Kellerwald
Encyclopedia
The Kellerwald is a low mountain range
reaching heights of up to 675 m in the western part of northern Hesse
, Germany
.
Its assets include Germany's largest contiguous beech
woodland and it contains Hesse's only national park
, the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park.
and Schwalm-Eder
. Abutting the Kellerwald at its northern edge are the Edersee
and the Affolderner See (man-made lakes), to the northeast, the Kellerwald's heights slope down into the Eder
Valley, and towards the east and southeast they fall off into the Schwalm
Valley. In the southwest, the range goes by way of the Wohra Valley into the Burgwald range and in the west, beyond the river Eder, lies the Breite Struth (a range of hills).
Within the Kellerwald are the Ederhöhen (the "Eder Heights", a mountainous region in the range's north), whose area roughly coincides with the aforesaid national park, the Wildunger Bergland ("Wildungen Highlands"), which makes up the middle part of the Kellerwald, and the Keller (also known as the Hoher Keller or the Hoher Kellerwald, a mountain ridge in the south of the Kellerwald) made up of, from southwest to northeast, Jeust (585 m above sea level), Wüstegarten (675 m), Hunsrück (636 m) and Sauklippe (584 m).
, radiolarian rock, shale
, greywacke
and diabase
. A regional peculiarity is the dark red Kellerwald agate
, an Eisenkiesel, a "quartz
that is turned opaque red with hematite
inclusions".http://www.mindat.org/min-9250.html
making for the many ironworks
and copper
works that needed charcoal to fuel their furnaces, thus leading to the name Köhlerwald ("charcoal maker forest"), commonly pronounced Köllerwald (with an œ sound, rather than [ø]; this [œ] is not very different from the [ɛ] sound of Kellerwald).
The other interpretation holds that the name was originally Kahler Wald ("bare forest" or "bald forest"), a name suggested by heavy clearing in some parts of the woods at one time.
Either process could have yielded the name Kellerwald used today through sound shifts.
Wald simply means "forest" in German
.
Furthermore, a great area is part of the Europe
an network "Natura 2000
" (Special Area of Conservation
and Special Protection Area
), as well as, in parts, Bannwald, a German designation for wooded wildernesses allowed to grow naturally without any human intervention. Further Special Areas of Conservation are, among others, the oak
forests on the steep slopes at the Edersee, the aforesaid Keller in the southern part of the nature park and the Urff, a linear Special Area of Conservation from the source to the river's mouth into the Schwalm. In small areas, there are also nature reserve
s and protected scenic areas. The conservation efforts have yielded, perhaps most importantly, one of Central Europe
's last contiguous broadleaf forests of international grade.
The predominant woodland type is described as acidic-soil woodrush
-beech
forest.
In 2005, the Kellerwald-Edersee Nature Park was brought by the Federal Office for Nature Conservation (Bundesamt für Naturschutz) into the programme called the "Great Nature Conservation Project of Pan-Governmentally Representative Importance" (Naturschutzgroßprojekt von gesamtstaatlich repräsentativer Bedeutung).
. More than 30% of the trees are older than 140 years. The main human activity here was hunting
rather than forestry
. The main tree here is the beech, which is predominant here in acidic-soil (shale, greywacke, quartzite) woodrush-beech forest. Worthy of mention are the many special places on the steep slopes at the Edersee. Here are found the last remains of virgin forest
and gnarled sessile oak
forests with St. Bernard's lilies
, and the highest incidence in Hesse of Cheddar pinks
.
In the higher levels grow mountain arnica
and maiden pink
s, and in the valley areas western marsh orchid
s and early purple orchid
s. Near the Jägersburg near Odershausen are found a few rare dwarf beeches
. In cool and damp stream dales grows the rare, highly poisonous common monkshood
. In light beech and oak forests with limy subsoil is found the martagon lily
. In a few places are found great stands of the rare wild daffodil
.
, the common raven
, six kinds of woodpecker
(among them the rare middle spotted woodpecker
and the grey-headed woodpecker
), the black
and the red kite
(which here reach their highest population density anywhere in Hesse), the peregrine falcon
, the Tengmalm's owl
, the honey buzzard
, the Eurasian eagle owl
and the great grey shrike
.
One of the Kellerwald's characteristic animals is the red deer
. In the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park are found fallow deer
and European mouflon. Besides these, roe deer
and wild boar
are also common. The wildcat
is rare.
