Hesselberg (; 689 m above sea level) is the highest point in

Middle Franconia Middle Franconia (, ) is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia, Germany, in the west of Bavaria bordering the state of Baden-Württemberg. The administrative seat is Ansbach; the most populous and largest city is Nuremberg. Subdi ...

and the

Franconian Jura The Franconian Jura ( , , or ) is an upland in Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. Located between two rivers, the Danube in the south and the Main in the north, its peaks reach elevations of up to and it has an area of some 7053.8 km2. Emil Mey ...

and is situated 60 km south west of

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

, Germany. The mountain stands isolated and far from the center of the Franconian Jura, in its southwestern border region, 4 km to the north west of Wassertrüdingen. The mountain's first recorded name was ''Öselberg'', which probably derived from ''öder Berg'' (bleak mountain). This name later changed to ''Eselsberg'' and finally to the current name ''Hesselberg''. As a

butte In geomorphology, a butte ( ) is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and table (landform), tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from the French l ...

the mountain provides an insight into

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

geology. It has also witnessed an eventful history, many incidents were handed down from generation to generation and these mixed with facts have become legends. Nowadays many people visit Hesselberg in order to enjoy nature and the wonderful vista. When the weather is clear 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. ...

150 km away can be seen. Gleitschirm Hesselb

Shape, location, and dimension

The mountain has a length of approximately 6 km and an average width of 1 to 2 km. All of its slopes except for those on the southern side are covered with

coniferous Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

or mixed forest. On the upper slopes, and especially on the eastern slope of the ''Röckinger mountain'', there are large areas of

deciduous forest In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, after flo ...

. The upper part of the prominent southern side is free of forest. On the southern and north-eastern slopes there are large areas of neglected grassland with their typical

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...

bushes. Hesselberg can be divided into 5 sections along its center-line (see panorama image). * On the western slope there is mainly coniferous forest. This is the starting point for the geological

nature trail An educational trail (or sometimes educational path), nature trail or nature walk is a specially developed hiking trail or footpath that runs through the countryside, along which there are marked stations or stops next to points of natural scienc ...

. * The western

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

, also called ''Gerolfinger mountain'', has an especially unspoilt appearance with its

sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are also known as shakeholes, and to openings where surface water ...

-like depressions, hedges and

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s. The depressions were, however, not formed naturally, they are the result of

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

of material for road construction and lime burning. * Since 1994 the central part, known as ''Ehinger mountain'', with the main peak and the transmitter tower has been accessible again; previously there was a restricted military area of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

here. * The woodless eastern plateau, which is called ''Osterwiese'' or ''Röckinger mountain'' is the most important area for tourism. This section serves as a launching zone for model planes and hang-gliders and as an observation platform. On especially clear days one can see 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 ...

in the Alps can be seen. * The highly afforested eastern foothill, known for its legends, has the name ''Schlössleinsbuck''. This small hill top is also called ''Small Hesselberg''. The ''Röckinger mountain'' and the ''Schlössleinsbuck'' are separated by the ''

Druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking priestly class in ancient Celtic cultures. The druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no wr ...

's valley''. Hessel Pano3

Origin and geological structure

Hesselberg is amongst the most important

geotope A geotope is the geological component of the abiotic matrix present in an ecotope. Example geotopes might be an exposed outcrop of rocks, an erratic boulder, a grotto or ravine, a cave, an old stone wall marking a property boundary, and so forth. ...

s in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. On September 24, 2005 it was awarded the cachet ''Bayerns schönste Geotope'' (Bavarian's most beautiful geotopes) by Georg Schlapp (director of the Bavarian Environmental Protection Office) in the course of a ceremony.

Jurassic origin

200 million years ago the

sea extended from the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

basin far to the South and covered the

late Triassic The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch (geology), epoch of the Triassic geologic time scale, Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between annum, Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch a ...

land. At that time the Hesselberg region was on the border of that sea. Many affluxes brought huge masses of

rubble Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture; undressed especially as a filling-in. Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as 'brash' (compare cornbrash)."Rubble" def. 2., "Brash n. 2. def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionar ...

from the eastern mainland and formed a multilayer seafloor, which had a rich

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

and

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

. During more than 40 million years the different layers of Jurassic rock consecutively deposited: the

Black Jurassic The Black Jurassic or Black Jura () in earth history refers to the lowest of the three lithostratigraphic units of the South German Jurassic, the latter being understood not as a geographical, but a geological term in the sense of a lithostratigr ...

at the bottom, the

Brown Jurassic The Brown Jurassic or Brown Jura ( or ''Braunjura'') in earth history refers to the middle of the three lithostratigraphic units of the South German Jurassic, the latter being understood not as a geographical, but a geological term in the sense ...

above, and the

White Jurassic The White Jurassic or White Jura ( or ''Weißjura'') in earth history refers to the upper of the three lithostratigraphic units of the South German Jurassic, the latter being understood not as a geographical, but a geological term in the sense ...

at the top. Each of these layers is characterised by the typical rock and embedded

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

s that are specific for each era. Because certain fossils are solely found in certain layers, they are referred to as

index fossil Biostratigraphy is the branch of stratigraphy which focuses on correlating and assigning relative ages of rock strata by using the fossil assemblages contained within them.Hine, Robert. "Biostratigraphy." ''Oxford Reference: Dictionary of Biology ...

s. In Jurassic rock

ammonite Ammonoids are extinct, (typically) coiled-shelled cephalopods comprising the subclass Ammonoidea. They are more closely related to living octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish (which comprise the clade Coleoidea) than they are to nautiluses (family N ...

s are the index fossils. In the course of time the Jurassic sea silted up completely. Because during the Early Jurassic Hesselberg was located in a sheltered basin it was not as eroded by wind and water as the plain between the mountain and the

Hahnenkamm Hahnenkamm (means "comb (anatomy), comb") may refer to *Hahnenkamm (Verwaltungsgemeinschaft), a federation of municipalities in Bavaria, Germany *Hahnenkamm, Greenland, a mountain in the Stauning Alps, Greenland *Hahnenkamm, Kitzbühel, a mountain ...

. The hard rock resisted erosion and left Hesselberg as a distinctive Zeugenberg rising above the landscape like an island. This kind of mountain-formation is known as

inverted relief Inverted relief, inverted topography, or topographic inversion refers to landscape features that have reversed their elevation relative to other features. It most often occurs when low areas of a landscape become filled with lava or sediment t ...

Rock layers of the mountain

There is a geological nature trail on the mountain with signs that describe its origin. Each of the three main parts of the Jurassic era is divided into six sub-divisions, which are numbered with

Greek letters The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BC. It was derived from the earlier Phoenician alphabet, and is the earliest known alphabetic script to systematically write vowels as we ...

alpha Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter ''aleph'' , whose name comes from the West Semitic word for ' ...

zeta Zeta (, ; uppercase Ζ, lowercase ζ; , , classical or ''zē̂ta''; ''zíta'') is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 7. It was derived from the Phoenician alphabet, Phoenician letter zay ...

(

Quenstedt Quenstedt is a village and a former municipality in the Mansfeld-Südharz district, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North S ...

's classification). The rocks that are found in the different layers are assigned to this classification.

Early Jurassic (Lias) layers

The

is so called due to the dark colours of

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

and

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, Clay minerals, clays, and silt. When Lithification, hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. M ...

characteristic of this era. This layer is approximately 50 m thick and forms the fertile hilly area around the mountain. Its lowest sub-layers (Lias alpha to gamma) are beneath the surface. The Amaltheenton (Lias delta) at 35 m is the thickest sub-layer of the Lias. A special feature is the Posidonia

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a l ...

(Lias epsilon), which is 10 m thick. In this sub-layer fossils from larger animals are also found such as

ichthyosaur Ichthyosauria is an order of large extinct marine reptiles sometimes referred to as "ichthyosaurs", although the term is also used for wider clades in which the order resides. Ichthyosaurians thrived during much of the Mesozoic era; based on fo ...

s. The cavity of the Posidonia schist, which is at the starting point of the nature trail, is a unique natural geological monument where it is prohibited to search for and to collect fossils. Above these well visible schist layers lies the Jurassic marl (Lias zeta), which is 2.7 m thick.

Middle Jurassic (Dogger) layers

The dark brown colours of the

weathered ''Weathered'' is the third studio album by American rock band Creed, released on November 20, 2001. It was the last Creed album to be released until '' Full Circle'' came out in October 2009, with Creed disbanding in June 2004. It is the only Cr ...

upper layers give the name to the Brown (or Middle) Jurassic. The colours are a result of highly concentrated

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

. The layer of the Dogger which is 135 m thick forms the main part of Hesselberg's slopes. The lowest sub-layer (Dogger alpha) is formed of 75 m thick Opalinus-clay. The soil of these layers is very susceptible to landslides which has resulted in the unevenness of the meadows. On top of the Opalinus-clay lies a layer of iron

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

(Dogger beta), which is 40 m thick. This layer is very distinctive due to its steep rise. Because the Opalinus-clay layer is impervious to water, a spring horizon has formed at the transition to the iron sandstone. The layers of Dogger gamma (Sowerbyi layers) (1 m), Dogger delta ( Ostreen-lime) (4 m), and Dogger epsilon ( Oolith-lime) (2 m) are summarised under the term "ooliths". These layers contain many fossils. On the very top of the Middle Jurassic layers is the Ornate's clay layer (Dogger zeta), which is only 2 m thick. This small layer forms a terrace around the Hesselberg. On its southern side the buildings of the

folk high school Folk high schools (also ''adult education center'') are institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal. They are most commonly found in Nordic countries and i ...

were constructed.

Late Jurassic (Malm) layers

The topmost Jurassic layer is called the White Jurassic due to its light colour. These layers can be up to 400 m thick in the Franconian Jura, but at Hesselberg they are mostly ablated; only 85 m is left. The rocks of the Malm are partly

sediments Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

and partly formed from

reefs A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition of sand or wave eros ...

of ancient

sea sponge Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), a basal clade and a sister taxon of the diploblasts. They are sessile filter feeders that are bound to the seabed, and are o ...

s. This rock is widely distributed on the main peak. The light-coloured lime of the White Jurassic was a popular building material for houses ( burnt lime) and for road construction (

). The depressions on the western plateau are caused by these excavations. The lowest layers form the Impressa-layers (low Malm alpha), which are approximately 25 m thick, and the Bimammatum-lime (high Malm alpha). The old name of the

Planula A planula is the free-swimming, flattened, ciliated, bilaterally symmetric larval form of various cnidarian species and also in some species of Ctenophores, which are not related to cnidarians at all. Some groups of Nemerteans also produce larva ...

-lime (Malm beta) is factory lime, which indicates the use as building material. This layer, which is 15 m thick and interspersed with

sponge reef Sponge reefs are reefs produced by sea sponges. All modern sponge reefs are formed by hexactinellid sponges, which have an endoskeleton made of silica spicules and are often referred to as "glass sponges", while historically the non-spicule ...

s, forms the plateau of the ''Osterwiese''. The small

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

below the main peak consists of Planula-lime in its lower part, and the Ataxiocerate's layer (Malm gamma) in its upper, which builds up the main peak and is 20 m thick. The top layer of Malm gamma and the layers of Malm delta to Malm zeta have already been eroded away on Hesselberg.

History of colonisation and important incidents in the Hesselberg region

There are illustrated charts in some of the parking lots of the region which provide an insight into the area's settlement history.

Pre- and early history

Hesselberg was used as a shelter and dwelling in prehistoric times. Archaeological artefacts from the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

(approx. 10,000–2000 BC) have been found mainly on the ''Osterwiese''. In the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

(approx. 2000–1300 BC) it was constantly settled. In the Urnfield time (approx. 1200–750 BC) the colony at the plateaus was surrounded with curtain walls, and

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

s. Even today the 5 km long remains of the border walls around the ''Osterwiese'', the ''Ehinger mountain'', and the ''Gerolfinger mountain'' provide an idea of the importance of these fortifications. Behind this sheltering stonework an important political, economic, and religious center evolved. For a long time these constructions were thought to be of

celt The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

ic origin, but only one artefact (the weapons of a warrior) from the

La Tène period LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

(500–15 BC) indicates any Celtic involvement. In the restless

Migration Period The Migration Period ( 300 to 600 AD), also known as the Barbarian Invasions, was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories ...

and during 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 ...

the walls of Hesselberg were used as a shelter and for defensive purposes. The city museum of Oettingen and the museum for pre- and early history in

Gunzenhausen Gunzenhausen (; ) is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl, northwest of Weißenburg in Bayern, and southwest of Nuremberg. Gunzenhausen is a nationally recognized recreation a ...

contains many exhibits such as tools and weapons.

Romans

Under the rules of emperors

Domitian Domitian ( ; ; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a r ...

(81–96 AD) and

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

(117–138 AD) the Romans pushed the border of their province

Raetia Raetia or Rhaetia ( , ) was a province of the Roman Empire named after the Rhaetian people. It bordered on the west with the country of the Helvetii, on the east with Noricum, on the north with Vindelicia, on the south-west with Transalpine ...

farther to the North. They expanded the wall of

Limes Limes may refer to: * ''Limes'' (Roman Empire), a border marker and defense system of the Roman Empire * ''Limes'' (Italian magazine), an Italian geopolitical magazine * ''Limes'' (Romanian magazine), a Romanian literary and political quarterly ma ...

in order to protect against the

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts of ...

and equipped it with many watchtowers, and in the immediate vicinity of Hesselberg large Castella were built. Under the rule of emperor

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname Caracalla (; ), was Roman emperor from 198 to 217 AD, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father and then r ...

(around 213 AD) the last and widest extension of the Limes took place. To the west of the mountain the wall crossed the rivers Wörnitz and Sulzach in a north-south direction. A few kilometres to the north of Wittelshofen it turned eastward. Due to this sharp bend the strategically important Hesselberg was included within the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. There were Castella at Aufkirchen, Ruffenhofen, Dambach, and Unterschwaningen. Castellum Ruffenhofen was the largest in the Hesselberg area. No Roman buildings have been found by archaeologists on the mountain itself. The remains of the Limes now form stone ridges hidden in the woods. Nowadays most of the civil and military wall remains are hidden beneath the ground of local meadows and fields. On top of Castellum Ruffenhofen a Roman park is built. In the local museum of Weitlingen there are a few Roman exhibits.

Alamanni and Franks

Around 260 AD

Alamanni The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE, the Alemanni c ...

c and Germanic groups entered the region and destroyed the fortifications of the Limes, the Castelli, and many settlements. The Romans had to shift their borders back to the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

. The Alamanni founded their first

grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * The Grange (Toronto), Toronto, Ontario, built in 1817 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to ...

s and farmed the land as arable and livestock farmers. As well as the local town names that end with "''-ingen''" the strip cultivation indicates Alamannic foundation. The villages Röck''ingen'', Eh''ingen'', Gerolf''ingen'', Weilt''ingen'', and Irs''ingen'' have their origins in that period. At the end of the 5th century the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

emerged from the lower

Main Main may refer to: Geography *Main River (disambiguation), multiple rivers with the same name *Ma'in, an ancient kingdom in modern-day Yemen * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *Spanish Main, the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territ ...

valley and initiated the second wave of colonisation. From 496 to 506 and under the rule of

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...

king

Clovis I Clovis (; reconstructed Old Frankish, Frankish: ; – 27 November 511) was the first List of Frankish kings, king of the Franks to unite all of the Franks under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a ...

they defeated the

Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...

n Alamanni, who lost their northern territories that had formerly reached into the Neuwieder basin, and they were pushed back behind the Oos- Hornisgrinde-

Asperg Asperg () is a town in the district of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History Asperg was established by the County Palatine of Tübingen, whose ruling house had a cadet named Asperg, around a preexisting castle. The town and castle ...

-Hesselberg line. Today this line closely matches the boundary of the Franconian and the Swabian/Alamannic dialects. Despite the fact that the Franks overrode the Alamanni in a partly violent fashion, mixed settlements, such as Ehingen and Röckingen, almost always with a Franconian mayor, developed in the Hesselberg region. The Franks founded the villages of Lenters''heim'', Obermögers''heim'', Geils''heim'', Franken''hofen'', and Königs''hofen'' amongst others. The Franconian peasants established the three field

crop rotation Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of different types of crops in the same area across a sequence of growing seasons. This practice reduces the reliance of crops on one set of nutrients, pest and weed pressure, along with the pro ...

with its Flurzwang (a German system of rules relating to communal farmland in the Middle Ages), which was practiced until the modern consolidation of farming. In the 7th century—under the rule of Merovingian king

Dagobert I Dagobert I (; 603/605 – 19 January 639) was King of the Franks. He ruled Austrasia (623–634) and Neustria and Burgundy (629–639). He has been described as the last king of the Merovingian dynasty to wield real royal power, after which the ...

—

Christianisation Christianization (or Christianisation) is a term for the specific type of change that occurs when someone or something has been or is being converted to Christianity. Christianization has, for the most part, spread through missions by individu ...

started in

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

. In the 8th century

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

founded the monastery of Heidenheim under Franconian

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...

rule.

Middle Ages

In the early

the Hesselberg region was part of the king's forests. Sparse castle ruins are found on Ehinger mountain and on Schlössleinsbuck. The construction on Ehinger mountain has its seeds in the

Ottonian The Ottonian dynasty () was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman emperors, especially Otto the Great. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after the family's origin in the German stem du ...

period (8th–9th centuries). Tombs discovered there point towards a violent end caused by Hungarian soldiers at the end of the 10th century when the

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

burnt down the whole castle. The building on Schlössleinsbuck was originally intended for use as a refuge, in the 11th or 12th century it was expanded by the

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

s of Lentersheim and adapted as a well-fortified

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

's castle. The castle's destruction is related in the

family tree A family tree, also called a genealogy or a pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. More detailed family trees, used in medicine and social work, are known as genograms. Representations of ...

of the lords of Lentersheim: ''When Conrad of Lentersheim returned from the northern Italian campaigns of king Frederick II. in 1246, his castle was completely destroyed. Thereupon he began building a new castle in Neuenmuhr.'' In fact, soldiers from the Hesselberg region accompanied the mentioned

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...

king Frederick II to Italy in 1239 in order to fight against

pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX (; born Ugolino di Conti; 1145 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and the ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decretales'' and instituting the Pa ...

. Until they died off at the beginning 19th century, the lords of Lentersheim lived at their castles in Alten- and Neuenmuhr, today's Muhr am See. After this direct colonisation of Hesselberg ended. Aufkirchen, which was fortified during medieval times, had a

city wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or Earthworks (military), earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as ...

and four

city gate A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. It is a type of fortified gateway. Uses City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, goods ...

s. At that time Aufkirchen had

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

Age of burgraves and margraves

The age of

burgrave Burgrave, also rendered as burggrave (from , ), was since the medieval period in Europe (mainly Germany) the official title for the ruler of a castle, especially a royal or episcopal castle, and its territory called a ''Burgraviate'' or ''Burgr ...

s in Middle Franconia had its origin in the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...

when king Henry VI feoffed Frederick III, who originated from

, with the heritable fiefdom of the

burgrave office in 1192. Frederick III founded the Frankish line of the

House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, Prince-elector, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern Castle, Hohenzollern, Margraviate of Bran ...

under the name "Burgrave Frederick I of Nuremberg". Due to clever marriages and trade-offs the Frankish Zollern gained increasing wealth and influence. In 1331 the burgraves moved to Ansbach. In 1363 they were elevated to

sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title that can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to ...

s and in 1417 they were feoffed with the

margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

. Expensive holding of court and persistent conflicts with the imperial city Nuremberg lead to a high level of debt of the young

principality A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarchy, monarchical state or feudalism, feudal territory ruled by a prince or princess. It can be either a sovereign state or a constituent part of a larger political entity. The term "prin ...

and consequently they imposed an unbearable burden of taxes upon their subjects. As a consequence, on 6 May 1525 the

German Peasants' War The German Peasants' War, Great Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt () was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It was Europe's largest and most widespread popular uprising befor ...

also broke out in southern Franconia. On this day rebellious peasants gathered on Hesselberg's peak, thence they went to Wassertrüdingen and captured the margrave

vogt An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...

. Afterwards they plundered the monastery of Auhausen. On their way to Heidenheim the peasants were captured or killed by margrave soldiers from

. During 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 ...

(1618–1648) large areas of today's Middle Franconia were devastated and depopulated. It was not until the end of the 17th century that the economic and financial situation of the margraves improved. The margraves allowed Austrian and French religious

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

s to become nationals and supported

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish merchants in building up an existence, therefore a large number of Jews settled down in villages around Hesselberg. In addition the margraves ran mercantilistic politics and expanded agricultural education. The last margrave

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

handed over the principality, now free from debt, to the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

ns in 1791.

19th and 20th century

An important date in the mountain's history was June 10, 1803, when the Prussian king Frederick Wilhelm III climbed Hesselberg during his visit to his Frankish estates. In memory of this event the king endowed the ''Hesselberg Mass''. In 1806 the Hesselberg region was handed over to

in the course of an exchange of lands between Bavaria and Prussia: Bavaria received the Prussian principality Ansbach including Hesselberg and in return Prussia obtained the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

earldom Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * General Berg (disambiguation) * Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer, born 1963), Ninimbergue dos Santos Guerra, Brazilian footba ...

(capital city

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

), located at the Niederrhein (Bavarian-Prussian Contract of Paris, February 15, 1806). In 1808 the first local code provided the basis for municipal autonomy, which was expanded by the second Bavarian municipal

edict An edict is a decree or announcement of a law, often associated with monarchies, but it can be under any official authority. Synonyms include "dictum" and "pronouncement". ''Edict'' derives from the Latin edictum. Notable edicts * Telepinu ...

in 1818. Following this many small villages became self-administrating and received the status of a municipality—by the means of law as

juristic person A juridical person is a legal person that is not a natural person but an organization recognized by law as a fictitious person such as a corporation, government agency, non-governmental organisation, or international organization (such as the Eu ...

s. Prior to World War II Jewish life and culture played an important role in the whole Hesselberg region. Jewish settlers had already been mentioned in writs in the 14th century and many Jews achieved eminence as merchants and scholars. The

National Socialists Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

were active in the villages around Hesselberg, they destroyed

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

s and expelled or displaced Jews to

internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

camps. The notorious anti-semitic publisher

Julius Streicher Julius Sebastian Streicher (12 February 1885 – 16 October 1946) was a German publicist, politician and convicted war criminal. A member of the Nazi Party, he served as the ''Gauleiter'' (regional leader) of Franconia and a member of the '' Reic ...

, as the head of the Frankish Nazi district, established Hesselberg as a meeting place of the Nazis. After the

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...

came to power in 1933 the annual ''Frankish Days'' (held until 1939) developed from party manifestations. Those were the largest manifestations in Franconia besides the

Nuremberg rally The Nuremberg rallies ( , meaning ) were a series of celebratory events coordinated by the Nazi Party and held in the German city of Nuremberg from 1923 to 1938. The first nationwide party convention took place in Munich in January 1923, but the ...

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...

attended the Frankish Days twice as a speaker and

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

also once attended. Up to 100,000 visitors on the Osterwiese listened to the virulently

anti-Semitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

speeches of Julius Streicher. At that time Hesselberg was named ''Heiliger Berg der Franken'' (Holy Mountain of the Franks). No remains of this dark time are left on Hesselberg. The lofty Nazi plans were never put into practice—the construction of the Adolf-Hitler-School was not realised, nor the Julius-Streicher-

Mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

. Prior to World War II the Nazis could only finish an administration building with a garage. Later this garage was used as a chapel by the refugees that were placed on Hesselberg. Since 1951 Hesselberg has been important to the local

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

s. In this year the Lutheran adult education center was founded and the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria () is a Lutheran member church of the Protestant Church in Germany in the German state of Bavaria. The seat of the church is in Munich. The '' Landesbischof'' (bishop) of the church is Heinrich Bedford ...

Congress took place for the first time. Since then thousands of

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

have gathered on

Whit Monday Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday, also known as Monday of the Holy Spirit, is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a moveable feast in the Christian liturgical calendar. It is moveable because it is determined by the date of Easter. In ...

to celebrate this ceremony of faith. Between 1945 and 1992 the area around the main peak served as a

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

station for the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

. In 1972 the

Landkreis In 13 German states, the primary administrative subdivision higher than a '' Gemeinde'' (municipality) is the () or (). Most major cities in Germany are not part of any ''Kreis'', but instead combine the functions of a municipality and a ''K ...

(district) of Dinkelsbühl and the Hesselberg municipalities was closed in the course of the district reform and incorporated into the Landkreis Ansbach. In the course of latter reforms many small autonomous municipalities merged into the municipalities of today.

Hesselberg region today

Facilities and events

The most important annual event is the Bavarian Protestant Church Congress. This well known beyond the region and each year on

it attracts thousands of Protestants. In a tradition dating from 1803 the Hesselberg Mass has been held on the Osterwiese on the first Sunday in July; it was on this day that king

Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved ...

and his wife Luise visited the mountain. The ''Protestant-Lutheran Adult Education Center Hesselberg'' was founded on May 14, 1951; it was the first Bavarian adult education center. Its main task is adult education for the rural

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

ry (family nursing, village assistant, business assistant). On September 15, 2005 it was renamed to ''Protestant Education Center Hesselberg'' (''EBZ Hesselberg'' - ''Evangelisches Bildungszentrum Hesselberg''). According to

Reverend The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. There are sometimes differen ...

Bernd Reuther, chairman of the new education center, its mission is the expansion of the range of education available with emphasis on ''"Faith, Rural Space, and Development of Personality"'' furthermore guest groups should be addressed with their own education programme. The Protestant-

deaconry

Ansbach Ansbach ( , ; ) is a city in the Germany, German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk, administrative region of Mittelfranken, Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränk ...

has made a popular youth center out of the old Hesselberg house near the peak. Fernsehturm HB

The afar visible television tower with its 119 m is a terrestrial transmitter of the

ZDF ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...

and of the ''Bayerisches Fernsehen'' (Bavarian television) for the Franconian region. This tower, which is located at 49° 4' 12" N and 10° 31' 37" E, has an unusual construction: It is a so-called "hybrid tower" and consists of a free-standing steel skeleton framing base and a wired transmission tower on top. It also broadcasts the UKW radio programme ''Radio 8''. In addition radio amateurs maintain a small

relay A relay Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off A relay is an electrically operated switc ...

station on the mountain for voice radio,

packet radio In digital radio, packet radio is the application of packet switching techniques to digital radio communications. Packet radio uses a packet switching Communication protocol, protocol as opposed to circuit switching or message switching protocols ...

, and amateur television. The energy for this station is supplied by

solar cell A solar cell, also known as a photovoltaic cell (PV cell), is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by means of the photovoltaic effect.

s and

wind power Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity ge ...

The four municipalities around the mountain

The borders of four municipalities cross at the mountain. It is noteworthy that the main villages of these municipalities are located at the mountain's foot, whereas the other municipal parts form a starlike pattern around these centers. In the north is

Ehingen Ehingen (Donau) (; ) is a town in the Alb-Donau (district), Alb-Donau district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, situated on the left bank of the Danube, approx. southwest of Ulm and southeast of Stuttgart. The city, like the entire district o ...

with about 2,100 inhabitants and an area of 47 square kilometres. A trail leads from here through meadows with fruit trees then the afforested northern slope towards the peak. The signs on this trail contain information about

beekeeping Beekeeping (or apiculture, from ) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in artificial beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most commonly kept species but other honey producing bees such as '' Melipona'' stingless bees are ...

. In the east is the small municipality Röckingen with about 800 inhabitants and an area of . The predominantly sunny trail towards the Osterwiese leads through a picturesque, shady linden avenue in its final part. On the southern slope lies Gerolfingen with about 1,100 inhabitants and an area of 13 km² with a road to the parking lots on Hesselberg. A trail leads from Gerolfingen through meadows with fruit trees and a beautiful

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...

avenue, whose older part was complemented with new plantations in autumn 2004. The village of Aukirchen with its historical town-hall and St. John's Church, which is visible from afar, belongs to Gerolfingen. In the west is Wittelshofen with about 1,300 inhabitants and an area of , at the confluence of Wörnitz and Sulzach rivers. The town is the starting point of the geological nature trail. Together with the municipality of Unterschwaningen these four municipalities form the administrative collective of Hesselberg.

Recreational region

The Hesselberg municipalities of

, Gerolfingen, Röckingen, and Wittelshofen joined with the municipalities of

Dürrwangen Dürrwangen is a municipality in the district of Ansbach in Bavaria in 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 ...

, Langfurth, Mönchsroth, Unterschwaningen, Wassertrüdingen, Weiltingen, and Wilburgstetten on January 31, 1973 to form the ''Fremdenverkehrsverband Hesselberg e. V.'' (Tourist Association Hesselberg e. V.). Dürrwangen has since left the association. On the occasion of its 30th anniversary the ''Fremdenverkehrsverband Hesselberg e. V'' changed its name to ''Touristikverband Hesselberg e. V.''. Its headquarters is in Wassertrüdingen. The term ''Hesselberg recreational region'' refers to the combined area of these member municipalities. The German Limes road leads through this region from the West to the East. The ''Entwicklungsgesellschaft Region Hesselberg mbH'' (Development Incorporation of Hesselberg Region) was founded on October 5, 1999. This is a federation of municipalities that extends far beyond the borders of the Hesselberg region. The tasks and spheres of influences of this incorporation are very broad and contain amongst others the economy, culture, and tourism. The main office resides at castle Unterschwaningen. The huge number of meadows containing fruit trees has led to the formation of the ''Interessengemeinschaft Moststraße'' (Community of Interest

Must Must is freshly crushed Juice, fruit juice (usually grape juice) that contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit. The solid portion of the must is called pomace and typically makes up 7–23% of the total weight of the must. Making must ...

