Wasserkuppe
Encyclopedia
The Wasserkuppe is a high plateau
(elevation 950 m or 3,100 ft), 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 rise from Wasenkuppe, Asenberg or Weideberg with the meaning Pasture mountain.
5.3 kilometres (3.3 mi) north of Gersfeld
. Other villages nearby are Poppenhausen
(4.7 kilometres (2.9 mi) west - south west) and Wüstensachsen (5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east, part of Ehrenberg, Hesse
). It is part of the Biosphere Reserve Rhön.
The Wasserkuppe sources the spring of the river Fulda (the western source of the Weser) and the river Lütter which joins the Fulda after 50 kilometres (31 mi).
The Wasserkuppe has three branches: Abtsrodaer Kuppe
(905 metres (2,969 ft) NN), Schafstein (east, 831.8 metres (2,729 ft) NN) and Pferdskopf
(south west, 874.9 metres (2,870 ft) NN).
began flying glider
s from the Wasserkuppe as early as 1911, but interest in gliding
in Germany increased greatly after 1918 when the Treaty of Versailles
restricted the production or use of powered aircraft in the nation. From 1920 onwards, annual gliding
competitions were held, leading to records being set and broken for height, distance, and duration of unpowered flight. In 1922 Arthur Martens became the first glider pilot to use an updraft
rising along a mountain slope to stay aloft for a lengthy period. He then founded the world's first glider pilot school at the Wasserkuppe.
The first competition was organised by Oskar Ursinus
, who also built the first clubhouse on the Wasserkuppe in 1924 to replace the shipping containers that enthusiasts were using as accommodation up to that point. By 1930, the competition had become an international event, drawing pilots from all over Europe
and even the United States
.
Also in 1924 'Rhönvater' (Rhön father) Oskar Ursinus
, convinced the then secretary of air transport for the ministry of transportation, Dr.Brandenburg to turn the new gliding club into a state funded research organization. This started the Rhön-Rossitten Gesellschaft
and as a result, the Wasserkuppe now had a gliding school, workshops for building gliders and a funded research facility. Alexander Lippisch
was appointed as the managing director of the new society.
Virtually every German aeronautical engineer and test pilot of note during the 1920s and 30s spent time building, testing, and flying aircraft at the Wasserkuppe, including the Günter brothers
, Wolf Hirth
, the Horten brothers
, Robert Kronfeld
, Hans Jacobs
, Alexander Lippisch
, Willy Messerschmitt
, Hanna Reitsch
, Peter Riedel
, Alexander Schleicher
and many, many others. This period saw great advances in new technologies such as flying wing
s and rocket
-powered flights.
In the 1930s the "Ehrenhalle" (Hall of Honor) was constructed in the Lilienthal Haus, with heavy bronze doors opening into a large hall with a stained glass window. The centerpiece is a larger-than-life bronze figure of Otto Lilienthal
lying on an (empty) tomb. It is a memorial to all pilots who have died in aviation accidents. The inscription on the memorial is Lilienthal's famous last words: "Opfer müssen gebracht werden" roughly meaning: "Sacrifices must be made."
During the Third Reich, gliding
activities became largely controlled by the state, and for Hitler Youth
pilots and their instructors, proficiency in gliding was viewed as the first step towards the Luftwaffe
. Sailplane
research was also nationalised under the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug
(DFS — German Research Institute for Sailplane Flight).
Following World War II
, a US Army
camp, radar
station, and surveillance
station were established there but when restrictions on German aviation were lifted in 1951, gliding
soon returned to the Wasserkuppe where it has remained popular since. Beginning in the 1970s, the newer sport of hang gliding
has also found a home there. Following the reunification of Germany and demise of the Soviet Union
, the surveillance and radar installations were removed in the 1990s.
