The Hohneck is, at the third highest summit of the
Vosges Mountains
The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...
(after
Grand Ballon [] and Storkenkopf []) and the highest point of Lorraine (region), Lorraine. On its summit stands a mountain hut, clearly visible in the distance. Nearby the mountain's top is located the ski resort of ''La Bresse Hohneck''.
Geography
The mountain is divided between the French
Communes of France, municipalities of
La Bresse (
dep. of
Vosges
The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...
),
Metzeral (
department of
Haut-Rhin
Haut-Rhin (, ; Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; german: Oberelsass, ) is a department in the Grand Est region of France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine. Its name means ''Upper Rhine''. Haut-Rhin is th ...
) and
Stosswihr
Stosswihr () is a Communes of France, commune in the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
See also
* Communes of the Haut-Rhin department
References
Communes of Haut-Rhin
{{HautRhin-g ...
(
department of
Haut-Rhin
Haut-Rhin (, ; Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; german: Oberelsass, ) is a department in the Grand Est region of France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine. Its name means ''Upper Rhine''. Haut-Rhin is th ...
).
A mountain, located east of the Hohneck, is named ''Petit Hohneck'' (in English ''Little Hohneck'').
On a clear day from the Hohneck summit is possible to spot not just the entire
Vosges range but also 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 t ...
, the
Jura, a good part of the
Swiss Alps and, in the distance, the
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 ...
.
History
The Hohneck area has been up to the 19th century the main connection route between
Gérardmer
Gérardmer (; or archaic ''Geroldsee'', and ''Giraumoué'' in local Vosgian) is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France.
Population
Culture
The Festival international du film fantastique de Gérardmer (literally ...
and
Munster, before the opening of the
col de la Schlucht
The Col de la Schlucht (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the Vosges Mountains of France. On the west side lies the historical region of Lorraine (Lothringen in German), on the east side lies the historical region of Alsace (Elsass in German).
Th ...
road. Therefore, not faraway from the summit have been found ruins dating back to the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
and re-used during
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's military champaigns.
[Pierre-Marie David, "Note sur les traces d'anciens réseaux de communication et les traces de retranchements dans le massif du Hohneck – Vosges", ''Bulletin de la Société Philomatique Vosgienne'', 1991]
A
tramway line from
Gérardmer
Gérardmer (; or archaic ''Geroldsee'', and ''Giraumoué'' in local Vosgian) is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France.
Population
Culture
The Festival international du film fantastique de Gérardmer (literally ...
to the Hohneck operated between July 25, 1897 and August 28, 1939. From the
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
side of the mountain a
rack railway
A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with th ...
reached the Hohneck from
Munster passing through the
col de la Schlucht
The Col de la Schlucht (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the Vosges Mountains of France. On the west side lies the historical region of Lorraine (Lothringen in German), on the east side lies the historical region of Alsace (Elsass in German).
Th ...
between 1907 and 1914.
Access to the summit
The well known
Route des Crêtes Route des Crêtes ( en, Route of the Ridges) is an road in the Vosges Mountains in eastern France, which passes through the Parc Naturel Régional des Ballons des Vosges. It connects Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines (north) with Cernay (south) and runs o ...
(French for ''road of the peaks'') transits not faraway from the top of the mountain, which can be reached by car following a small asphalted branch.
Bibliography
* ''Une Montagne vosgienne : le Hohneck'', Guy-Jean Michel; Institut coopératif de l'École moderne, Imprimerie Merle et Cie, Grasse, 1963
* ''Guide du botaniste au Hohneck et aux environs de Géradmer'', C. Brunotte and C. Lemasson, Coubé, 1921
* ''La Bresse-Le Hohneck, clins d'oeils sur l'histoire'', Imprimerie Sailley, Le Thillot, 1995
External links
Webcam on the mountain's top
See also
*
Grand Ballon
*
Kastelberg
The Kastelberg is the fourth highest summit of the Vosges Mountains. It is located on the former border between the French regions of Alsace and Lorraine.
Etymology
In German ''Kastelberg'' means ''mountain of the castle''.
Geography
The m ...
*
Vosges Mountains
The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...
References
{{Reflist
Mountains of Vosges (department)
Mountains of Haut-Rhin
Mountains of the Vosges
One-thousanders of France