The Bingen Forest () is part of the

Hunsrück The Hunsrück () is a long, triangular, pronounced mountain range, upland in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the valleys of the Moselle (river), Moselle-Saar (north-to-west), the Nahe (south), and the Rhine (east). It is continued ...

, a low mountain range in the

Central Uplands The Central UplandsDickinson (1964), p.18 ff. (N.B. In German die ''Mittelgebirge'' (plural) refers to the Central Uplands; das ''Mittelgebirge'' refers to a low mountain range or upland region (''Mittel'' = "medium" and ''-gebirge'' = "range").) ...

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 ...

. It is up to and is located in the state of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

Location

The landscape of the Bingen Forest lies on the boundary of the counties of

Mainz-Bingen Mainz-Bingen is a district (''Kreis'') in the east of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Rheingau-Taunus, the district-free cities Wiesbaden and Mainz, the districts Groß-Gerau, Alzey-Worms, Bad Kreuzn ...

(north to southeast),

Bad Kreuznach Bad Kreuznach () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach (district), Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a spa town, known for its medieval bridge dating from around 1300, the Alte Nahebrücke (Bad Kreuznach), Alte Nahebrücke, ...

(south) and

Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis is a district () in the middle of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The neighbouring districts are (from north clockwise) Mayen-Koblenz, Rhein-Lahn, Mainz-Bingen, Bad Kreuznach, Birkenfeld, Bernkastel-Wittlich, Cochem-Zell. His ...

(west). It is located between the northeastern end of the

main ridge (northwest), the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

valley (north and northeast), behind which the

Taunus The Taunus () is a mountain range in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, located north west of Frankfurt and north of Wiesbaden. The tallest peak in the range is '' Großer Feldberg'' at 878 m; other notable peaks are '' Kleiner Feldberg' ...

rises, the Rhine Knee near Bingen (east) and the

Soonwald The Soonwald () is a forested, low mountain region, up to , which forms part of the Hunsrück mountains in the German Central Uplands. It lies within the counties of Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis and Landkreis Bad Kreuznach, Bad Kreuznach in the state of ...

(southwest).

Flora

The

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

of the densely wooded Bingen Forest, about 40% of which consists of

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

but otherwise is a

mixed forest Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions. These ...

, covers an area of around 7,000

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

s, most of which comprises a contiguous area of woodland.

History

Barrows such as that southeast of Dichtelbach,

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

s and the present-day settlements and

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

s are evidence that the Bingen Forest and its surrounding area have been settled for a long time. From Roman times the remains of the Villa Rustica have survived as well as parts of a building near the forestry lodge of Forsthaus Lauschhütte. The

Ausonius Decimius Magnus Ausonius (; ) was a Latin literature, Roman poet and Education in ancient Rome, teacher of classical rhetoric, rhetoric from Burdigala, Gallia Aquitania, Aquitaine (now Bordeaux, France). For a time, he was tutor to the future E ...

Way runs through the Bingen Forest, which was used as a military link between Bingen and

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

. During the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

there was a radar station on the

Kandrich The Kandrich, at , is the highest mountain in the Bingen Forest. It is near Daxweiler in the county of Bad Kreuznach in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Geography The Kandrich lies in the northern tip of the county of Bad Kreuznach an ...

for a Nike Hercules Rocket unit based near Dichtelbach. In 1982 this weapon system was replaced by Patriot air defence rockets, which were then based at the Kandrich in newly built positions. These positions have largely been returned to nature – only earth ramparts are still visible. On the former Patriot rocket station there are now three wind generators. Kandrich3 enercon e-70

Hills and uplands

The highest mountain in the Bingen Forest is the

(638.6 m), and its lowest point lies in the

valley near Niederheimbach (80 m). Amongst its highest points are the following (with heights in

metre The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

s (m) above sea level (NN): *

(638.6 m) – with wind generators * Salzkopf (627.6 m) – with the Salzkopf Tower, a 24 metre high

observation tower An observation tower is a tower 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, and woo ...

* Franzosenkopf (617.3 m) * Auerhahnkopf (574.1 m) * Druidenberg (384.7 m)

Rivers and streams

The following rivers and streams rise in, or flow through, the Bingen Forest or its perimeter: * Guldenbach – tributary of the Nahe, in the southwest and south *

– river running to the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

, in the east and northeast * Morgenbach – rises in the eastern Salzkopf area, flows eastwards and empties into the Rhine near Reichenstein Castle

Settlements

The settlements surrounding the Bingen Forest are: *

Bacharach Bacharach (, also known as ''Bacharach am Rhein'') is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Rhein-Nahe, whose seat is in Bingen am Rhein, although that town is not with ...

