Upper Hesse Ridge
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The Upper Hessian Ridge () or Upper Hesse Ridge is a hill chain in the
West Hesse Highlands The West Hesse Highlands (), also known as the West Hessian Lowlands and Highlands (''Westhessisches Berg- und Senkenland''), are a heavily forested region of the Central Uplands in Germany. These highlands lie mainly within the state of Hesse, be ...
in
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...
and
Middle Hesse The region of Middle Hesse (, ) is one of three planning regions in the German state of Hesse, alongside North Hesse, North and South Hesse. Its territory is identical with that of the Regierungsbezirk Gießen, administrative province of Gießen (' ...
, which lies on the Rhine-Weser watershed and links the montane
Central Upland The Central UplandsDickinson (1964), p.18 ff. (N.B. In German die ''Mittelgebirge'' (plural) refers to the Central Uplands; das ''Mittelgebirge'' refers to a low mountain range or upland region (''Mittel'' = "medium" and ''-gebirge'' = "range").) ...
ranges of the
Kellerwald The Kellerwald is a low mountain range reaching heights of up to 675 m in the western part of northern Hesse, Germany. Its assets include Germany's largest contiguous beech woodland and it contains Hesse's only national park, the Kellerwald-Ederse ...
and the
Vogelsberg The Vogelsberg () is a large volcanic mountain range in the German Central Uplands in the state of Hesse, separated from the Rhön Mountains by the Fulda (river), Fulda river valley. Emerging approximately 19 million years ago, the Vogelsber ...
in a north-south direction. The swell is divided into the Gilserberg Heights (''Gilserberger Höhen'') in the north, the central Neustadt Saddle (''Neustädter Sattel'') and the Northern Vogelsberg Foreland (''Nördliche Vogelsberg-Vorland'') in the south.


Location

In the north the Gilserberg Heights transition directly into the clearly much higher
Kellerwald The Kellerwald is a low mountain range reaching heights of up to 675 m in the western part of northern Hesse, Germany. Its assets include Germany's largest contiguous beech woodland and it contains Hesse's only national park, the Kellerwald-Ederse ...
with its prominent hills, the Jeust and the
Wüstegarten Wüstegarten is a mountain in the counties of Waldeck-Frankenberg and Schwalm-Eder-Kreis in the north of the German state of Hesse. It is in the Kellerwald mountains and has an elevation of . The mountain is within the Kellerwald-Edersee N ...
; to the northeast into the Löwenstein Bottom, which is part of the ''Ostwaldecker Randsenken''. Separated by the
Wohra Wohra () is a river of Hesse, Germany. It flows into the Ohm near Kirchhain. See also *List of rivers of Hesse This is a list of rivers of Hesse, Germany: A * Aar, tributary of the Dill * Aar, tributary of the Lahn * Aar, tributary of the T ...
the ridge is adjoined in the northwest by the
Burgwald Burgwald is a municipality in Waldeck-Frankenberg in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Burgwald lies east of Battenberg and roughly 30 km north of the university town of Marburg. The community lies on the northwestern edge of the Burgwald ...
at the Gilserberg Heights. In the southwest the
Ohm Ohm (symbol Ω) is a unit of electrical resistance named after Georg Ohm. Ohm or OHM may also refer to: People * Georg Ohm (1789–1854), German physicist and namesake of the term ''ohm'' * Germán Ohm (born 1936), Mexican boxer * Jörg Ohm (1 ...
and the flat Amöneburg Basin follows by the Neustadt Saddle and the Northern Vogelsberg Foreland. The Vogelsberg Foreland goes in the extreme southwest – again with the Ohm as its boundary – into the Lumda Plateau. The Lumda Plateau is part of the so-called Anterior Vogelsberg (''Vorderen Vogelsberg''), which adjoins east of the Ohm valley in the south the Lower Vogelsberg (''Untere Vogelsberg''). Like the actual (High)
Vogelsberg The Vogelsberg () is a large volcanic mountain range in the German Central Uplands in the state of Hesse, separated from the Rhön Mountains by the Fulda (river), Fulda river valley. Emerging approximately 19 million years ago, the Vogelsber ...
it belongs to the
East Hesse Highlands The East Hesse Highlands () describes a heavily wooded range of hills lying mainly in the German state of Hesse, but also extending a little way into Lower Saxony to the north, Thuringia to the east and Bavaria to the southeast. The region is sandwi ...
(''Osthessischen Bergland''). To the east of the three parts of the Upper Hessian Ridge is the
West Hesse Depression The West Hesse Depression () is part of the West Hesse Highlands and Lowlands region in the north of the German state of Hesse. Like the East Hesse Depression, it is a series of separate depressions that form a natural corridor and have been an im ...
(''Westhessische Senke'') in the shape of the Schwalm by the Eder tributary of the same name.


