The Dreistelzberg, also called the Dreistelzkopf and frequently shortened to Dreistelz, is a mountain, , in the Bavarian part of the

Rhön Mountains The Rhön Mountains () are a group of low mountains (or ''Mittelgebirge'') in central Germany, located around the border area where the states of Hesse, Bavaria and Thuringia come together. These mountains, which are at the extreme southeast end o ...

. The mountain is not one of the highest Rhön peaks, but thanks to its rather isolated location on the southwestern edge of the range it has a striking appearance, rising prominently above its surroundings.

Location

As the highest summit in the Brückenau Kuppenrhön the Dreistelzberg rises in the area where the range transitions to the

Spessart Spessart () is a ''Mittelgebirge'', a range of low wooded mountains, in the States of Bavaria and Hesse in Germany. It is bordered by the Vogelsberg, Rhön and Odenwald. The highest elevation is the Geiersberg (Spessart), Geiersberg at 586 metre ...

mountains to the southwest, lying within the

Rhön Biosphere Reserve The Rhön Biosphere Reserve includes the entire central area of the Rhön Mountains, a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Thuringia. Aim In 1991 the Rhön was recognised at international level by UNESCO as a biospher ...

and the

Bavarian Rhön Nature Park The Bavarian Rhön Nature Park (''Naturpark Bayerische Rhön'') straddles the junction of the German states of Bavaria, Hesse and Thuringia. 70 km2 of the total 125 km2 area of the nature park has been recognised by UNESCO as part of t ...

. It is located in the county of

Bad Kissingen Bad Kissingen () is a German spa town in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia and County town, seat of the Bad Kissingen (district), district Bad Kissingen. Situated to the south of the Rhön Mountains on the Franconian Saale, Franconia ...

around four kilometres south-southwest of the town of

Bad Brückenau Bad Brückenau () is a Hot spring, spa town in Bad Kissingen (district), Bad Kissingen district in northwestern Bavaria in the Rhön Mountains. Geography Bad Brückenau is in the tree-lined River Sinn, Sinn valley, in the western Rhön Mountains ...

, immediately north-northwest of the village of Modlos and immediately west-southwest of the mountainside village of Dreistelz, both within the municipality of

Oberleichtersbach Oberleichtersbach is a municipality in the district of Bad Kissingen in Bavaria in Germany. Divisions of the municipality The municipality includes the following towns: *Oberleichtersbach *Unterleichtersbach *Modlos *Breitenbach *Mitgenfeld Hist ...

Observation tower

In the western part of the summit region of the Dreistelzberg, which is accessible on woodland paths, stands an

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 ...

, which is architecturally interesting and extremely open, but nevertheless made in a sturdy, steel design. The tower comprises five, roughly 3 metre high steel lattice cuboids with a square cross-section of 4 metres per side. On the top is a viewing platform with a diameter of 4.5 metres. In 2002, the tower was completely renovated. It was dismantled and the individual components transported to a steel workshop where they were cleaned and hot-dip galvanized. The tower was then rebuilt. There is an almost complete all-round view from the top of the tower. On clear days there are views to the west as far as the

Großer Feldberg The Großer Feldberg ('Great Field Mountain') is, at a height of 879.5 metres, the highest elevation of the Taunus mountains, and of the entire Rhenish Massif. It is situated in the Hochtaunuskreis district in Hesse, Germany. The Feldberg/Taunus ...

in 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' ...

. To the southwest can be seen the hills of the

. To the south the views extend as far as the heights of the

Steigerwald The Steigerwald () is a hill region up to in the Bavarian-Franconian part of the South German Scarplands between Würzburg and Nuremberg. It is part of the Keuper Uplands, and within it, it is continued to the north-northeast and right of the ...

. To the east, views of the

Kreuzberg Kreuzberg () is a district of Berlin, Germany. It is part of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Berlin-Mitte, Mitte. During the Cold War era, it was one of the poorest areas of West Berlin, but since German reunification in ...

and the Black Hills (both part of the Rhön) are blocked by trees, but to the northeast can be seen the

Dammersfeldkuppe At the Dammersfeldkuppe in Bavaria is the second highest mountain after the Wasserkuppe (; Hessen) in the Rhön, a low mountain range straddling the states of Bavaria, Hesse and Thuringia in Germany. Location The Dammersfeldkuppe is situated ...

and the town of Bad Brückenau in the valley of the Sinn below. To the north there is a view of the

Knüll The Knüllgebirge () or simply Knüll () is a small mountain range in the northern part of Hesse, Germany, approximately south of Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern He ...

, and to the northwest the

Vogelsberg The Vogelsberg () is a large volcanic mountain range in the German Central Uplands in the state of Hesse, separated from the Rhön Mountains by the Fulda (river), Fulda river valley. Emerging approximately 19 million years ago, the Vogelsber ...

can clearly be seen behind the Landrücken. File:Dreistelzberg von Osten.JPG, View from the east ( Platzer Kuppe, ) File:Dreistelzberg von Westen.JPG, View of the mountain from the west near Roßbach File:Dreistelzberg von Nordwesten.JPG, View of the Dreistelzberg from the southeastern side of the Stiftes

Legend

According to legend the Dreistelz is named after three haughty young women (''die drei Stolzen'') whose castle was cursed by a pilgrim who visited them at night, but was turned away. The castle was swallowed up in the depths of the mountain.''Verwünschtes Schloß Dreistelz''
in:

Ludwig Bechstein Ludwig Bechstein (24 November 1801 – 14 May 1860) was a German writer and collector of folk fairy tales. He was born in Weimar, the illegitimate child of Johanna Carolina Dorothea Bechstein and Hubert Dupontreau, a French emigrant who disappea ...

, ''Deutsches Sagenbuch''. Leipzig, 1853, Reprint im Georg Olms Verlag 2003.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Dreistelzberg

Location

Observation tower

Legend

References

External links

See also