg, Schöneberg
Schöneberg
Schöneberg is a locality of Berlin, Germany. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a separate borough including the locality of Friedenau. Together with the former borough of Tempelhof it is now part of the new borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg....
, the nearby Nürburg Castle and Hochkelberg
Hochkelberg
At the Hochkelberg is one of the ten highest mountains in the Vulkan Eifel in Germany. It is a former stratovolcano, at the southern foot of which lies the Mosbrucher Weiher, an explosion crater lake or maar. Below the summit of the Hochkelberg is a transmission tower.Originally the mountain...
), as well as the Siebengebirge
Siebengebirge
The Siebengebirge is a German range of hills to the East of the Rhine, southeast of Bonn, consisting of more than 40 mountains and hills. It is located in the municipalities of Bad Honnef and Königswinter. It is of volcanic origin and came into being between 28 and 15 million years ago...
and its Großer Ölberg and, in conditions of good visibility, as far as the Westerwald
Westerwald
The Westerwald is a low mountain range on the right bank of the River Rhine in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a part of the Rhine Massif...
, the Taunus
Taunus
The Taunus is a low mountain range in Hesse, Germany that composes part of the Rhenish Slate Mountains. It is bounded by the river valleys of Rhine, Main and Lahn. On the opposite side of the Rhine, the mountains are continued by the Hunsrück...
, the Hunsrück
Hunsrück
The Hunsrück is a low mountain range in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the river valleys of the Moselle , the Nahe , and the Rhine . The Hunsrück is continued by the Taunus mountains on the eastern side of the Rhine. In the north behind the Moselle it is continued by the Eifel...
and the Lower Rhine.
Walking and winter sports
There is a network of footpathTrail
A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...
s around the Hohe Acht and, at many places there are good views over the Eifel landscape.
In winter the Hohe Acht has some very good winter sport
Winter sport
A winter sport is a sport which is played on snow or ice. Most such sports are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally such sports were only played in cold areas during winter, but artificial snow and ice allow more flexibility...
facilities including prepared cross country skiing trails, toboggan
Toboggan
A toboggan is a simple sled which is a traditional form of transport used by the Innu and Cree of northern Canada. In modern times, it is used on snow to carry one or more people down a hill or other slope for recreation. Designs vary from simple, traditional models to modern engineered composites...
runs and ski lifts.
Motor racing
Very close to the Hohe Acht on a 678 metres (2,224.4 ft) high volcanic cone is Nürburg Castle. A section of the North loop (Nordschleife) on the Formula 1 racetrack at the NürburgringNürburgring
The Nürburgring is a motorsport complex around the village of Nürburg, Germany. It features a modern Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a much longer old North loop track which was built in the 1920s around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg in the Eifel mountains. It is located about...
is known as the Hohe Acht.
Source
- d´Hein: Nationaler Geopark Vulkanland Eifel. Ein Natur- und Kulturführer. Gaasterland Verlag, Düsseldorf 2006, ISBN 3-935873-15-8