Natural region division

The Upper Hessian Ridge is part of the
West Hesse Highlands The West Hesse Highlands (), also known as the West Hessian Lowlands and Highlands (''Westhessisches Berg- und Senkenland''), are a heavily forested region of the Central Uplands in Germany. These highlands lie mainly within the state of Hesse, be ...
(major unit group 34) and is subdivided as follows:map
an

in the Hesse Environmental Atlas (''Umweltatlas Hessen'')
* ''346 Upper Hessian Ridge'' ** ''346.0 Gilserberg Heights'' (164.97 km²) ** ''346.1 Neustadt Saddle'' (84.49 km²) ** ''346.2 Northern Vogelsberg Foreland'' (199.16 km²)


Gilserberg Heights

The Gilserberg Heights are mostly forested; large parts of the northern area belong to the
Treysa Treysa, an independent town until 1970, is the biggest ''Stadtteil'' of the Germany, German town Schwalmstadt. It was incorporated into Schwalmstadt in December 1970. The location around Treysa and Schwalmstadt is called Schwalm (Hesse), Schwal ...
State Forest, its southwestern spur near Burgholz to the
Rauschenberg Milton Ernest "Robert" or "Bob" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combine painting, Combines (1954â ...
State Forest and the
Kirchhain Kirchhain () is a town in Marburg-Biedenkopf district in Hesse, Germany. Geography Kirchhain is located in the heart of the state of Hesse in Marburg-Biedenkopf district. Geographically, it is surrounded by the Amöneburg Basin on the southeast ...
Municipal Forest. Whilst in the north, in the immediate neighbourhood zum noch gut 200 m höheren
Kellerwald The Kellerwald is a low mountain range reaching heights of up to 675 m in the western part of northern Hesse, Germany. Its assets include Germany's largest contiguous beech woodland and it contains Hesse's only national park, the Kellerwald-Ederse ...
, noch Höhen von bis zu 470.6 m ( Hundskopf) erreicht, flacht der Höhenzug nach Süden auf die maximale Gipfelhöhe von 379.1 m ( Burgholz) ab.


Neustadt Saddle

The (from a natural region perspective) very narrow, north-south oriented Neustadt Saddle is the lowest part of the Rhine-Weser watershed between the
Kellerwald The Kellerwald is a low mountain range reaching heights of up to 675 m in the western part of northern Hesse, Germany. Its assets include Germany's largest contiguous beech woodland and it contains Hesse's only national park, the Kellerwald-Ederse ...
and the
Vogelsberg The Vogelsberg () is a large volcanic mountain range in the German Central Uplands in the state of Hesse, separated from the Rhön Mountains by the Fulda (river), Fulda river valley. Emerging approximately 19 million years ago, the Vogelsber ...
. The Main-Weser Railway crosses it between
Stadtallendorf Stadtallendorf is a town in the district of Marburg-Biedenkopf, Hesse, Germany. It lies about east of Marburg. In 2010, the town hosted the 50th Hessentag state festival. Geography Location Under the German system of ''Naturräume'', Stadta ...
and Neustadt at a height of about , the B 454 federal highway also crosses it at just under . Whilst the Neustadt Saddle forms the actual low point on the ridge between the plateau of the Krückeberg (at the southern end of the Gilserberg Heights) to the north and the Wahlen Plateau (''Wahlener Hochplateau'', at the northern end of the Northern Vogelsberg Foreland) to the southeast, the Neustadt Saddle natural region also includes the Krückeberg, but not the Wahlen Plateau.


