The Hochfirst is a wooded mountain between Saig and

Titisee-Neustadt Titisee-Neustadt () is a municipality in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is made up of the six communities of Neustadt, Langenordnach, Rudenberg, Titisee, Schwärzenbach and Waldau. The town ...

in the

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

with a height of .

Location and surrounding area

The mountain is located on the municipal boundary between Lenzkirch and Titisee-Neustadt. On the Hochfirst are a restaurant and an

observation 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 to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, an ...

. From the top there is a view of the nearby

Titisee The Titisee is a lake in the southern Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg. It covers an area of and is an average of deep. It owes its formation to the Feldberg glacier, the moraines of which were formed in the Pleistocene epoch and nowadays for ...

and the Feldberg. In clear weather the Swiss and Austrian Alps may be seen and, in exceptional conditions, even the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Alps as far as the Italian border including

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and ...

Viewing tower

The Hochfirst Tower (''Hochfirstturm''), built in 1890 as a steel

lattice tower A lattice tower or truss tower is a freestanding vertical framework tower. This construction is widely used in transmission towers carrying high voltage electric power lines, in radio masts and towers (a self-radiating tower or as a support for ...

, is 25 metres high and stands on a natural stone base. This

pedestal A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...

was part of the original wooden tower built in 1888 that was the victim of a

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dep ...

in 1890. Today the tower bears antennas for

microwave Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from about one meter to one millimeter corresponding to frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz respectively. Different sources define different frequency ra ...

and

mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whi ...

communications. Unusually the Hochfirst Tower is tensioned by

guy wire A guy-wire, guy-line, guy-rope, or stay, also called simply a guy, is a tensioned cable designed to add stability to a free-standing structure. They are used commonly for ship masts, radio masts, wind turbines, utility poles, and tents. A thi ...

s. Since 1989 it has been a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

. From May 2014 to March 2015 the tower was closed due to stability problems.

Routes to the summit

The Hochfirst may be climbed on the Freiburg-Lake Constance Black Forest Trail (''Schwarzwald-Querweg Freiburg–Bodensee'') from Titisee or the Central Way (''Mittelweg'') from Neustadt. The shortest route runs from Saig to the summit. There is also a road to the Hochfirst Tower from Neustadt.

Winter sport

The Hochfirst has its own

ski jump Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...

, the ''Hochfirstschanze'', which hosts World Cup

ski jumping Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the fina ...

. Along the southeastern slopes of the mountain there is also a

cross country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreatio ...

loipe A cross-country skiing trail or ''loipe''From german: Loipe or ''Langlaufloipe'', pl. –''n'', ''loipe'' is a loanword in English-language travel guides, referring to cross-country ski trails in Europe. It is a Germanization of the Norwegian word ...

'', the ''Hochfirstspur'' (9.9 km long, height 910–, start and finish near the church in Saig,

classic style A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...

). A toboggan run runs down the western mountainside of the Hochfirst from Saig to the shores of Lake

References

{{Reflist Mountains and hills of Baden-Württemberg Mountains and hills of the Black Forest One-thousanders of Germany Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald