The Donnersberg (; literally: "thunder mountain") is the highest peak of the Palatinate () region of

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 ...

. The mountain lies between the towns of

Rockenhausen Rockenhausen () is a town in the Donnersbergkreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the river Alsenz, approx. north of Kaiserslautern. Rockenhausen is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Nordpfälz ...

and

Kirchheimbolanden Kirchheimbolanden is the capital and the second largest city of the Donnersbergkreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate. Situated in south-western Germany, it is approximately 25 km west of Worms, Germany, Worms, and 30 km north-east of Kaisersla ...

, in the

Donnersbergkreis The Donnersbergkreis is a district (''Kreis'') in the middle of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are Bad Kreuznach, Alzey-Worms, Bad Dürkheim, Kaiserslautern, Kusel. History The district was created in 1969 by merging the dist ...

district, which is named after the mountain. The highway A63 runs along the southern edge of the Donnersberg.

European walking route E8 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 in ...

runs across the mountain. The highest point of the Donnersberg is the rock ''Königstuhl'' ("king's seat") at 687 metres above sea level. The mountain has a diameter of about 7 kilometres and covers an area of some 2,400 hectares. The Donnersberg was formed by volcanic activity during the

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years, from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.902 Mya. It is the s ...

, in the transition period between the lower and upper

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 ...

strata. The name Donnersberg is thought to refer to

Donar Thor (from ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, and fertility. Beside ...

, the Germanic god of thunder, a theory supported by the fact that the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

dubbed the Donnersberg ''Mons Jovis'' after their god of thunder,

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

. According to other theories, the name of the mountain was derived from the

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 ...

''dunum'' (meaning "mountain") or from the name of a

deity,

Taranis Taranis (sometimes Taranus or Tanarus) is a Celtic thunder god attested in literary and epigraphic sources. The Roman poet Lucan's epic ''Pharsalia'' mentions Taranis, Esus, and Teutates as gods to whom the Gauls sacrificed humans. This rare ...

. During the Celtic La Tène period, around 150 BC, an important settlement (''

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (: ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age Europe, Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celts, Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread acros ...

'') was built on the Donnersberg, covering some 240 hectares. Part of the wall (''Keltenwall'') surrounding this settlement has been reconstructed. Archeological excavations are ongoing. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, five castles surrounded the strategically placed mountain: Tannenfels,

Wildenstein Wildenstein () is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Geography Wildenstein is the highest village in the Thur Valley. The houses cluster along the main street, nestled between the steep slopes of th ...

, Hohenfels,

Falkenstein Falkenstein or Falckenstein ("falcons' stone" in German) may refer to: Places Austria * Falkenstein, Lower Austria, a market town in the district of Mistelbach Germany * Falkenstein, Bavaria, a market town in the district of Cham * Falke ...

and Ruppertsecken. Today, only ruins remain of these five castles. About 900 metres east of the ''Königstuhl'' rock, a 27 metres tall tower was constructed in 1864–1865, the ''Ludwigsturm''. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, a

radio mast Radio masts and towers are typically tall structures designed to support antenna (radio), antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. There are two main types: guyed and self-supporting structures. They are among the ...

for the largest U.S. radio station in western Europe was placed on the Donnersberg. In the early 1960s, a new communications tower was constructed, stretching over 200 metres. The Donnersbergbahn is a railway line that runs from

Alzey Alzey () is a ''Verband''-free town – one belonging to no ''Verbandsgemeinde'' – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the fifth-largest town in Rhenish Hesse, after Mainz, Worms, Germany, Worms, Ingelheim am Rhei ...

to Kirchheimbolanden. The line originally ran even further, to Marnheim, but on March 20, 1945, the Pfrimm Viaduct, a railway bridge between Kirchheimbolanden and Marnheim, was destroyed by withdrawing German troops, and it has not been rebuilt since. File:SenderDonnersberg-unten.jpg, Base of the over 200 metres tall radio and TV mast on top of Donnersberg File:Donnersberg-earthworks-01s.jpg, Earthworks of the Celtic

Hill fort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

File:Keltenwall.jpg, Recoonstructed Celtic fortification wall at the hillfort File:KeltendorfDJHSteinbachamDonnersberg.jpg, Reconstructed Celtic buildings at the hillfort

Sources

Donnersbergverein für Mensch und Natur: Der Donnersberg
(German)

(German) {{Authority control Former populated places in Germany Mountains and hills of Rhineland-Palatinate Mountains under 1000 metres Culture of the Palatinate (region) Treveri Laccoliths