The (), occasionally Sieben Mountains or Seven Mountains, are a
hill range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...
of the German
Central Uplands on the east bank of the
Middle Rhine, southeast of
Bonn
Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...
.
Description
The area, located in the municipalities of
Bad Honnef
Bad Honnef () is a spa town in Germany near Bonn in the Rhein-Sieg district, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the border of the neighbouring state Rhineland-Palatinate. To the north it lies on the slopes of the Drachenfels (Siebengebirge), ...
and
Königswinter, consists of more than 40 hills. The hills are of ancient
volcanic origin and came into being between 28 and 15 million years ago. Much of the territory covered by Sieben Hills belongs to the Sieben Hills Nature Park (''Naturpark Siebengebirge''), which is under environmental protection.
The highest peak is the
Ölberg at 460 metres above sea level. It is a popular
tourist destination for hiking, because of its natural environment.
Hills
The seven most important hills:
*
Großer Ölberg (460 m)
* Löwenburg (455 m)
* Lohrberg (435 m)
* Nonnenstromberg (335m)
*
Petersberg (331 m, Former name: ''Stromberg'')
* Wolkenburg (324 m)
*
Drachenfels (321 m)
Other hills:
* Himmerich (366 m)
* Trenkeberg (430 m)
* Weilberg (297 m)
* Stenzelberg (287 m)
* Broderkonsberg (378 m)
* Mittelberg (353 m)
* Leyberg (359 m)
* Jungfernhardt (320 m)
* Geisberg (324 m)
* Schallenberg (310 m)
* Großer Breiberg (313 m)
* Kleiner Breiberg (288 m)
* Wasserfall (338 m)
* Kleiner Ölberg (332 m)
* Limperichsberg
* Scharfenberg
* Zickelburg (182 m)
Origin name
Although some sources translate the name literally as ''Seven Hills'', where ''sieben'' is modern German for "seven" and a ''Gebirge'' is a hill range, alternative derivations for the name have been suggested. Three theories exist:
# The oldest name was not ''Siebengebirge'', but ''Sieben Berge'' (''septem montes'', seven hills). Depending on the viewpoint near the river Rhine, one notices almost exactly seven hills, which are not always the same and not even the highest. Also, the number
seven used to denote an arbitrary amount of items, was connected to magic and thus had a highly symbolic meaning. This makes it an obvious name for an area that was said to be sinister and impenetrable before the 19th century.
# The word ''sieben'' is derived from the word ''
siefen'' which, in turn comes from the
Middle Low German word ''sîpe'' "wet depression" or "little stream, brook",
[ ] the verb ''sîpen'' means "trickle, drip".
[See the entry ]
siepen
' in the Deutsches Wörterbuch.
# The name ''Siebengebirge'' emerged from the word ''Siedengebirge'' which indicated the presence of soap boilers ("Seifensieder"), who were banned from the valleys because boiling soap smelled so bad.
References
External links
Information and pictures about the SiebengebirgeRhine Dragon The Seven Mountains: a virtual tour, history, old and new legends, natureHonnefer Bilderbogen with pictures of the Siebengebirge
{{Authority control
Mountains and hills of North Rhine-Westphalia
Natural regions of the Middle Rhine area
Regions of the Westerwald