The Vogelsberg () is a large volcanic mountain range in the German

Central Uplands 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").) ...

in the state of

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 also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

, separated from the

Rhön Mountains The Rhön Mountains () are a group of low mountains (or ''Mittelgebirge'') in central Germany, located around the border area where the states of Hesse, Bavaria and Thuringia come together. These mountains, which are at the extreme southeast end o ...

by the

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the city hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

river valley. Emerging approximately 19 million years ago, the Vogelsberg is Central Europe's largest

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

formation, consisting of a multitude of layers that descend from their peak in ring-shaped terraces to the base. The main peaks of the Vogelsberg are the Taufstein, , and

Hoherodskopf Hoherodskopf is a mountain peak in the Vogelsberg of Hesse, Germany. It is a Miocene basaltic extinct volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the Crust (geology), crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that al ...

, , both now within the

High Vogelsberg Nature Park The High Vogelsberg Nature Park () lies in the highlands of the Vogelsberg in the centre of the German state of Hesse. It covers the region of eleven rings around ''Oberwald'', the central part of the mountain range, certain municipalities in the ...

Location

Vogelsberg Blick vom Bismarckturm Taufstein Sommer 2015

The Vogelsberg lies in the county of

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 ...

, around 60 kilometres northeast of

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

between the towns of

Alsfeld Alsfeld () is a town in the center of Hesse, in Germany. Located about north of Frankfurt, Alsfeld is part of the densely populated Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region, with nearby Lauterbach, Hesse, Lauterbach (about ...

Büdingen Büdingen () is a town in the Wetteraukreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is mainly known for its well-preserved, heavily fortified medieval town wall and half-timbered houses. Geography Location Büdingen is in the south of the Wetterau below the Vog ...

and Nidda. To the northeast is the

Knüll The Knüllgebirge () or simply Knüll () is a small mountain range in the northern part of Hesse, Germany, approximately south of Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern He ...

, to the east the Rhön, to the southeast the

Spessart Spessart () is a ''Mittelgebirge'', a range of low wooded mountains, in the States of Bavaria and Hesse in Germany. It is bordered by the Vogelsberg, Rhön and Odenwald. The highest elevation is the Geiersberg (Spessart), Geiersberg at 586 metre ...

and to the southwest the low-lying

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 ...

, which transitions to the South Hessian lowlands of the

Rhine-Main region The Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region, often simply referred to as Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main area or Rhine-Main area (German: ''Rhein-Main-Gebiet'', ''Frankfurt/Rhein-Main'' or ''FrankfurtRheinMain'', abbreviated FRM), is the third-l ...

. In the opposite direction, to the northwest, the Vogelsberg transitions into parts 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 ...

, whilst retaining the name, Vogelsberg, and the basalt rocks that bear its name continue well beyond the actual Vogelsberg.

Geology

The Vogelsberg is the largest contiguous volcanic region in

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

with an area of 2,500 square kilometres."> It is not a former

shield volcano A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more viscous lava ...

, but comprises many individual volcanoes, which are superimposed. Thus it consists of a multitude of overlapping basalt terraces, which descend from the

Oberwald Oberwald is a village in the municipality of Obergoms in Goms District in the canton of Valais in Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by ...

, the high central plateau, 600 to 773 metres high, in series of stepped rings to the edges of the mountain region. Its present appearance, which is reminiscent of a large flat, shield-shaped volcano with a central dome, is the result of an interplay of uplift processes and

ablation Ablation ( – removal) is the removal or destruction of something from an object by vaporization, chipping, erosion, erosive processes, or by other means. Examples of ablative materials are described below, including spacecraft material for as ...

acting on all sides. The volcanic activity in the Vogelsberg, as well as that of the North Hessian Volcanic Region to the north which extends as far as Adelebsen in

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

, is connected with

fault block Fault blocks are very large blocks of rock, sometimes hundreds of kilometres in extent, created by Tectonics, tectonic and localized stresses in Crust (geology), Earth's crust. Large areas of bedrock are broken up into blocks by Fault (geology) ...

activity that, during the

Tertiary Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to: * Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago * Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...

