The Kalmithaus, also called the Ludwigshafener Hut, near

Maikammer Maikammer () is a municipality in the Südliche Weinstraße district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the German Wine Route, approx. 5 km south of Neustadt an der Weinstraße. Maikammer is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeind ...

in the

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

county of

Südliche Weinstraße Südliche Weinstraße (; ; ) is a district (''Kreis'') in the south of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from west clockwise) Südwestpfalz, Bad Dürkheim, the district-free city Neustadt (Weinstraße), Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis ...

is a

refuge hut A mountain hut is a building located at high elevation, in mountainous terrain, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineers, climbers and hikers. Mountain huts are usually operated by an Alpine Club ...

in the

Palatinate Forest The Palatinate Forest (; ), sometimes also called the Palatine Forest, is a List of landscapes in Rhineland-Palatinate, low-mountain region in southwestern Germany, located in the Palatinate (region), Palatinate in the state of Rhineland-Palatina ...

run by the Ludwigshafen-Mannheim branch of the

Palatinate Forest Club The Palatine Forest Club () is a hiking club in the former Bavarian Palatinate (region), Palatinate, i.e. the southern part of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate and the Saarland county of Saarpfalz-Kreis. In 2011 it had 221 local branche ...

. It is located in the southern part of the Haardt mountains at the summit of its highest peak, the

Kalmit The Kalmit is the highest peak in the Palatinate Forest and the second highest (after the Donnersberg) in the Palatinate region of Germany. It is and located south of the town of Neustadt an der Weinstraße. The mountain attracts many tourists ...

(), and is thus the highest hut in the Palatinate Forest. From its terrace there is "a splendid view of the

Upper Rhine Plain The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben ( German: ''Oberrheinische Tiefebene'', ''Oberrheinisches Tiefland'' or ''Oberrheingraben'', French: ''Vallée du Rhin'') is a major rift, about and on average , between Basel in the ...

and

German Wine Road The German Wine RouteScheunemann J., Stewart J., Walker N. and Williams C. (2011), ''Back Roads Germany'', Dorling Kindersley, London. . or Wine Road (, ) is the oldest of Germany's tourist wine routes. Located in the Palatinate region of the ...

as far as the foothills of the southern

Odenwald The Odenwald () is a low mountain range in the Germany, German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Location The Odenwald is located between the Upper Rhine Plain with the Bergstraße Route, Bergstraße and the ''Hessisches Ried' ...

and northern

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 ...

.''(Große) Kalmit mit Kalmithaus''
at pfalz-info.com. Retrieved 3 September 2022. Immediately next to the hut is the

observation tower An observation tower is a tower used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, and woo ...

on the Kalmit, which is out of bounds to the public, and houses a radio relay station, a weather station and a visibility survey station.

History

A commemorative board below the Kalmithaus refers to a refuge hut built in 1882 by the Palatinate Conservation Club. The first hut managed by the Ludwigshafen branch of the Palatinate Forest Club was inaugurated in 1908. After 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 ...

the Kalmit and its refuge hut were occupied by French troops. After lengthy negotiations the hut was handed back on 11 October 1953 and opened again in 1955. Following the receipt of a large sum of money from the War Damages Office, supplemented by donations, a brand new hut was opened in 1957. On 13 November 1981 the front part of the hut was completely destroyed by a gas explosion. After it was rebuilt the present Kalmithaus was inaugurated on 12 June 1983.

Access and walking

The Kalmithaus can only be reached on the forest tracks of the Kalmit; although there is hiker's car park known as the ''Kalmit'' on the ''Kalmithöhenstraße'' (ca. 645 m) only about 250 metres northwest of the summit. One route to the top runs from Alsterweiler (; in the municipality of Maikammer) through the valley between the

Wetterkreuzberg The Wetterkreuzberg () is a hill in the Haardt range on the eastern edge of the Palatine Forest in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Location The Wetterkreuzberg, like the Breitenberg (545.2 m), the Taubenkopf (603.8 m) and ...

(400.7 m) and Breitenberg (545.2 m). Other routes include the one from Sankt Martin () through the Altbach and Wolsel valley, from Maikammer through the Klausental and from

Neustadt an der Weinstraße Neustadt (German for ''new town'' or ''new city'') may refer to: Places * Neustadt (urban district) Czech Republic *Neustadt an der Mettau, Nové Město nad Metují *Neustadt an der Tafelfichte, Nové Město pod Smrkem * Nové Město na Mo ...

() through the Kaltenbrunnen valley. Other walks run from

Hüttenhohl The Hüttenhohl is a mountain pass in the Haardt mountains in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate on the boundary of the parishes of Maikammer and Neustadt an der Weinstraße. Here, at , the ''Kalmithöhenstraße'' (''Landesstraße'' 515 ...

(476.9 m) on the ''Totenkopfstraße'' via the

Hüttenberg Hüttenberg is a municipality in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is als ...

(620.1 m) and the Felsenmeer Hüttenberg or from

Hambach Castle Hambach Castle () is a castle near the urban district Hambach of Neustadt an der Weinstraße in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is considered a symbol of the German democracy movement because of the Hambacher Fest which was held there in 1832. ...

(379.2 m) via the Sommerberg (501.9 m), the Hohe Loog Plateau () and the Zwergberg (589.3 m). The neighbouring Palatinate Forest Club huts are the Haus an den Fichten, the

Totenkopf Hut ''Totenkopf'' (, i.e. ''skull'', literally "dead person's head") is the German word for skull. The word is often used to denote a figurative, graphic or sculptural symbol, common in Western culture, consisting of the representation of a human sk ...

, the Klausental Hut and the Hohe Loog Haus.

Gallery

File:2012 Pfälzerwald 081 Kalmithaus.jpg, The Kalmithaus File:2013 Pfälzerwald 002 Kalmithaus ji.jpg, The Kalmithaus in winter File:2012 Pfälzerwald 088 Kalmit Tafel 1882.jpg, 1882 information board below the Kalmithaus File:2012 Pfälzerwald 446 Kalmit Kriegerdenkmal Edenkoben.JPG, War memorial for the Palatinate Forest Club's Edenkoben branch at the summit of the Kalmit File:2012 Pfälzerwald 450 Kalmit Kriegerdenkmal Maikammer.JPG, War memorial for the Palatinate Forest Club's Maikammer branch at the summit of the Kalmit

References

''Geschichte & Infos''
, auf kalmithaus.de

Literature

* Matthias Wittber: ''Pfälzerwald mit Bienwald.'' Bruckmann Verlag, 2009, . * Pietruska-Wanderkarte: ''Edenkoben – Die Urlaubsregion zwischen Landau und Neustadt.'' 1:25,000. Pietruska Verlag, Rülzheim, 2007, . * Pietruska-Wanderkarte: ''Hauenstein & Trifelsland.'' 1:25,000. Pietruska Verlag, Rülzheim, 2006, .

External links

{{Commons category
''Das Kalmithaus''
(official home page) Mountain huts in Germany Buildings and structures in Südliche Weinstraße Maikammer