In the area that is now the national park, the first raccoon
s, whose natural habitat is in North America
, were released into the wild in Germany on 12 April 1934 by Wilhelm Sittich Freiherr von Berlepsch (1881–1948; "Freiherr" is a title, roughly equivalent to "Baron")http://www.v.berlepsch.de/_private/waschbaeren-wilhelm-engl.htm. Since that time, they have spread far beyond the confines of the Kellerwald. Fox
es, badger
s, pine martens
, beech martens
, polecats
and stoat
s are also to be found in the Kellerwald. Of the 19 kinds of bat
that live in Hesse, 14 have been noted in the Kellerwald. Another characteristic animal of the Kellerwald is the fire salamander
, found here in its thousands. Further typical amphibians are the palmate newt
and the midwife toad
.
In the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park, almost a thousand kinds of beetle
from more than 80 families have been noted.
trails, among them the Kellerwaldsteig, a roughly 167 km-long loop joining mountains and places in the Kellerwald-Edersee Nature Park and the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park together. Round the Edersee has run since 2005 the 68 km-long Urwaldsteig Edersee ("Virgin Forest Trail") through the oak forests on the lake's north shore and through the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park south of the lake.
, not far from, and below the water level of the Affolderner See (reservoir); the point is precisely 194 m above sea level
. On the other hand, the Kellerwald's highest point is on the Wüstegarten (675 m above sea level).
Among the Kellerwald's and the two herein mentioned parks' best known – albeit not necessarily highest – mountains are (including the "Six Hundreders", and sorted by height):
This German article includes a much more exhaustive list of the Kellerwald's notable peaks.
On the Kellerwald's northern edge lie these still, open bodies of water:
Both are man-made.
in Upper Franconia
.
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
reaching heights of up to 675 m in the western part of northern 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...
, 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...
.
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
woodland and it contains Hesse's only national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
, the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park.
Geography
The Kellerwald lies in northern Hesse in the districts of Waldeck-FrankenbergWaldeck-Frankenberg
Waldeck-Frankenberg is a Kreis in the north of Hesse, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Höxter, Kassel, Schwalm-Eder, Marburg-Biedenkopf, Siegen-Wittgenstein, Hochsauerland.-History:...
and Schwalm-Eder
Schwalm-Eder-Kreis
Schwalm-Eder is a Kreis in the north of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Kassel, Werra-Meißner, Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Vogelsbergkreis, Marburg-Biedenkopf, Waldeck-Frankenberg.-History:...
. Abutting the Kellerwald at its northern edge are the Edersee
Edersee
The Edersee Dam is a hydroelectric dam constructed between 1908 to 1914 across the Eder river, near the small town of Waldeck in northern Hesse, Germany, it lies at the northern edge of the Kellerwald...
and the Affolderner See (man-made lakes), to the northeast, the Kellerwald's heights slope down into the Eder
Eder
The Eder is a 177 km long river in Germany, and a tributary of the Fulda River. It was first mentioned by the Roman historian Tacitus as the Adrana in the territory of the Chatti....
Valley, and towards the east and southeast they fall off into the Schwalm
Schwalm
The Schwalm is a river in Hesse, Germany, right tributary of the Eder. It rises on the north side of the Vogelsberg Mountains. It flows north through Alsfeld, Schwalmstadt and Borken...
Valley. In the southwest, the range goes by way of the Wohra Valley into the Burgwald range and in the west, beyond the river Eder, lies the Breite Struth (a range of hills).
Within the Kellerwald are the Ederhöhen (the "Eder Heights", a mountainous region in the range's north), whose area roughly coincides with the aforesaid national park, the Wildunger Bergland ("Wildungen Highlands"), which makes up the middle part of the Kellerwald, and the Keller (also known as the Hoher Keller or the Hoher Kellerwald, a mountain ridge in the south of the Kellerwald) made up of, from southwest to northeast, Jeust (585 m above sea level), Wüstegarten (675 m), Hunsrück (636 m) and Sauklippe (584 m).
Geology
Geologically the Kellerwald, made up mainly of palaeozoic rocks, belongs to the Rhenish Slate Mountains. Scenically, however, it is also grouped as a separate entity with the Hessian Basin, because the rivers Eder and Itter form a natural boundary. Important minerals are the so-called Kellerwald quartziteQuartzite
Quartzite is a hard metamorphic rock which was originally sandstone. Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. Pure quartzite is usually white to gray, though quartzites often occur in various shades of pink...