-Road) by several communes. The Must-Road around Hesselberg is planned for the near future, both to better market the fruit products and as a new tourist attraction. In and around the Hesselberg area there are many trails. The two main trails have many signs containing information for the hiker. The geological nature trail, which is 3 km long, leads from its starting point near Wittelshofen to the mountain's peak. The signs along the route tell of the geological history and structure of the mountain. The Hesselberg-trail forms a round-trip of Hesselberg's heights. Both trails are well combinable. The Osterwiese is meeting point for model plane pilots, the launch areas for hang-gliders and

paraglider Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched Glider (aircraft), glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a :wikt:harness, harness or in ...

s can be found there too. The regional

gliding Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sports, air sport in which pilots fly glider aircraft, unpowered aircraft known as Glider (sailplane), gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmospher ...

airfield is in nearby Irsingen.

Sporting clays Sporting clays is a form of clay pigeon shooting Clay pigeon shooting, also known as clay target shooting, is a shooting sport involving shooting at shooting target#Clay pigeons, special flying targets known as "clay pigeons" or "clay targ ...

was prohibited by the Nature Conservation Agency due to

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

exposure. The Hesselberg Tourist Office, the ''Bund Naturschutz in Bayern'' (Bavarian Nature Conservation Alliance) (Ansbach district group), and the ''Landesbund für Vogelschutz in Bayern'' (Bavarian State Bird Conservation Alliance) (Ansbach district group) organise guided excursions and walking tours. At the mountain's foot anglers can indulge their passion at the Wörnitz and Sulzach rivers. The German Alpine Association (Hesselberg section with an office in Bechhofen) have built a small hut on the northern slope in order to support winter sports. Tourist destinations include: * the old cities of

Nördlingen Nördlingen (; Swabian: ''Nearle'' or ''Nearleng'') is a town in the Donau-Ries district, in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, with a population of approximately 20,674. It is located approximately east of Stuttgart, and northwest of Munich. It was ...

Dinkelsbühl Dinkelsbühl () is a historic town in Central Franconia, a region of Germany that is now part of the state of Bavaria, in southern Germany. Dinkelsbühl is a former free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire. In local government terms, Dinkelsb ...

Feuchtwangen Feuchtwangen is a city in Ansbach district in the administrative region of Middle Franconia in Bavaria, Germany, with around 12,000 residents and an area of 137 km², making it the biggest city in the Ansbach district by population and area. In 20 ...

, Rothenburg,

, and

* the Franconian lakeland * the

Altmühl The Altmühl (, )
s.v. is a river in

tal nature park * Ruffenhofen Latin park

Landscape conservation

Sheep

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to free range (roam around) and consume wild vegetations in order to feed conversion ratio, convert the otherwise indigestible (by human diges ...

of the herding areas is necessary for the conservation of the semidry and dry meadows. However, encroachment of scrub such as blackthorne,

rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

, and ash has greatly increased at many places on the mountain despite the presence of herds belonging to two sheep farms (northern side: approx. 600 ewes, southern side: approx. 1000 ewes). Without additional mechanical maintenance the open space on the mountain will not remain open in the long term. Since 1997 the municipality of Ehingen has struck out in new directions to deal with the conservation of these vast herding areas on Hesselberg's northern slopes. Annual civil campaigns of important "descrubbing" and maintenance tasks are performed as a collaboration between the ''Landschaftspflegeverband Mittelfranken'' (Middle Franconian Landscape Conservation Association) and the shepherd Hans Goth. Under the banner phrase "One day for the mountain" many teenagers, seniors citizens, farmers, and non-farmers make a pilgrimage to the mountain on a particular day each autumn and work together. The work gets done in just four hours of working time, interrupted by a short snack and finished with lunch. On average there are 40 people voluntarily working in Ehingen. This active support of sheep farming by the citizens ("descrubbing" significantly improves the pasture conditions) has multiple functions: * Novel working methods in the fields of landscape and nature conservation * Active support of Goth sheep farm by the community (board cost, use of the municipal tractors, etc.) and by the citizens encourages neighbourliness and reduces prejudices. * Exemplary activity for the conservation of flora and fauna (active landscape and nature conservation) within the nearby cultural landscape (reinforcement of the identification with the homeland) * Social-communicative aspects: The participants are farmers and non-farmers. With their participation awareness of the problems of land use is raised also within unrelated to agriculture. * Shared work, snacks and lunch bring together the participants. * Participants of different age groups (from 16 to 70) are brought together and prejudices are reduced ("Today's youth isn't interested in anything"). * Due to its volunteers the municipality is independent from state interventions. * Since 2001 the Hesselberg municipalities of Röckingen and Gerolfingen have followed this positive and successful example. They also hold activity days under the flag of "One day for the mountain".

Flora and fauna

Due to its multilayered rock, soil, climate, and cultivation, Hesselberg has bred a variety of

vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plants and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular Taxon, taxa, life forms, structure, Spatial ecology, spatial extent, or any other specific Botany, botanic ...

with some plant communities particular to the area.

Vegetation of the neglected grassland

An important task of the

landscape maintenance Landscape maintenance (or groundskeeping) is the art and vocation of keeping a landscape healthy, clean, safe and attractive, typically in a garden, yard, park, institutional setting or estate. Using tools, supplies, knowledge, physical exertion ...

is the conservation of the dry and non-forested neglected meadows and dry meadowy slopes. Botanists have named this type of vegetation ''Magerrasen'' (neglected grassland). The ground there is covered with thin dry grass and a typical feature are the irregularly spaced

bushes. Well over 40 different species of flowering plants grow on this nutrient-poor, non-fertilised soil. Often different small species of

gentian ''Gentiana'' () is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the gentian family ( Gentianaceae), the tribe Gentianeae, and the monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With over 300 species, it is considered a large genus. Gentians are notable for thei ...

can be found. In late summer pasqueflower and Carline thistle bloom. From April until June orange tips fly over the sunny slopes. One of the most important tasks for conservation of the neglected grassland is traditional

herding Herding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group (herd), maintaining the group, and moving the group from place to place—or any combination of those. Herding can refer either to the process of animals forming herds in ...

