Hornisgrinde
Encyclopedia
The Hornisgrinde, 1164 m (3820 ft), is the highest mountain
in the Northern Black Forest
of Germany
. The Hornisgrinde lies in northern Ortenaukreis
district.
Biberkessel with the landing Blindsee lake. The summit changes to the Katzenkopf mountain in the southwest at 1123 m, into the southeast drops the burr toward Seibelseckle. The Katzenkopf mountain and the southeast burr of the Hornisgrinde form the cirque of the Mummelsee
.
, the duchy Württemberg
and the Diocese of Strasbourg
. Today the point represents the boundary border between Baden's municipalities Sasbach
, Seebach
and Württemberg's municipality Baiersbronn
. With a height of 1,151 m above sea level the Dreifürstenstein is the highest point of Württemberg.
leads, along the west and south slope runs the Schwarzwaldhochstraße with a large parking lot at the Mummelsee. From there a didactic exhibition with diagrams of the nature protection center Ruhestein leads across the summit level, which crosses the Hochmoor by a wood plank way.
association of Baden. New red sandstone was used as building material. Together with the Mummelsee the tower was one of the most popular trip goals of the region at that time. In 1942 it was seized by the Luftwaffe
. After World War II
the French military used it. In 2000 the forestry association Seebach acquired the tower back from the federation and transferred it to the municipality Seebach into hereditary lease. To May 29, 2005 the tower was opened again for the public.
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
in the Northern Black Forest
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
of 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...
. The Hornisgrinde lies in northern Ortenaukreis
Ortenaukreis
Ortenaukreis is a district in the west of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Rastatt, Freudenstadt, Rottweil, Schwarzwald-Baar and Emmendingen...
district.
Origin of the name
The name is probably derived from Latin, and essentially translates to "swampy head," referring to the Hochmoor. Another interpretation of the name is derived from the terms Horn, miss and grind and meant the same as kahler Bergrücken ("bald ridge"), which carries a moorland on its height.Geography
The summit of the Hornisgrinde is framed of the Muhrkopf (1003 m) near Unterstmatt in the north and the Mummelsee (1036 m) in the south. In the west the slope is cut through by the Schwarzwaldhochstraße (B 500) in approximately 900 to 1000 m, in the east drops the tendency steeply to the ice-age cirqueCirque
Cirque may refer to:* Cirque, a geological formation* Makhtesh, an erosional landform found in the Negev desert of Israel and Sinai of Egypt*Cirque , an album by Biosphere* Cirque Corporation, a company that makes touchpads...
Biberkessel with the landing Blindsee lake. The summit changes to the Katzenkopf mountain in the southwest at 1123 m, into the southeast drops the burr toward Seibelseckle. The Katzenkopf mountain and the southeast burr of the Hornisgrinde form the cirque of the Mummelsee
Mummelsee
The Mummelsee is a 17-metre-deep lake at the western mountainside of the Hornisgrinde in the northern Black Forest of Germany. It is very popular with tourists travelling along the Schwarzwaldhochstraße. According to legends, the lake is inhabited by a Nix and the King of the Mummelsee.-External...
.
Climate
The Hornisgrinde belongs to the precipitation-richest places in Germany. The average yearly precipitation amounts to 1931 mm. Over 99% of the measuring points of the German weather service indicate lower values. The driest month is February; at most it rains in June. There's 1.4 times more precipitation in the precipitation-richest month than in the driest one. The seasonal precipitation fluctuations lie in the upper third. In over 81% of all places the monthly precipitation varies less.Dreifürstenstein
The Dreifürstenstein is a sandstone plate, which is located at the southeast edge of the plateau. It originates from the year 1722 and marked the border between the Margraviate of BadenMargraviate of Baden
The Margraviate of Baden were a historical territory in the Holy Roman Empire. It was already named so in 1112 and existed until the division in 1535 and lived with the reunion back in 1771, until the Electorate of Baden came up in 1803...
, the duchy Württemberg
Württemberg
Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
and the Diocese of Strasbourg
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Strasbourg
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Strasbourg is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France.The archdiocese is unique in France as it has no suffragans and is immediately subject to the Holy See in Rome....
. Today the point represents the boundary border between Baden's municipalities Sasbach
Sasbach (Ortenau)
Sasbach is a town in the district of Ortenau in Western Baden-Württemberg, Germany.-Information:Obersasbach belongs to Sasbach...
