The Battert is a hill, , on the western edge of the Northern Black Forest north of

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. On its western slopes are the ruins of

Hohenbaden Castle Hohenbaden Castle (at the time of its establishment ''Schloss Hohenbaden'', now ''Old castle'' or ''Altes Schloss'') in German Baden-Baden was the residence of the margraves of Margraviate of Baden, Baden for almost 400 years. The castle was built ...

(the ''Altes Schloss'' or "Old Castle"), on the southern side is the climbing area and

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

called the Battert Rocks (''Battertfelsen''). On the hill ridge are the remains of a

circular rampart A circular rampart () is an embankment built in the shape of a circle that was used as part of the defences for a military fortification, hill fort or refuge, or was built for religious purposes or as a place of gathering. The period during which ...

, probably built by

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

settlers. On the eastern side lies the village of Ebersteinburg. The Battert is a destination for ramblers and climbers all year round, heading for the 15–60-metre-high ''Battertfelsen''. Above and below the rock face is a footpath around the rocks. The red rock face is visible from far off and may be easily reached on the road to the ruins of Hohenbaden or from a car park near Ebersteinburg.

Geology

Consisting of sediments of

Rotliegend The Rotliegend, Rotliegend Group or Rotliegendes () is a lithostratigraphic unit (a sequence of rock strata) of latest Carboniferous to Guadalupian (middle Permian) age that is found in the subsurface of large areas in western and central Europe ...

, the Battertfelsen were formed about 251-299 million years ago. By contrast with their immediate environment, the rocks of the Battertfelsen silicified due to an east-west oriented fault line. Because of this silicification the rock became more erosion-resistant which is why they now stand out so prominently.

Nature reserve

An area of 34.9 hectares around the ''Battertfelsen'' and east of Hohenbaden Castle on the south side of the hill was declared as a nature reserve by the Regierungspräsidium Karlsruhe on 30 June 1981. The reserve is known as Battertfelsen near Hohenbaden Castle (''Battertfelsen beim Schloss Hohenbaden''). The geologically and earth-historically important rock group is home to rare insects, reptiles,

ravens Ravens may refer to: * Raven, a species of the genus ''Corvus'' of passerine birds Sports * Anderson Ravens, the intercollegiate athletic program of Anderson University in Indiana * Baltimore Ravens, a professional American football franchise * B ...

and

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...

s and also to rare plant species, especially in the stone run woodland below the rock faces.

Climbing

Thanks to Wilhelm Paulcke the popularity of the Battert as a climbing area grew after he had opened the first climbing routes there in about 1885. Since then a large number of routes with different levels of difficulty have been developed, from grade II to grade IX. On 24 October 1964 Toni Kinshofer, who was the first to climb the Diamir flank of

Nanga Parbat Nanga Parbat () (; ), known locally as Diamer (), is the ninth-highest mountain on Earth and its summit is at above sea level. Lying immediately southeast of the northernmost bend of the Indus River in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-a ...

and climbed the Eiger north face the year before, fell from the heights of the Battert and died of his injuries shortly after.

Climbing routes

* Kuhkamin (III), about 1885 * Marterkamin (IV+ to V−), about 1885 * Paulckeweg (III), Wilhelm Paulcke about 1890 * Bockgrat (IV+), first ascent in 1905 * Alter Pforzheimer Weg (IV+), 1925 by Walter Stößer * Neuer Pforzheimer Weg (VI), by Walter Stößer * Wespenkante (V), by Walter Stößer * Neue Falkenwand (VII−), 1945 by Martin Schliessler * Kühnkante (VI+), Reinhard Karl and Kurt Jägel * Südostverschneidung (VII−), Martin Schliessler and Kurt Jägel

Gallery

File:Battertfelsen (Badener Wand) Baden-Baden.JPG, the Badener Wand with its stone run seen from the lower rock path File:Blockgrat.jpg, Blockgrat: the step from the little photography tower to the massif File:Schloss Hohenbaden 001.jpg, Ruins of Hohenbaden Castle File:Wanderportal Altes-Schloss.jpg, Hiking portal

References

Literature

* ''Kletterführer Schwarzwald Nord.'' 2. Auflage, Panico Alpinverlag, Köngen, 2013, . * Urban Schurhammer: ''Der Battert – Ein Kletterführer durch die Felsen bei Baden-Baden''. Verlag Sektion Karlsruhe des Deutschen und Österreichischen Alpenvereins, Karlsruhe, um 1928 (out of print)

External links

The Battert
in the rock information system of the German Alpine Club
Information about the ''Battertfelsen''
* {{Authority control Mountains and hills of Baden-Württemberg Baden-Baden Mountains and hills of the Black Forest