. Grazing with

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

is a prerequisite for the long-lasting conservation of this grassland. If the amount of herding was reduced, initially more thorny and needle-bearing shrubs would grow because these are eschewed by sheep - the large number of juniper bushes thrive for the same reason. Under cover of these thornbushes and hedges other groves and the first trees would develop. In the final stage the mountain would become mostly overgrown with forest. The herbs and grasses of the neglected grassland have a positive influence on the quality of the sheep's meat. Due to this fact the restaurants of the Hesselberg region increasingly offer dishes of ''Hesselberg lamb''.

Meadows, hedges, and wells

In many ways the fruitful meadows and fields of the Early Jurassic soil in Hesselberg's vicinity are the opposite of the nutrient-poor neglected grassland. This region has been traditionally used for agriculture. In its fields

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...

oat The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural). Oats appear to have been domesticated as a secondary crop, as their seeds ...

beetroot The beetroot (British English) or beet (North American English) is the taproot portion of a ''Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''vulgaris'' plant in the Conditiva Group. The plant is a root vegetable also known as the table beet, garden beet, dinner bee ...

, and

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

are cultivated. On the farms

pigs The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

and

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

are raised and

dairy farming Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a h ...

is performed. In the lower and middle parts of the slopes old and non-fertilised meadows with fruit trees offer a blaze of colour of different flowers. With their high trunks the fruit groves provide the optimal habitat for a diversity of small animals, birds, and plants. The wryneck is one of the typical inhabitants of these meadows, because they avoid bleak areas and dense forests. Just as important for the small animals, birds, and plants are the various hedges and shrubs, which can be found everywhere on and around Hesselberg. In our farmed landscape hedges have the largest variety of microhabitats. In addition to the groves there is a herb layer—rich in species—a sunny herb fringe,

coarse woody debris Coarse woody debris (CWD) or coarse woody habitat (CWH) refers to fallen dead trees and the remains of large branches on the ground in forests and in rivers or wetlands.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). C ...

, and possibly special

biotope A biotope is an area of uniform environmental conditions providing a living place for a specific assemblage of flora (plants), plants and fauna (animals), animals. ''Biotope'' is almost synonymous with the term habitat (ecology), "habitat", which ...

s, such as the piles of stones. Because of the transition from water-permeable to impermeable rock layers several spring horizons have emerged, explaining the richness of the springs. On Hesselberg there are several deep wells, but most springs appear in the form of flat

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s. The special flora and fauna of the wells is not immediately obvious, because most of the organisms are

microscopic The microscopic scale () is the scale of objects and events smaller than those that can easily be seen by the naked eye, requiring a lens or microscope to see them clearly. In physics, the microscopic scale is sometimes regarded as the scale betwe ...

Sundew ''Drosera'', which is commonly known as the sundews, is one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. 2 volumes. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucilaginous ...

is a very rare plant found in these wetlands.

Biodiversity of the forest

On Hesselberg all forms (

high forest A high forest is a type of forest originated from seed or from planted seedlings. In contrast to a low forest (also known as a coppice forest), a high forest usually consists of large, tall mature trees with a closed canopy. High forests can occu ...

, coppice-with-standards,

coppice Coppicing is the traditional method in woodland management of cutting down a tree to a tree stump, stump, which in many species encourages new Shoot (botany), shoots to grow from the stump or roots, thus ultimately regrowing the tree. A forest ...

) and types (

temperate coniferous forest Temperate coniferous forest is a terrestrial biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Temperate coniferous forests are found predominantly in areas with warm summers and cool winters, and vary in their kinds of plant life. In some, needle ...

, mixed forest,

) of forests can be found. The coppice in the upper regions of the northern slope has the strangest appearance. After

coppicing Coppicing is the traditional method in woodland management of cutting down a tree to a tree stump, stump, which in many species encourages new Shoot (botany), shoots to grow from the stump or roots, thus ultimately regrowing the tree. A forest ...

more light reaches the ground and thermophile animals such as the

sand lizard #REDIRECT Sand lizard {{redirect category shell, {{R from alternative capitalisation{{R from move ...

thrive. Later, when the canopy closes again, many other specialised animals such as the

Eurasian woodcock The Eurasian woodcock (''Scolopax rusticola'') is a medium-small wader, wading bird found in temperate and subarctic Palearctic realm, Eurasia. It has Camouflage#Cryptic coloration in nature, cryptic camouflage to suit its woodland habitat, with ...

find a suitable habitat. All

game A game is a structured type of play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or video games) or art ...

that is typical of German forests (for example

hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores and live Solitary animal, solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are precociality, able to fend for themselves ...

roe Roe, ( ) or hard roe, is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses, of fish and certain marine animals such as shrimp, scallop, sea urchins and squid. As a seafood, roe is used both as a cooking, c ...

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...

, and

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae (), a family that includes small or medium-sized rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrel ...

) are present in Hesselberg's woods. The drumming of

woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family (biology), family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar and the extreme ...

s and the crying of cuckoos contribute to the mood of the wood as well as the singing of countless birds. Various

Ranunculaceae Ranunculaceae (, buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a family (biology), family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide. The largest genera are ''Ranunculus'' (600 spec ...

—such as

liverworts Liverworts are a group of non-vascular plant, non-vascular embryophyte, land plants forming the division Marchantiophyta (). They may also be referred to as hepatics. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in wh ...

and wood anemones—are the signs of spring in Hesselberg's forests. In May

ramsons ''Allium ursinum'', known as wild garlic, ramsons, cowleekes, cows's leek, cowleek, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek, Eurasian wild garlic or bear's garlic, is a bulbous perennial flowering plant in the amaryllis family, Ama ...

turn the ground of the deciduous forest into a carpet of green and white blooms. After blooming the intense odour of garlic fills the air. The various species of

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

s such as the red helleborine have become increasingly rare. The Turk's-cap lily, which belongs to the lily family, can still be found relatively often but flower's diversity is in need of protection. The ''

erica Erica or ERICA may refer to: * Erica (given name) * Erica (plant), ''Erica'' (plant), a flowering plant genus * Erica (chatbot), a service of Bank of America * Erica (video game), ''Erica'' (video game), a 2019 FMV video game * Erica (spider), ' ...