In 1970, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first competition, the Deutsches Segelflugmuseum (German Sailplane Museum) was opened on the plateau, with Neil Armstrong
a guest of honour at the ceremony. The museum gained a new building in 1987. The Wasserkuppe is also the home of the Oldtimer Segelflugclub (OSC - Oldtimer Gliding Club), dedicated (as its name suggests) to flying vintage sailplanes
.
Next to the long tradition of sailplanes the Wasserkuppe has developed to a sport center and weekend centre offering a wide selection of activities. Paragliding
as well as Snowkiting
is offered. In winter the area is used by skiers and snowboarders.
Plateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
(elevation 950 m or 3,100 ft), the highest peak in the Rhön Mountains
Rhön Mountains
The Rhön Mountains are a group of low mountains in central Germany, located around the border area where the states of Hesse, Bavaria and Thuringia come together. These mountains, which are at the extreme southeast end of the East Hesse Highlands , are partly a result of ancient volcanic activity...
within the German
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...
state of Hessen. Between the first
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and second
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...
World Wars, during the era of the so-called Golden Age of Aviation
Golden Age of Aviation
The Golden Age of Aviation was the period between World War I and World War II in which civil aviation, fueled by many daring and dramatic record-breaking feats, became popularized...
, great advances in sailplane development were made there.
Remark: The German wording
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....
takes its rise from Wasenkuppe, Asenberg or Weideberg with the meaning Pasture mountain.
Geography
The Wasserkuppe lies in the administrative district FuldaFulda
Fulda is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district .- Early Middle Ages :...
5.3 kilometres (3.3 mi) north of 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:...
. Other villages nearby are Poppenhausen
Poppenhausen
Poppenhausen is a municipality in the district of Schweinfurt in Bavaria, Germany.It consists of the following six localities: Hain, Kronungen, Kützberg, Maibach, Pfersdorf, Poppenhausen....
(4.7 kilometres (2.9 mi) west - south west) and Wüstensachsen (5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east, part of Ehrenberg, Hesse
Ehrenberg, Hesse
Ehrenberg is a municipality in the district of Fulda, in Hesse, Germany.-Geography:The municipality is located in the centre of the wildlife park "Hessische Rhön" in a level of 450 up to 900 meters and approx. 30 km from Fulda. Most of its districts are situated in the valley of the river...
). It is part of the Biosphere Reserve Rhön.
The Wasserkuppe sources the spring of the river Fulda (the western source of the Weser) and the river Lütter which joins the Fulda after 50 kilometres (31 mi).
The Wasserkuppe has three branches: Abtsrodaer Kuppe
Abtsrodaer Kuppe
Abtsrodaer Kuppe is a mountain of Hesse, Germany....
(905 metres (2,969 ft) NN), Schafstein (east, 831.8 metres (2,729 ft) NN) and Pferdskopf
Pferdskopf
Pferdskopf is a mountain of Hesse, Germany....
(south west, 874.9 metres (2,870 ft) NN).
Aviation History
Students from the nearby Darmstadt University of TechnologyDarmstadt University of Technology
The Technische Universität Darmstadt, abbreviated TU Darmstadt, is a university in the city of Darmstadt, Germany...
began flying glider
Glider aircraft
Glider aircraft are heavier-than-air craft that are supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against their lifting surfaces, and whose free flight does not depend on an engine. Mostly these types of aircraft are intended for routine operation without engines, though engine failure can...
s from the Wasserkuppe as early as 1911, but interest in gliding
Gliding
Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.Gliding as a sport began in the 1920s...
in Germany increased greatly after 1918 when the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
restricted the production or use of powered aircraft in the nation. From 1920 onwards, annual gliding
Gliding
Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.Gliding as a sport began in the 1920s...
competitions were held, leading to records being set and broken for height, distance, and duration of unpowered flight. In 1922 Arthur Martens became the first glider pilot to use an updraft
Ridge lift
Ridge lift is created when a wind strikes an obstacle, usually a mountain ridge or cliff, that is large and steep enough to deflect the wind upward....
rising along a mountain slope to stay aloft for a lengthy period. He then founded the world's first glider pilot school at the Wasserkuppe.