Mediterranean-Mjøsa Zone

The Neustadt Saddle is part of the Mediterranean-Mjøsa Zone, a sequence of valleys that runs from the Rhone valley along the Upper Rhine Graben, the
Wetterau The Wetterau (, ) is a fertile undulating tract, watered by the Wetter (river), Wetter, a tributary of the Nidda (river), Nidda River, in the western German state of Hesse, between the hilly province Oberhessen and the north-western Taunus mounta ...
and the Gießen Basin, below the Anterior Vogelsberg to the Amöneburg Basin; from there via the Neustadt Saddle in the
West Hesse Depression The West Hesse Depression () is part of the West Hesse Highlands and Lowlands region in the north of the German state of Hesse. Like the East Hesse Depression, it is a series of separate depressions that form a natural corridor and have been an im ...
and on along the
Leine Graben The Leine (; Old Saxon ''Lagina'') is a river in Thuringia and Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Aller and the Weser and is long. The river's source is located close to the town of Leinefelde in Thuringia. About downriver, ...
to the Oslo Graben.


Northern Vogelsberg Foreland

The north of the Northern Vogelsberg Foreland is, in the immediate vicinity of the Neustadt Saddle, dominated by an entirely cleared plateau up to 388 metres high, around the villages of ''Wahlen'', ''Arnshain'' und ''Gleimenhain'' in the borough of
Kirtorf Kirtorf () is a town in the northern Vogelsbergkreis in Hesse, Germany. Through the town runs the ''Deutsche Märchenstraße'', or German Fairytale Road, a touristic route joining many of the places commonly associated with the Brothers Grimm's tal ...
. Here there are various wind farms, the views extend in good weather as far as e.g. the
Hoher Meißner The Hoher Meißner () is a mountain massif with a height of 753.6 m and is located in the ''Meißner-Kaufunger Wald'' nature park in Hesse, Germany. Geography The Hoher Meißner is densely forested and covers an area of 10 km by 5& ...
, 70 kilometres away to the northeast, and is unbroken in almost all directions of the compass. In the northwest lies the forest of ''Herrenwald'' which barely reaches in height, near
Stadtallendorf Stadtallendorf is a town in the district of Marburg-Biedenkopf, Hesse, Germany. It lies about east of Marburg. In 2010, the town hosted the 50th Hessentag state festival. Geography Location Under the German system of ''Naturräume'', Stadta ...
, the south is also largely wooded. In the southwest flows the Gleen, which in the south is part of the boundary stream of the Lower
Vogelsberg The Vogelsberg () is a large volcanic mountain range in the German Central Uplands in the state of Hesse, separated from the Rhön Mountains by the Fulda (river), Fulda river valley. Emerging approximately 19 million years ago, the Vogelsber ...
.


Hills (selection)

*'' Hundskopf'' (470.6 m) − extreme north of the Gilserberg Heights *
Dachsberg Dachsberg is a municipality in the district of Waldshut in Baden-Württemberg 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 ...
(388 m) − highest point on the cleared plateau in the north of the Northern Vogelsberg Foreland on the Rhine-Weser watershed, immediately south of the Neustadt Saddle near Arnshain * Burgholz (379.1 m) − extreme southwest of the Gilserberg Heights; observation tower * ''Kohlkopf'' (371.4 m) − in the west of the
Treysa Treysa, an independent town until 1970, is the biggest ''Stadtteil'' of the Germany, German town Schwalmstadt. It was incorporated into Schwalmstadt in December 1970. The location around Treysa and Schwalmstadt is called Schwalm (Hesse), Schwal ...
State Forest, Gilserberg Height * ''Hochberg'' (359.4 m) − local hill of
Homberg (Ohm) Homberg (Ohm) () is a town in the Vogelsbergkreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location The officially recognized climatic spa of Homberg lies from 203 to 350 m above sea level in the valley of the Ohm (river), Ohm, a tributary to the Lahn, some ...
which, thanks to clearance, has a good view of the southwest boundary of the Northern Vogelsberg Foreland with the Lumda Plateau * ''Krückeberg'' (345.4 m) − cleared plateau in the north of the Neustadt Saddle, which is immediately next to the southern end of the Gilserberg Heights and is linked by the actual saddle to the southeastern Wahlen Plateau * Nellenberg (344.6 m) − ''
kuppe A ''Kuppe'' is the term used in German-speaking central Europe for a mountain or hill with a rounded summit that has no rock formation, such as a tor, on it. A range of such hills is called a ''Kuppengebirge''. In geology the term also refers t ...
''-like local hill of Neustadt with castle ruins on the southern end of the Neustadt Saddle