, radiolarian rock, shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
, greywacke
Greywacke
Greywacke or Graywacke is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness, dark color, and poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or lithic fragments set in a compact, clay-fine matrix. It is a texturally immature sedimentary rock generally found...
and diabase
Diabase
Diabase or dolerite is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. In North American usage, the term diabase refers to the fresh rock, whilst elsewhere the term dolerite is used for the fresh rock and diabase refers to altered material...
. A regional peculiarity is the dark red Kellerwald agate
Agate
Agate is a microcrystalline variety of silica, chiefly chalcedony, characterised by its fineness of grain and brightness of color. Although agates may be found in various kinds of rock, they are classically associated with volcanic rocks and can be common in certain metamorphic rocks.-Etymology...
, an Eisenkiesel, a "quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
that is turned opaque red with hematite
Hematite
Hematite, also spelled as haematite, is the mineral form of iron oxide , one of several iron oxides. Hematite crystallizes in the rhombohedral system, and it has the same crystal structure as ilmenite and corundum...
inclusions".http://www.mindat.org/min-9250.html
Name origin
The Kellerwald is named after the mountain ridge called the Keller, mentioned above. Where the name Keller came from is interpreted two different ways: Beginning about 1600, the woodlands were in heavy use in charcoalCharcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
making for the many ironworks
Ironworks
An ironworks or iron works is a building or site where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and/or steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e...
and copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
works that needed charcoal to fuel their furnaces, thus leading to the name Köhlerwald ("charcoal maker forest"), commonly pronounced Köllerwald (with an œ sound, rather than [ø]; this [œ] is not very different from the [ɛ] sound of Kellerwald).
The other interpretation holds that the name was originally Kahler Wald ("bare forest" or "bald forest"), a name suggested by heavy clearing in some parts of the woods at one time.
Either process could have yielded the name Kellerwald used today through sound shifts.
Wald simply means "forest" in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
.
Conservation status
The Kellerwald is subject to a special conservation status. Almost its whole unspoilt natural area belongs to the Kellerwald-Edersee Nature Park. The northern part, with an area of 57.24 km² has been designated since 1 January 2004 as the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park.Furthermore, a great area is part of the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an network "Natura 2000
Natura 2000
Natura 2000 is an ecological network of protected areas in the territory of the European Union.-Origins:In May 1992, the governments of the European Communities adopted legislation designed to protect the most seriously threatened habitats and species across Europe. This legislation is called the...
" (Special Area of Conservation
Special Area of Conservation
A Special Area of Conservation is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive , also known as the Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora...
and Special Protection Area
Special Protection Area
A Special Protection Area or SPA is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certain particularly threatened birds.Together with Special...
), as well as, in parts, Bannwald, a German designation for wooded wildernesses allowed to grow naturally without any human intervention. Further Special Areas of Conservation are, among others, the oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
forests on the steep slopes at the Edersee, the aforesaid Keller in the southern part of the nature park and the Urff, a linear Special Area of Conservation from the source to the river's mouth into the Schwalm. In small areas, there are also nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
s and protected scenic areas. The conservation efforts have yielded, perhaps most importantly, one of Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
's last contiguous broadleaf forests of international grade.
The predominant woodland type is described as acidic-soil woodrush
Field woodrush
Luzula campestris is a rush commonly known as Field Wood-rush, Good Friday Grass or Sweep's Brush.It is a very common plant throughout temperate Europe and Asia. It is found on all types of grassland including lawns, golf-courses and fields.Luzula campestris is relatively short, between 5 cm...
-beech
European Beech
Fagus sylvatica, the European Beech or Common Beech, is a deciduous tree belonging to the beech family Fagaceae.-Natural range:...
forest.
In 2005, the Kellerwald-Edersee Nature Park was brought by the Federal Office for Nature Conservation (Bundesamt für Naturschutz) into the programme called the "Great Nature Conservation Project of Pan-Governmentally Representative Importance" (Naturschutzgroßprojekt von gesamtstaatlich repräsentativer Bedeutung).