The first competition was organised by Oskar Ursinus
Oskar Ursinus
Carl Oskar Ursinus was a pioneer of German aviation and is remembered mainly for his contributions to sailplane designs and the sport of gliding...
, who also built the first clubhouse on the Wasserkuppe in 1924 to replace the shipping containers that enthusiasts were using as accommodation up to that point. By 1930, the competition had become an international event, drawing pilots from all over 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...
and even the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Also in 1924 'Rhönvater' (Rhön father) Oskar Ursinus
Oskar Ursinus
Carl Oskar Ursinus was a pioneer of German aviation and is remembered mainly for his contributions to sailplane designs and the sport of gliding...
, convinced the then secretary of air transport for the ministry of transportation, Dr.Brandenburg to turn the new gliding club into a state funded research organization. This started the Rhön-Rossitten Gesellschaft
Rhön-Rossitten Gesellschaft
The Rhön-Rossitten Gesellschaft or Rhön-Rossitten Society was a German gliding organization, the first one in the world that was officially recognised...
and as a result, the Wasserkuppe now had a gliding school, workshops for building gliders and a funded research facility. Alexander Lippisch
Alexander Lippisch
Alexander Martin Lippisch was a German pioneer of aerodynamics. He made important contributions to the understanding of flying wings, delta wings and the ground effect. His most famous design is the Messerschmitt Me 163 rocket-powered interceptor.Lippisch was born in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria...
was appointed as the managing director of the new society.
Virtually every German aeronautical engineer and test pilot of note during the 1920s and 30s spent time building, testing, and flying aircraft at the Wasserkuppe, including the Günter brothers
Günter brothers
Dr. Siegfried Günter and Walter Günter were German twin brothers and pioneering aircraft designers. Walter was responsible for the world's first rocket-powered and turbojet airframes, projects funded by Nazi Germany...
, Wolf Hirth
Wolf Hirth
Wolfram Kurt Erhard Hirth was a German gliding pioneer and sailplane designer. He was a co-founder of Schempp-Hirth, still a renowned glider manufacturer....
, the Horten brothers
Horten brothers
Walter Horten and Reimar Horten , sometimes credited as the Horten Brothers, were German aircraft pilots and enthusiasts, and members of the Hitler Youth and Nazi party...
, Robert Kronfeld
Robert Kronfeld
Squadron Leader Robert Kronfeld, AFC, was an Austrian-born gliding champion and sailplane designer of the 1920s and 30s. He became a British subject and an RAF test pilot...
, Hans Jacobs
Hans Jacobs
Hans Jacobs was a German sailplane designer and pioneer. He had been taught sailplane design by Alexander Lippisch, designer of many gliders during the 1920s and the 1930s...
, Alexander Lippisch
Alexander Lippisch
Alexander Martin Lippisch was a German pioneer of aerodynamics. He made important contributions to the understanding of flying wings, delta wings and the ground effect. His most famous design is the Messerschmitt Me 163 rocket-powered interceptor.Lippisch was born in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria...
, Willy Messerschmitt
Willy Messerschmitt
Wilhelm Emil "Willy" Messerschmitt was a German aircraft designer and manufacturer. He was born in Frankfurt am Main, the son of a wine merchant...
, Hanna Reitsch
Hanna Reitsch
Hanna Reitsch was a German aviator and the only woman awarded the Iron Cross First Class and the Luftwaffe Combined Pilots-Observation Badge in Gold with Diamonds during World War II...
, Peter Riedel
Peter Riedel
Peter Riedel was a German gliding champion, and was Air Attaché for the Nazi government before and during World War II...