, Seebach
Seebach, Baden-Württemberg
Seebach is a town in the district of Ortenau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
and Württemberg's municipality Baiersbronn
Baiersbronn
Baiersbronn is a municipality in the district of Freudenstadt in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is situated in the Black Forest on the Murg river.Administratively, Baiersbronn consists of the following nine villages:* Baiersbronn* Friedrichstal...
. With a height of 1,151 m above sea level the Dreifürstenstein is the highest point of Württemberg.
Military use
In 1938 the entire southern range of the summit level was declared as the military restricted area. First being in use since 1942 by the German Forces as an air defense position, the French took over the location in 1945. These operated on the Hornisgrinde an observing station on behalf of the French foreign secret service DGSE. Later the location was used parallel also by the Bundeswehr and NATO. After the plant went out of operation in 1994, it lay fallow several years. The restricted area was released in 1997. In 1999 the neighbor municipalities took over the federal area. Some of the buildings and masts are preserved, however they're purging more and more.Tourism
Across the ridge the WestwegWestweg
The Westweg, , is a long-distance hiking trail running north-south through the Black Forest from Pforzheim to Basel. The trail is around 285 kilometres long, and was founded in 1900. It is currently maintained under the auspices of the Schwarzwaldverein...
leads, along the west and south slope runs the Schwarzwaldhochstraße with a large parking lot at the Mummelsee. From there a didactic exhibition with diagrams of the nature protection center Ruhestein leads across the summit level, which crosses the Hochmoor by a wood plank way.
Observation tower
At the southern end, above the Mummelsee, stands the 23 m high Hornisgrindeturm. Its building of 1910 goes back to the initiative of the SchwarzwaldvereinSchwarzwaldverein
The Schwarzwaldverein, or Black Forest Association, was founded in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany in 1864, making it the oldest German hiking and mountaineering club. The Schwarzwaldverein has almost 90,000 members in 241 local chapters...
association of Baden. New red sandstone was used as building material. Together with the Mummelsee the tower was one of the most popular trip goals of the region at that time. In 1942 it was seized by the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the French military used it. In 2000 the forestry association Seebach acquired the tower back from the federation and transferred it to the municipality Seebach into hereditary lease. To May 29, 2005 the tower was opened again for the public.
Signal tower
At the highest point of the mountain, in the midst of the summit level is a further tower, the 7 meters high signal tower established around 1840. In 1892 it was converted by assembly of stairs at the exterior into an observation tower. However, it was inaccessible during the military use of the summit. In 2000 the tower (also called Bismarck tower) was reorganized and made again accessible by a steel spiral stair lying outside.Alpine
Directly to the Hornisgrinde is no lift system. However, north of the summit is the Skizirkus Unterstmatt, with two lifts at the north slope of the Muhrkopf. In the south the skiing lift Seibelseckle is neighbouring.Cross-country skiing
Around the summit of the Hornisgrinde leads a 14 km long loipe consisting of the Mummelseeloipe (6 km), Hundsrückenloipe (4.5 km) and the loipe Ochsenstall-Seibelseckle (3.5 km). It is prepared for classical and skating technology. Entrance possibilities are at the Mummelsee, at the col Seibelseckle and at the col Unterstmatt.Technical plants
- Due to the high average wind speed of 5.2 m/s in the annual average on the Hornisgrinde in the mid-1990s a commercial wind park was established. In 1994 two wind-power plants of 110 KW each one were built in private initiative, a third one with 132 KW followed in 1996. Like on other places there are controversial discusses about the exposed location.
- Also on top of the Hornisgrinde is a 206 m (676 ft) high radio tower of the Südwestrundfunk, transmitting radio and television programmes. The tower is not open to the public.
- At the northern end of the summit plateau is a transmitting tower of the German Telekom AGDeutsche TelekomDeutsche Telekom AG is a telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is the largest telecommunications company in Europe....
. It accommodates a relay stationAmateur radio repeaterAn amateur radio repeater is an electronic device that receives a weak or low-level amateur radio signal and retransmits it at a higher level or higher power, so that the signal can cover longer distances without degradation...
for amateur televisionAmateur televisionAmateur television is the transmission of Broadcast quality video and audio over the wide range of frequencies of allocated for Radio amateur use. ATV is used for non-commercial experimentation, pleasure and public service events...
. Until 2005 also the program of the Deutschlandfunk was radiated by this tower, later the transmitter was shifted to the higher and thus far handing SWR tower. Also this tower is not accessible for the public.