Flora
Since the 19th century, the northern part of the Kellerwald (since 2004, the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park), as hunting woods for the Princes of Waldeck, has been surrounded by gates. To be found here are some particularly pristine beech forests, although they have been damaged somewhat by the high concentration of gameGame (food)
Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...
. More than 30% of the trees are older than 140 years. The main human activity here was hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
rather than forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
. The main tree here is the beech, which is predominant here in acidic-soil (shale, greywacke, quartzite) woodrush-beech forest. Worthy of mention are the many special places on the steep slopes at the Edersee. Here are found the last remains of virgin forest
Virgin Forest
Virgin Forest is a self-described B-movie starring Sarsi Emmanuel, who plays a barrio lass of Chinese ancestry; the late Miguel Rodriguez, as a Filipino-Spanish illustrado; and, Abel Jurado, who plays the lover of Sarsi's character.-Synopsis:...
and gnarled sessile oak
Sessile Oak
Quercus petraea , the Sessile Oak, also known as the Durmast Oak, is a species of oak native to most of Europe, and into Anatolia.-Description:...
forests with St. Bernard's lilies
Anthericum liliago
Anthericum liliago is a species of the genus Anthericum. It is native to Europe and Turkey, growing in dry pastures, stony places and open woods and flowering in early summer.-Description:...
, and the highest incidence in Hesse of Cheddar pinks
Dianthus
Dianthus is a genus of about 300 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species extending south to north Africa, and one species in arctic North America. Common names include carnation , pink and sweet William Dianthus is a genus of...
.
In the higher levels grow mountain arnica
Arnica montana
Arnica montana, known commonly as leopard's bane, wolf's bane, mountain tobacco and mountain arnica, is a European flowering plant with large yellow capitula....
and maiden pink
Maiden pink
Dianthus deltoides is a species of Dianthus native to most of Europe and western Asia. It can also be found in many parts of North America, where it is an introduced species....
s, and in the valley areas western marsh orchid
Western marsh orchid
The western marsh orchid is a terrestrial European orchid. Its flowering period begins at lower elevations as early as the beginning of May and ends in higher elevations at the end of July...
s and early purple orchid
Early Purple Orchid
Orchis mascula, the Early Purple Orchid, is a species of orchid in the genus Orchis.-Etymology:The specific name is derived from the Latin "masculus", meaning "male" or "virile" and it should refer to the robust aspect of this species or to the shape of the tubers, similar to a pair of...
s. Near the Jägersburg near Odershausen are found a few rare dwarf beeches
Dwarf Beech
The Dwarf Beech, Fagus sylvatica Tortuosa Group, is a rare Cultivar Group of the European Beech with less than 1500 older specimens in Europe. It is also known as Twisted Beech or Parasol Beech....
. In cool and damp stream dales grows the rare, highly poisonous common monkshood
Aconitum
Aconitum , known as aconite, monkshood, wolfsbane, leopard's bane, women's bane, Devil's helmet or blue rocket, is a genus of over 250 species of flowering plants belonging to the buttercup family .-Overview:These herbaceous perennial plants are chiefly natives of the mountainous parts of the...
. In light beech and oak forests with limy subsoil is found the martagon lily
Lilium martagon
Lilium martagon is a species of lily. It has a widespread native region extending from central Europe east through northern Asia to Mongolia and Korea. Several subspecies have been named. Horticulturally it is in Division 9, It is stem-rooting, growing between 1m and 2m tall...
. In a few places are found great stands of the rare wild daffodil
Narcissus pseudonarcissus
Narcissus pseudonarcissus is a perennial flowering plant which grows from a bulb. It has pale yellow flowers with a darker central trumpet...
.
Fauna
In the Kellerwald, parts of which are also a Special Protection Area (for birds), a number of bird species still or once again breed, among them the black storkBlack Stork
The Black Stork Ciconia nigra is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It is a widespread, but rare, species that breeds in the warmer parts of Europe, predominantly in central and eastern regions. This is a shy and wary species, unlike the closely related White Stork. It is seen in...
, the common raven
Common Raven
The Common Raven , also known as the Northern Raven, is a large, all-black passerine bird. Found across the northern hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids...
, six kinds of woodpecker
Woodpecker
Woodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks. They are found worldwide and include about 180 species....