, Alexander Schleicher
Alexander Schleicher
Alexander Schleicher was a German pioneer of sailplane design. The company that he founded and which bears his name - Alexander Schleicher GmbH & Co - is today one of the world’s leading sailplane manufacturers....
and many, many others. This period saw great advances in new technologies such as flying wing
Flying wing
A flying wing is a tailless fixed-wing aircraft which has no definite fuselage, with most of the crew, payload and equipment being housed inside the main wing structure....
s and rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
-powered flights.
Otto Lilienthal
Otto Lilienthal was a German pioneer of human aviation who became known as the Glider King. He was the first person to make well-documented, repeated, successful gliding flights. He followed an experimental approach established earlier by Sir George Cayley...
lying on an (empty) tomb. It is a memorial to all pilots who have died in aviation accidents. The inscription on the memorial is Lilienthal's famous last words: "Opfer müssen gebracht werden" roughly meaning: "Sacrifices must be made."
During the Third Reich, gliding
Gliding
Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.Gliding as a sport began in the 1920s...
activities became largely controlled by the state, and for Hitler Youth
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung...
pilots and their instructors, proficiency in gliding was viewed as the first step towards 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....
. Sailplane
Glider (sailplane)
A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the sport of gliding. Some gliders, known as motor gliders are used for gliding and soaring as well, but have engines which can, in some cases, be used for take-off or for extending a flight...
research was also nationalised under the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug
Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug
The Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug, or DFS was formed in 1933 to centralise all gliding activity in Germany...
(DFS — German Research Institute for Sailplane Flight).
Following 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...
, a US Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
camp, radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
station, and surveillance
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
station were established there but when restrictions on German aviation were lifted in 1951, gliding
Gliding
Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.Gliding as a sport began in the 1920s...
soon returned to the Wasserkuppe where it has remained popular since. Beginning in the 1970s, the newer sport of hang gliding
Hang gliding
Hang gliding is an air sport in which a pilot flies a light and unmotorized foot-launchable aircraft called a hang glider ....
has also found a home there. Following the reunification of Germany and demise of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, the surveillance and radar installations were removed in the 1990s.
Neil Armstrong
Neil Alden Armstrong is an American former astronaut, test pilot, aerospace engineer, university professor, United States Naval Aviator, and the first person to set foot upon the Moon....
a guest of honour at the ceremony. The museum gained a new building in 1987. The Wasserkuppe is also the home of the Oldtimer Segelflugclub (OSC - Oldtimer Gliding Club), dedicated (as its name suggests) to flying vintage sailplanes
Glider (sailplane)
A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the sport of gliding. Some gliders, known as motor gliders are used for gliding and soaring as well, but have engines which can, in some cases, be used for take-off or for extending a flight...
.
Next to the long tradition of sailplanes the Wasserkuppe has developed to a sport center and weekend centre offering a wide selection of activities. Paragliding
Paragliding
Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure...
as well as Snowkiting
Snowkiting
Snowkiting is an outdoor winter sport where people use kite power to glide on snow or ice. The sport is similar to kitesurfing, but with the footwear used in snowboarding or skiing. In the early days of snowkiting, foil kites were the most common type; nowadays some kitesurfers use their water gear...
is offered. In winter the area is used by skiers and snowboarders.
External links
- Oldtimer Segelflugclub (in German)
- Pilot school at the Wasserkuppe (in German)
- Wings OF Wasserkuppe, A Brief history of Rhön Mountains Motorless Flight
- hourly updated Webcam picture of the Airfield at the Wasserkuppe (EDER) taken from pilot schools webpages
- PeakBagger.com: Wasserkuppe
- Wasserkuppe is at coordinates 50.498056°N 9.937778°W
See also
- StratobowlStratobowlThe Stratobowl is a compact natural depression within the limits of Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota, south-west of Rapid City. In 1934–1935 it housed a stratospheric balloon launch site, initially known as Stratocamp, sponsored by the National Geographic Society and the United States...
, a similar bowl-shaped natural landform in the United States, associated with historic aviation activity