The Dollberg is a mountain in the
Dollberge range in central
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
and the highest point in the state of
Saarland
The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and t ...
. It is
and lies within the
Schwarzwälder Hochwald on the boundary between the counties of
Trier-Saarburg
Trier-Saarburg (; lb, Landkrees Tréier-Saarburg ) is a district in the west of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north and clockwise) Bitburg-Prüm, Bernkastel-Wittlich, Birkenfeld, Sankt Wendel (Saarland), and ...
(
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) 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 ...
) and
St. Wendel (
Saarland
The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and t ...
).
Geography
Location
The Dollberg lies within the
Saar-Hunsrück Nature Park, on the northern state boundary of the Saarland with the neighbouring state of Rhineland-Palatinate, in the southwest of the Dollberge range. Its summit rises 1.4 km south of
Neuhütten
Neuhütten is a community in the Main-Spessart district in the '' Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany and a member of the '' Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' (municipal association) of Partenstein. It has a p ...
(Rhineland-Palatinate), on whose territory the mountain is located, 3.5 km north-northeast of
Otzenhausen, 3.8 km northwest of
Eisen Eisen is a German surname meaning "iron". Notable people with the surname include:
*Arnold Eisen, professor of Jewish studies
* Arthur Arturovich Eisen, a Russian soloist with the Alexandrov Ensemble
*Charles-Dominique-Joseph Eisen (1720–1778), ...
and 4.5 km northeast of
Nonnweiler
Nonnweiler is a municipality in the district of Sankt Wendel, in Saarland, Germany.
Overview
It is situated approximately 20 km northwest of Sankt Wendel, and 30 km southeast of Trier. The village is well known for the " Hillfort of Otz ...
(Saarland) in the municipality of
Sötern which, as part of
Nohfelden
Nohfelden is a municipality in the district of Sankt Wendel, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximately north of Sankt Wendel, and southwest of Idar-Oberstein. It was formed during administrative reform in January 1974 from the merger o ...
lies 5.3 km southwest of the Dollberg (all distances
as the crow flies
__NOTOC__
The expression ''as the crow flies'' is an idiom for the most direct path between two points, rather similar to "in a beeline". This meaning is attested from the early 19th century, and appeared in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel '' Oliv ...
). West of the wooded mountain on the River
Prims
The Prims is a 91 km long river in western Germany, right tributary of the Saar. It rises in the Hunsrück mountains, near the village Malborn. It flows generally south through the towns Nonnweiler, Wadern and Schmelz. It flows into the S ...
is the
Prims Reservoir
The Prims is a 91 km long river in western Germany, right tributary of the Saar. It rises in the Hunsrück
The Hunsrück () is a long, triangular, pronounced upland in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the valleys of the ...
''(Nonnweiler Dam)''.
Highest mountain in the Saarland
In the 20th century the Dollberg and the
Schimmelkopf (Weiskircher Höhe) were seen as the highest points in the Saarland, both being measured at 695 m. According to more precise surveys by the State Office for Land Registration, Survey and Mapping ('' Landesamt für Kataster-, Vermessungs- und Kartenwesen'') in 2005, the Dollberg at 695.4 m is around 0.6 m higher than the Schimmelkopf.
The summit of the Dollberg is covered by
mixed woodland that blocks all views of the surrounding area. Only a sign that describes it as the "highest point of the Saarland" marks the top.
However, official maps neither record the name of the Dollberg nor its surveyed height of 695.4 m.
Hillfort of Otzenhausen
In the area of the southwestern spur of the Dollberg, between the mountain and Nonnweiler, is the roughly 2.5 km long
circular rampart
A circular rampart (German: ''Ringwall'') 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.
T ...
of the
hillfort of Otzenhausen, which was a
Celtic refuge castle
A refuge castleCreighton, Oliver (2015). ''Early European Castles''. Bloomsbury. or refuge fort (german: Fliehburg, also ''Fluchtburg'', ''Volksburg'', ''Bauernburg'' or ''Vryburg'') is a castle-like defensive location, usually surrounded by rampa ...
(
oppidum
An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretch ...
).
References
[Height of the Dollberg according t]
''Dollberge''
(map and information) at Saarlandbilder.net and the summit information signpost.
[Article entitle]
''An des Landes höchstem Punkt''
by Wulf Wein, Saarbrücker Zeitung, dated 8 August 2011
External links
''Geography'' at saarland.de
map and information at saarlandbilder.net
{{Highest points of the German states
Mountains under 1000 metres
Mountains and hills of Rhineland-Palatinate
Mountains and hills of the Saarland
Trier-Saarburg
Sankt Wendel (district)