(among them the rare middle spotted woodpecker
Middle Spotted Woodpecker
The Middle Spotted Woodpecker is a European woodpecker belonging to the genus Dendrocopos.The Middle Spotted Woodpecker is 20–22 cm long and has plumage similar to the Great Spotted Woodpecker. As with that species the upperparts are predominantly black with white oval wing patches and white...
and the grey-headed woodpecker
Grey-headed Woodpecker
The Grey-headed Woodpecker , also known as the Grey-faced Woodpecker, is a Eurasian member of the woodpecker family Piciformes....
), the black
Black Kite
The Black Kite is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors. Unlike others of the group, they are opportunistic hunters and are more likely to scavenge. They spend a lot of time soaring and gliding in thermals in search of food. Their...
and the red kite
Red Kite
The Red Kite is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species is currently endemic to the Western Palearctic region in Europe and northwest Africa, though formerly also occurred just...
(which here reach their highest population density anywhere in Hesse), the peregrine falcon
Peregrine Falcon
The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...
, the Tengmalm's owl
Tengmalm's Owl
Boreal Owl, Aegolius funereus, is a small owl. It is also known as the Tengmalm's Owl after Swedish naturalist Peter Gustaf Tengmalm. Other names for the owl include Richardson's Owl, Funeral Owl , Sparrow Owl and Pearl Owl...
, the honey buzzard
Honey Buzzard
The European Honey Buzzard , is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, eagles and harriers....
, the Eurasian eagle owl
Eurasian Eagle Owl
The Eurasian Eagle-Owl is a species of eagle owl resident in much of Eurasia. It is also one of the largest types of owls.-Description:The Eagle Owl is a large and powerful bird, smaller than the Golden Eagle but larger than the Snowy Owl...
and the great grey shrike
Great Grey Shrike
The Great Grey Shrike or Northern Grey Shrike is a large songbird species in the shrike family . It forms a superspecies with its parapatric southern relatives, the Southern Grey Shrike , the Chinese Grey Shrike and the Loggerhead Shrike...
.
One of the Kellerwald's characteristic animals is the red deer
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
. In the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park are found fallow deer
Fallow Deer
The Fallow Deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. This common species is native to western Eurasia, but has been introduced widely elsewhere. It often includes the rarer Persian Fallow Deer as a subspecies , while others treat it as an entirely different species The Fallow...
and European mouflon. Besides these, roe deer
Roe Deer
The European Roe Deer , also known as the Western Roe Deer, chevreuil or just Roe Deer, is a Eurasian species of deer. It is relatively small, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapted to cold environments. Roe Deer are widespread in Western Europe, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, and from...
and wild boar
Boar
Wild boar, also wild pig, is a species of the pig genus Sus, part of the biological family Suidae. The species includes many subspecies. It is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig, an animal with which it freely hybridises...
are also common. The wildcat
Wild cat
The wildcat is a small cat with several subspecies and a very broad distribution, found throughout most of Africa, Europe, and southwest and central Asia into India, China, and Mongolia. It is a hunter of small mammals, birds, and other creatures of a similar or smaller size. Sometimes included is...
is rare.
In the area that is now the national park, the first raccoon
Raccoon
Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
s, whose natural habitat is in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, were released into the wild in Germany on 12 April 1934 by Wilhelm Sittich Freiherr von Berlepsch (1881–1948; "Freiherr" is a title, roughly equivalent to "Baron")http://www.v.berlepsch.de/_private/waschbaeren-wilhelm-engl.htm. Since that time, they have spread far beyond the confines of the Kellerwald. Fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
es, badger
Badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...
s, pine martens
Pine Marten
The European Pine Marten , known most commonly as the pine marten in Anglophone Europe, and less commonly also known as Pineten, baum marten, or sweet marten, is an animal native to Northern Europe belonging to the mustelid family, which also includes mink, otter, badger, wolverine and weasel. It...
, beech martens
Beech Marten
The beech marten , also known as the stone marten or white breasted marten, is a species of marten native to much of Europe and Central Asia, though it has established a feral population in North America. It is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN on account of its wide distribution, its large...