'' and the ''

Cytisus scoparius ''Cytisus scoparius'' ( syn. ''Sarothamnus scoparius''), the common broom or Scotch broom, is a deciduous leguminous shrub native to western and central Europe. In Great Britain and Ireland, the standard name is broom; this name is also used fo ...

'' prefer the iron sandstone layers of the lower parts of the slopes. Image:Türkenbund_ganz.jpg Image:Türkenbund_gefleckt.jpg Image:Türkenbund_dunkel.jpg Image:Türkenbund_lila.jpg Image:Türkenbund_lila2.jpg Image:Türkenbund_hell.jpg

Appendix: sagas and legends

It is unsurprising that such a peculiar mountain with its associated history is shrouded in legends, sagas and prophesies of destiny, many of these contain recognisable parallels to the real history of the area. In heavy thunder storms people recognised the remaining walls of the ruins as eerie figures and specters, which they associated with the former inhabitants of the castles. Later the castle remains were carried away and used as construction material elsewhere strengthening the image of castles sunk into the mountain. Four examples from the numerous legends of Hesselberg are provided:

The legend of the Devil's Hole

A long time ago some young lads herded sheep on Hesselberg. At that time there was a deep cave on the mountain, which is buried today. Bursting with curiosity they wanted to know what was inside. One of them was lowered by rope down into the deep hole. Beforehand the boys had decided to pull him up immediately when he gave a tug on the rope. Soon after the boy went into the cave, a three-legged rabbit hobbled across the way, the other lads followed it spontaneously in order to catch it, but the farther they chased the faster the rabbit ran. Finally they gave up. When they returned to the cave they remembered their fellow in the hole and they immediately pulled the rope up. It was stained with blood and at its end there hung a goat's hoof and a note with the mark 'Skrap' upon it, but the boy was gone forever.

The mountain's specter

Legend has it that a long time ago a big fortress stood upon Hesselberg, known as Owl Castle. In that castle there lived a lord and his only daughter. The girl kept the house and had the keys for all the rooms. At that time the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

invaded the Hesselberg region, they burnt down the castle and the girl died within the ruins. Legend has it that she still haunts the mountain carrying her bunch of keys on her belt. She is seen mostly in Saturday night after the four Ember days.

The unsaved virgins of Schlößleinsbruck

Locals tell the story of the specters of three cursed virgins that live on the Schlößleinsbuck: daughters of the local bishop Stuart Ward. Two of them are dressed completely in white, but the third one wears a black skirt. The three virgins appeared to a farm laborer, who tilled a field near the mountain. They begged him to follow them into the mountain to release them and that because he is of pure heart, he need not fear the evil forces of darkness. They told him that on the way into the mountain they would first meet six men who have beards to the floor and sit around a table, the Pipianer. In the second room there would be sat a black dog with fervid eyes, holding a key in its mouth, the Jaksland. The farm laborer should take this key, even if the dog is spitting fire. With this key would then be able to get into a chamber containing a great treasure, which would then belong to him. But the farm laborer became very scared and left the virgins unsaved. It is further told that the virgins still speak to brave men, who should follow them into the mountain in order to save them.

The tale of Viktor of Hesselberg

There were once rumours of a deep network of caves known as the Regensen grottoes. Within the cave network there were many goblins, organised into different unions with peculiar names like Hof, Ping and Konvencio. One day, an innocent young boy named Viktor fell into the caves. He lived there for many months, uncertain of how to escape. When the traditional Yule celebrations began, he joined with the Konvencio union, becoming King of the Goblins, and leading them to victory against the other unions! Each Christmas, walkers can call out 'Konvencio' into the wind, and hear the other goblins grumble about their defeat. One day it is prophesied that Viktor will be reincarnated, return to Konvencio, and lead them to victory once again.

References

All references are in German. * Johann Schrenk, Karl Friedrich Zink, Walter E. Keller: ''Vom Hahnenkamm zum Hesselberg.'' Bilder einer fränkischen Kulturlandschaft. Keller, Treuchtlingen 2000. * Arthur Berger: ''Der Hesselberg. Funde und Ausgrabungen bis 1985.'' Lassleben, Kallmünz 1994. * Hermann Schmidt-Kaler: ''Vom Neuen Fränkischen Seenland zum Hahnenkamm und Hesselberg.'' Wanderungen in die Erdgeschichte. Vol. . Pfeil, München 1991. * Albert Schlagbauer: ''Der Hesselberg zwischen Franken und Schwaben.'' Steinmeier, Nördlingen 1980. * Albert Schlagbauer: ''Die Frankenhöhe, im oberen Wörnitzgrund, im Tal der Sulzach, rund um den Hesselberg.'' Steinmeier, Nördlingen 1988. * Schlagbauer Albert, Fischer Adolf: ''Rund um den Hesselberg.'' Fränkisch-Schwäbischer Heimatverlag, Oettingen 1965. * August Gabler: ''Die alamannische und fränkische Besiedlung der Hesselberglandschaft.'' Augsburg 1961. * Heinrich Grimm: ''Menschen um den Berg.'' Ein Hesselbergroman (Regional novel of the Thirty Years' War). Brügel, Ansbach 1932 (Reissued Ansbach 1977). * Gerfrid Arnold: ''Hinter der Teufelsmauer: Sagen, Spuk, Legenden zwischen Dinkelsbühl und Wassertrüdingen.'' Self-published, Dinkelsbühl 1999. * Karl Grünwald: ''Sichtbare Spuren der Geschichte im Land um den Hesselberg.'' Verlag Reinhard Wagner, Nürnberg 2002. * Schrenk-Verlag, Frank Baumeister: ''Hesselbergland.'' Land und Leute in Ehingen, Dambach und Lentersheim.

External links

tourist association Hesselberg e.V.

Development Society Hesselberg Region mbH

Protestant Education Center Hesselberg
(Information concerning history)
Landscape Conservation Association Middle Franconia
(Project ''One day for the mountain'')

{{Authority control Mountains of Bavaria Buttes Ansbach (district)