Thuringia Tambach-Dietharz asv2020-07 img29 Falkenstein

The Falkenstein () lies southeast of the small town of

Tambach-Dietharz Tambach-Dietharz is a town in the district of Gotha, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated in the Thuringian Forest, 19 km south of Gotha. Mayor Since 2012, Marco Schütz (independent) is the mayor. His predecessor was the former lieutenan ...

in Schmalwasser bottom (''Schmalwassergrund'') and is the most important rock formation in the

Thuringian Forest The Thuringian Forest (''Thüringer Wald'' in German language, German ) is a mountain range in the southern parts of the Germany, German state of Thuringia, running northwest to southeast. Skirting from its southerly source in foothills to a gorg ...

in central Germany. It consists of

porphyry Porphyry (; , ''Porphyrios'' "purple-clad") may refer to: Geology * Porphyry (geology), an igneous rock with large crystals in a fine-grained matrix, often purple, and prestigious Roman sculpture material * Shoksha porphyry, quartzite of purple c ...

(

rhyolite Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture (geology), texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained matri ...

and

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomina ...

). On the valley side, the crags are high. Because of its situation on the side of a hill (the uphill side has a height of about ), it appears most striking when one stands immediately in front of it. The area near the

Rennsteig The () is a ridge walk as well as a historical boundary path in the Thuringian Forest, Thuringian Highland and Franconian Forest in Central Germany. The long-distance trail runs for about from and the valley in the northwest to and the ...

climbing path has a very montane climate due to its height. The Falkenstein was first climbed in 1852 by the Tambach glassmaker, Jacob Zimmermann. Since then, it has become a rock climbing site with climbing routes of varying grades. The rock is best reached on foot or bicycle by taking the road from

(closed to traffic) that runs along the ''Schmalwassergrund'' past the Schmalwasser Reservoir - a distance of about . At the foot of the Falkenstein, there is a mountain rescue hut.

Sources

* Zimmermann, W. et al. (1990). ''Thüringer Wald. Kleiner Naturführer.'' = Gothaer Museumsheft - Abhandlungen und Berichte des Museums der Natur Gotha, Lfd. No. 9, Gotha, ISSN 0138-1857 Rock formations of Thuringia Gotha (district) Climbing areas of Germany {{Thuringia-geo-stub