Places

The Gilserberg Heights lie within the counties of
Schwalm-Eder-Kreis Schwalm-Eder-Kreis is a ''Kreis'' (Districts of Germany, district) in the north of Hesse, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Kassel (district), Kassel, Werra-Meißner, Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Vogelsbergkreis, Vogelsberg, Marburg-Biedenkopf, and Wald ...
and
Marburg-Biedenkopf Marburg-Biedenkopf is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the west of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Waldeck-Frankenberg, Schwalm-Eder, Vogelsbergkreis, Gießen, Lahn-Dill, Siegen-Wittgenstein. History The district was created in 1974 when t ...
, the Neustadt Saddle mainly within Marburg-Biedenkopf and the Northern Vogelsberg Foreland mainly in the
Vogelsbergkreis The Vogelsbergkreis is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the middle of Hesse, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Schwalm-Eder, Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Fulda, Main-Kinzig, Wetteraukreis, Gießen and Marburg-Biedenkopf. History The district was created in ...
(except for the far northwest where it is part of Marburg-Biedenkopf). Important settlements are
Gilserberg Gilserberg () is a municipality in the Schwalm-Eder district in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Gilserberg lies at the foot of the Kellerwald, a low mountain range, nestled in the Kurhessen Highland on Federal Highway (''Bundesstraße'') B&nb ...
in the north,
Jesberg Jesberg is a municipality in the Schwalm-Eder district in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Jesberg lies from 210 to 675 m high in the Gilsa river valley east-southeast of the Wüstegarten, which at 675 m above sea level is both the Kellerw ...
on the northeastern edge,
Schwalmstadt Schwalmstadt () is the largest town in the Schwalm-Eder district, in northern Hesse, Germany. It was established only in 1970 with the amalgamation of the towns of Treysa and Ziegenhain together with some outlying villages to form the town of Sch ...
on the eastern side,
Kirchhain Kirchhain () is a town in Marburg-Biedenkopf district in Hesse, Germany. Geography Kirchhain is located in the heart of the state of Hesse in Marburg-Biedenkopf district. Geographically, it is surrounded by the Amöneburg Basin on the southeast ...
on the western boundary,
Stadtallendorf Stadtallendorf is a town in the district of Marburg-Biedenkopf, Hesse, Germany. It lies about east of Marburg. In 2010, the town hosted the 50th Hessentag state festival. Geography Location Under the German system of ''Naturräume'', Stadta ...
and Neustadt in the centre and
Homberg (Ohm) Homberg (Ohm) () is a town in the Vogelsbergkreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location The officially recognized climatic spa of Homberg lies from 203 to 350 m above sea level in the valley of the Ohm (river), Ohm, a tributary to the Lahn, some ...
and
Kirtorf Kirtorf () is a town in the northern Vogelsbergkreis in Hesse, Germany. Through the town runs the ''Deutsche Märchenstraße'', or German Fairytale Road, a touristic route joining many of the places commonly associated with the Brothers Grimm's tal ...
on the southern boundary.


References


External links

* der Oberhessischen Schwelle mit Grenzen und allen wichtigen Erhebungen
Placemarks
(
Google Earth Google Earth is a web mapping, web and computer program created by Google that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satelli ...
required) {{coord missing, Hesse Regions of Hesse !Upper Hessian Ridge Marburg-Biedenkopf Schwalm-Eder-Kreis Vogelsbergkreis