– in the Rhine valley, some way beyond the northern edge of the forest *

Trechtingshausen Trechtingshausen (formerly also ''Trechtlingshausen'') is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The winegrow ...

– in the Rhine valley, on the northeastern edge * Bingen – on the eastern edge * Weiler – on the south-southeastern edge *

Waldalgesheim Waldalgesheim is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is best known as the si ...

– on the southeastern edge * Stromberg – on the southern edge *

Seibersbach Seibersbach is a municipality in the district of Bad Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Se ...

– on the southwestern edge, near the transition to the

* Rheinböllen – on the western edge * Daxweiler – on the southwestern edge

Tourism

A section of the

E8 European long distance path The E8 European long distance path or E8 path is one of the European long-distance paths, leading 4,700 km (2,920 miles) across Europe, from Cork in Ireland to Bulgaria. Route After Ireland it crosses the Irish Sea into Wales and then int ...

and the Bingen Forest Nature Trail run through the Bingen Forest, along its main crest. Other sights and geographical destinations are: Germany Bingerwald Blick Salzkopf

* Hohneck Castle – above the Rhine valley * Reichenstein Castle – above the Rhine valley * Rheinstein Castle – above the Rhine valley * Sooneck Castle – above the Rhine valley * Rock formations in the Morgenbach valley and near

Bingerbrück Bingerbrück () is a ''Ortsteil, Stadtteil'' of Bingen am Rhein, on the opposite side of the river Nahe (Rhine), Nahe from the old town of Bingen. It was self-administering until 1969. Points of interest Binger Mäuseturm "The Mouse Tower of Bi ...

incl. a climbing garden with protected tours * Hunsrück Wildlife Park – somewhat to the northwest of the Bingen Forest * Salzkopf Tower – a 24 metre high

– on the Salzkopf (628 m) * Former Waldalgesheim show mine – southeast of the Bingen Forest * Siebenburgenblick – observation tower northwest of Sooneck Castle with views over part of the

Middle Rhine Middle Rhine (, ; kilometres 529 to 660 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between Bingen and Bonn in Germany. It flows through the Rhine Gorge (), a formation created by erosion, which happened at about the same rate as an uplift i ...

valley and 7 castles * Villa Rustica – a Roman manor house above the Rhine valley * Forest inns (Forsthaus Lauschhütte, Gerhardshof, Schweizerhaus, Jägerhaus, Forsthaus Heiligkreuz, Forsthaus Emmerichshütte) * Lauschhütte Climbing Wood – A high rope garden with ca. 50 climbing elements, which is integrated into the trees. The climbing wood comprises several routes of varying difficulties and heights. * Steckeschläfer Klamm – a gorge near the Jägerhaus with 66 faces cut into the trees

Transport

The Bingen Forest may be reached, for example, by roads branching off from the A 61 motorway (junctions Rheinböllen and Waldlaubersheim), which lies to the southwest and south, running along the edge of the forest opposite the

. In addition, Bingen Forest may be accessed via the A 9 which runs in a northwest-southeast direction through the

valley from

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

to Bingen. Railway lines run on either side - for example, along the B 9 - through the Rhine valley (north) and the valley of the Guldenbach (south). The latter is currently closed; however it is to be re-opened in the near future because of the

Frankfurt-Hahn Airport Hahn Airporthahn-airport.de
retrieved 30 April 2025 () , also colloquially known and formerly officially br ...

which is located southwest of the Bingen Forest and roughly west of Kirchberg between Hahn and Lautzenhausen.

Literature

* Uwe Anhäuser: ''The Ausoniusstraße von Bingen über den Hunsrück nach Trier.'' Ein archäologischer Reise- and Wanderführer. Rhein-Mosel-Verlag, Alf/ Mosel 2006,

References

External links

Bingen Forest geo-information portal with interactive map
{{coord missing, Rhineland-Palatinate Central Uplands Mountain ranges of Rhineland-Palatinate Climbing areas of Germany Mainz-Bingen Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis Forests and woodlands of Rhineland-Palatinate Natural regions of the Hunsrück