Herzogenhorn von der Grafenmatt aus gesehen

The Herzogenhorn is a mountain, , in the southwest German state of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

. It lies within a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

in the municipality of

Bernau im Schwarzwald Bernau is a municipality in the district of Waldshut in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Geography Bernau is located in a high valley in the southern Black Forest, south of the Feldberg and west of the Schluchsee. Bernau includes the valley ...

Location and surrounding area

The Herzogenhorn is the source region for three streams, the Krunkelbach, the Kriegsbach and the Prägbach, which discharge into the Wiese.

Height

The Herzogenhorn is the third highest mountain in the Black Forest, after the Feldberg and the

Seebuck At a height of , the Seebuck is the second highest mountain of the Black Forest after the Feldberg (Black Forest), Feldberg. It is located in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Geography The mountain rises in the Southern Black Forest i ...

. If the

Baldenweger Buck The Baldenweger Buck is a mountain top, , in the Black Forest around 900 metres northeast of the Feldberg summit. The bare ridge drops steeply towards the west, north and east into the surrounding valleys of the Zastlerbach and Seebach. Only ...

is counted, the Herzogenhorn is only the fourth highest point in the Black Forest. But if only mountains with a

prominence In topography, prominence or relative height (also referred to as autonomous height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contour line encircling ...

of 100 metres are counted as independent peaks, it becomes the second highest after the Feldberg. The Herzogenhorn is the highest mountain in the Black Forest to have a

summit cross A summit cross is a Christian cross on the summit of a mountain or hill that marks the top. Often there will be a summit register (''Gipfelbuch'') at the cross, either in a container or other weatherproof case. The practice originated in the Ge ...

Routes to the summit

On the Herzogenhorn is an extensive network of

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...

s. The mountain is usually ascended from Bernau, from Menzenschwand (roughly heading over the

Spießhorn The Spießhorn is a mountain, high, in the Black Forest just east of the Herzogenhorn. The summit is on the boundary between St. Blasien and Bernau im Schwarzwald Bernau is a municipality in the district of Waldshut in Baden-Württemberg in ...

Pass), or from the Feldberg Pass via the Grafenmatt. The two mountain ridges radiating from the Herzogenhorn, south towards

St. Blasien St. Blasien (; sometimes spelled in full as Sankt Blasien) is a small town located in the Waldshut district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the Southern Black Forest, 17 km northeast of Waldshut-Tiengen. St. Blaise's Ab ...

and west via the Bernauer Kreuz to Hasenhorn near

Todtnau Todtnau () is a town in the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. As of 2009 its population was of 4,932. Geography It is situated in the Black Forest, on the river Wiese, 20 km southeast of Freiburg. The municipality coun ...

are popular hiking areas. From the Herzogenhorn, as well as the Feldberg to the north and Belchen to the west, there is a panoramic view in fine weather of the chain of the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

from the

Zugspitze The Zugspitze ( , ; ), at above Normalhöhennull, sea level, is the highest peak of the Wetterstein Mountains and the highest mountain in Germany. It lies south of the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, and the Austria–Germany border ...

to the southeast to

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (, ) is a mountain in the Alps, rising above sea level, located right at the Franco-Italian border. It is the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains, the second-most prominent mountain in Europe (after Mount E ...

to the southwest. To the west are the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and ...

may be seen beyond 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 ...

Plain. The prominent high

of the Herzogenhorn is about 75 minutes walk from the Feldberg Pass. There are two restaurants on the mountain: one attached to the Herzogenhorn National Training Centre, a training centre for high-performance sports and the Krunkelbach Hut south-east of the summit.

History

The mountain is already mentioned in a 1328

scroll A scroll (from the Old French ''escroe'' or ''escroue''), also known as a roll, is a roll of papyrus, parchment, or paper containing writing. Structure A scroll is usually partitioned into pages, which are sometimes separate sheets of papyru ...

as ''"des herzogen horne"'' as a point on the boundary of the abbey of St. Blaise The first primitive fortifications probably date to the time around the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, whilst the construction of the fortification line of '' schanzen'' on the mountain is attributed to Margrave Louis William, "Turkish Louis". In 1904, the Mannheim branch of the

Black Forest Club The Schwarzwaldverein (Black Forest Club or Black Forest Association) was founded in Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany) in 1864, making it the oldest German hiking and mountaineering club. The Schwarzwaldverein has almost 90,000 members in 241 loca ...

built the Mannheim-Ludwigshafen Hut, but this burned down on 28 January 1911. The ''Herzogenhorn'' inn was bought in 1957 from the Black Forest Ski Club, was converted and then opened on 22 October 1967 as the new National Training Centre. On 1 January 1979, the first 5 km, ladies cross-country skiing World Cup races in Europe took place on the Herzogenhorn after the

Brend The river Brend () is a right-bank tributary of the Fränkische Saale ''(Franconian Saale)'', in Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the district Rhön-Grabfeld. Its source is in Oberweißenbrunn, which is part of the town Bisc ...

ski club had to move due to lack of snow. During the

Second World War 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 ...

, military exercises were carried out on the Herzogenhorn and Baldenweger Buck, for example for snipers. In the vicinity of the National Training Centre is the ''Molerhüsli'' in which Freiburg artist, Karl Hauptmann, lived and worked from 1920 until his death in 1947. Another artist who worked on the Herzogenhorn worked was Wilhelm Heimer Wickert (1886-1968).Vetter, pp. 469 f.

Winter Sports

Cross-country skiing

Herzogenhornloipe Blick auf Herzogenhorn 150207

On the Herzogenhorn is an extensive network of

cross country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

training trails. The routes starting at the National Training Centre (about 15–20 km, depending on snow conditions) lead in tight loops across the hilly plateau between the Herzogenhorn, Grafenmatt and Silberberg and are the highest '' loipen'' in the

Black Forest The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...

(approx ). They are therefore often used for training. The trails, which are all challenging, are accessible from the Feldberg Pass over the Grafenmatt lift or by crossing the alpine slopes of Grafenmatt in about 20 minutes on a groomed forest path.

Downhill skiing

The Alpine skiing area is not on the Herzogenhorn itself, but on the slopes between the neighbouring Grafenmatt and the Feldberg Pass. Below the Herzogenhorn is, however, the start of the " Hinterwaldabfahrt", a 7-km-long downhill run into the Wiese valley, that ends in

References

Literature

* August Vetter: ''Feldberg im Schwarzwald.'' Selbstverlag der Gemeinde Feldberg (Schwarzwald), 1996, .

External links

360° panorama from the Herzogenhorn
{{Authority control Mountains and hills of Baden-Württemberg Mountains and hills of the Black Forest One-thousanders of Germany