, polecats
European polecat
The European polecat , also known as the black or forest polecat , is a species of Mustelid native to western Eurasia and North Africa, which is classed by the IUCN as Least Concern due to its wide range and large numbers. It is of a generally dark brown colour, with a pale underbelly and a dark...
and stoat
Stoat
The stoat , also known as the ermine or short-tailed weasel, is a species of Mustelid native to Eurasia and North America, distinguished from the least weasel by its larger size and longer tail with a prominent black tip...
s are also to be found in the Kellerwald. Of the 19 kinds of bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
that live in Hesse, 14 have been noted in the Kellerwald. Another characteristic animal of the Kellerwald is the fire salamander
Fire Salamander
The fire salamander is probably the best-known salamander species in Europe. It is black with yellow spots or stripes to a varying degree; some specimens can be nearly completely black while on others the yellow is dominant. Shades of red and orange may sometimes appear, either replacing or mixing...
, found here in its thousands. Further typical amphibians are the palmate newt
Palmate Newt
The Palmate Newt is a species of newt found in most of Western Europe, including Great Britain. It is protected by law in all countries where it occurs, and is thought to be extremely rare to endangered in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg and vulnerable in Spain and Poland but common...
and the midwife toad
Midwife toad
Midwife toads are a genus of frogs in the Discoglossidae family, and are found in most of Europe and northwestern Africa. Characteristic of these toad-like frogs is their parental care: the males carry a string of fertilised eggs on their back, hence the name "midwife". The female expels a strand...
.
In the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park, almost a thousand kinds of beetle
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
from more than 80 families have been noted.
Hiking
Through the Kellerwald run many hikingHiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
trails, among them the Kellerwaldsteig, a roughly 167 km-long loop joining mountains and places in the Kellerwald-Edersee Nature Park and the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park together. Round the Edersee has run since 2005 the 68 km-long Urwaldsteig Edersee ("Virgin Forest Trail") through the oak forests on the lake's north shore and through the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park south of the lake.
Mountains and heights
The Kellerwald's lowest point is found at the edge of the Eder Valley on the outskirts of AffoldernEdertal
-Location:Edertal lies roughly 30 km in a straight line southwest of Kassel. It is on the north and northwest edges of the Kellerwald range and stretches to the south shore of the Edersee and south and southwest of its dam...
, not far from, and below the water level of the Affolderner See (reservoir); the point is precisely 194 m above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
. On the other hand, the Kellerwald's highest point is on the Wüstegarten (675 m above sea level).
Among the Kellerwald's and the two herein mentioned parks' best known – albeit not necessarily highest – mountains are (including the "Six Hundreders", and sorted by height):
- Wüstegarten (675 m) – with Kellerwaldturm
- Hohes Lohr (657 m) – with television transmitter
- Große Aschkoppe (640 m)
- Hunsrück (636 m) – foothill of Wüstegarten
- Traddelkopf (626 m)
- Winterberg (617 m) – foothill of Gr. Aschkoppe
- Auenberg (611 m)
- Kleine Aschkoppe (607 m) – foothill of Gr. Aschkoppe
- Ahornkopf (604 m) – foothill of Traddelkopf
- Dicker Kopf (604 m)
- Jeust (585 m)
- Talgang (566 m) – with nearby, former Quernst Church
- Ermerod / Peterskopf (ca. 540 m / 507 m) – with two high reservoirs
- Homberg (518 m) – with lookout tower
This German article includes a much more exhaustive list of the Kellerwald's notable peaks.
Bodies of water
The Kellerwald is crossed or touched by many watercourses, among them:
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On the Kellerwald's northern edge lie these still, open bodies of water:
- EderseeEderseeThe Edersee Dam is a hydroelectric dam constructed between 1908 to 1914 across the Eder river, near the small town of Waldeck in northern Hesse, Germany, it lies at the northern edge of the Kellerwald...
- Affolderner See
Both are man-made.
Sundry
Kellerwald is also the name of a much smaller wood in ForchheimForchheim (Oberfranken)
Forchheim is a large town in Upper Franconia in northern Bavaria, and also the seat of the administrative district of Forchheim. Forchheim is a former royal city, and is sometimes called the “Gateway to the Franconian Switzerland”, as the region is known. Its population, as of October 2008, was...
in Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia is a Regierungsbezirk of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia , all now part of the German Federal State of Bayern .With more than 200 independent breweries which brew...
.
External links
- Kellerwald-Edersee National Park, official page
- Kellerwald-Edersee Nature Park, special purpose association's official page
- Kellerwald-Edersee Region
- Kellerwaldsteig, excellent hiking trail