Hoher Meißner

Hoher Meissner in Hesse, Germany

View from Kalbe at Hoher Meissner

The Hoher Meissner is a mountain massif with a height of 753.6 m and is located in the Meissner Kaufunger nature park in Hesse, Germany.

Geography

The Hoher Meissner is densely forested and covers an area of 10 km by 5 km. It is located approximately between Eschwege and Grossalmerode as well as Bad Sooden-Allendorf and Waldkappel. Together with large parts of the Kaufungen Forest and the Soehre forest it forms the very extensive Naturpark Meissner-Kaufunger Wald.

Geology

In the Tertiary period the area was covered by thick forests. From these forests, lignite deposits were formed, which were then covered by sand and lava. The basalt formations have been eroded by weathering and were much higher at one time.

Geomorphology

Highest mountain in northeast Hesse

The Meissner peak is not the highest point in northern Hesse, even if it is commonly held to be. In northwest Hesse lie some mountains which are substantially higher. Therefore the Kasseler crest, with an elevation of 753.6 m, is the highest peak in northeast Hesse, but not in all of Hesse.

Mountains

View from the Kalbe in winter

• Kasseler Kuppe (753.6 m)
• Kasseler Stein (748 m)
• Kalbe (720 m)
• Heiligenberg am Meissner (583 m)
• Bühlchen am Meissner (537 m)

Lookout points

From different locations on the Meissner one can enjoy wonderful views:

• Calf: From this basalt crest, approximately 720 m high, there are views of the Werra Valley ("Werratal") and the Eichsfeld-Hainich-Werratal nature park. One can also see the Harz Mountains, the Thuringian Forest and the Rhön Mountains. This lookout point can only be reached on foot - e.g. by the path which begins at the Mother Hulda Pond (German: Frau-Holle-Teich).
• Schwalbenthal: This spot is easier to reach than the „Kalbe,“ but the views are hardly less attractive; it lies about 100 m lower, at a fork in the road, slightly below the "Stinksteinwand." Here there is a parking lot (elevation 620 m) with splendid views of Meissner-Vockerode, and, in the distance, Thuringia.
• Meissnerhaus: Views from the southwest side of the mountain include, among other things, the ranges of the Kellerwald, the Habichtswald and the Kaufunger Wald.

Mining

The lignite mining industry began around 1560, after gloss coal bits were discovered in a brook, and persisted until 1929. The coal was used,for example, as fuel for salt production in Bad Sooden Allendorf and at the large power station in Kassel.

• Stinksteinwand and Schwalbenthal: Striking evidence of the centuries-long practice of mining on the Meissner is given by the so-called Stinksteinwand ("stinking stone wall"), located above Schwalbenthal on the east face of the mountain. In former times coal was extracted there, by sub-surface mining. This coal was prone to spontaneous combustion, and for centuries people on the surface have seen and smelled the smoke from the smoldering fires in the subterranean coal seams. Even in recent times all attempts to extinguish these fires have failed, so that one can often notice a sulfur-like smell -- sometimes quite strong -- at the Schwalbenthal parking lot or beyond. Slightly below the Stinksteinwand lies the Gasthaus Schwalbenthal inn, the last remaining building in a mining industry settlement of about 10 houses, demolished because of the danger of landslides.
• Bransrode: Bransrode, on the northwest side of the mountain massif, is the site of the last sub-surface coal mine in the area, which was closed in 1929. Immediately thereafter, the quarrying of basalt began, which continued until 2003.
• Calf (ex open mining): From 1949 to 1974 by means of days at the calves brown coal one promoted, which is still to be recognized still well: After the pumps were turned off, up to 30 m deep a lake northeast formed and above this for approximately 20,000 m² large lake is the basalt crest calf in the former open mining, whose quite evenly graduated and quite high basalt walls are impressing much. In order to put the coal seams freely, the basalt masses storing over it had to be diminished and way-created: These were then poured simply over the mountain-slopes, which is to be recognized also today still by the waste dumps resulted from it well: Meter high pile up themselves at the slopes above the woman Holle pond partly large basalt breaking into up.

Transmission facility

The Hoher Meissner transmitter is a facility for medium-wave, FM- and TV-broadcasting. The complex is made up of three guyed lattice steel masts, the tallest of which is 220 metres high, and a 40 metre free-standing lattice tower.