, led to the formation of the Lower Hessian Basin. It began in North Hesse about 20 million years ago during the lower

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

, reached a peak about 13-12 million years ago and came to an end about 7 million years ago, during the upper Miocene. The volcanism of the Vogelsberg was mainly active during the Middle Miocene, according to potassium-argon dating 18.5-10 million years ago, reaching its peak 17-15 million years ago. As a result of

volcanic activity Volcanism, vulcanism, volcanicity, or volcanic activity is the phenomenon where solids, liquids, gases, and their mixtures erupt to the surface of a solid-surface astronomical body such as a planet or a moon. It is caused by the presence of a he ...

, mainly basaltic

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

and pyroclastic deposits were formed. During the course of this volcanicity,

trachyte Trachyte () is an extrusive igneous rock composed mostly of alkali feldspar. It is usually light-colored and aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained), with minor amounts of mafic minerals, and is formed by the rapid cooling of lava (or shallow intrus ...

and

phonolite Phonolite is an uncommon shallow intrusive or extrusive rock, of intermediate chemical composition between felsic and mafic, with texture ranging from aphanitic (fine-grained) to porphyritic (mixed fine- and coarse-grained). Phonolite is a var ...

were produced in the early stages, then alkali-olivine

s were deposited, which alternated with

tholeiites The tholeiitic magma series () is one of two main magma series in subalkaline igneous rocks, the other being the calc-alkaline series. A magma series is a chemically distinct range of magma compositions that describes the evolution of a mafic ...

. These volcanic products overlaid a basement of

bunter sandstone The Buntsandstein (German for ''coloured'' or ''colourful sandstone'') or Bunter sandstone is a lithostratigraphic and allostratigraphic unit (a sequence of rock strata) in the subsurface of large parts of west and central Europe. The Buntsands ...

and tertiary sands, in small areas in the east also rocks of the

muschelkalk The Muschelkalk (German for "shell-bearing limestone"; ) is a sequence of sedimentary rock, sedimentary rock strata (a lithostratigraphy, lithostratigraphic unit) in the geology of central and western Europe. It has a Middle Triassic (240 to 230 m ...

and

keuper The Keuper is a lithostratigraphic unit (a sequence of rock strata) in the subsurface of large parts of west and central Europe. The Keuper consists of dolomite, shales or claystones and evaporites that were deposited during the Middle and Lat ...

Erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

following the Miocene wore away the contiguous basalt nappes, which originally reached as far as the area of the Lower Main, back to isolated deposits in the central complex. Under

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

conditions, the volcanic rocks were turned into red

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 ...

s by

lateritic Laterite is a soil type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by intensive and prolo ...

weathering Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals (as well as wood and artificial materials) through contact with water, atmospheric gases, sunlight, and biological organisms. It occurs '' in situ'' (on-site, with little or no move ...

. In many places, red clays collected and

bauxite Bauxite () is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)), and diaspore (α-AlO(OH) ...

was formed; moreover, the iron contained in basalt was concentrated to form

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

. These deposits were mined over a long period of time in order to produce raw materials for industry, and the basalt was and still is a highly popular raw material for

gravel Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gr ...

and

natural stone This is a geographical list of natural stone used for decorative purposes in construction and monumental sculpture produced in various countries. The dimension-stone industry classifies stone based on appearance and hardness as either "granit ...

production.

Natural region divisions

The division of the Vogelsberg into individual

natural region A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate. From the ecological point of view, the naturally occurring flora and ...

s is based, on the one hand, on the

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

of the mountain range from its highest point towards the outside and, on the other hand, on its river catchments which radiate outwards: the catchments of the Eder ( Schwalm), Lower

( Schlitz and

Lüder Lüder is a municipality in the district of Uelzen, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Through the area flows a small river of the same name, with its source in the upland bog of the Völzberger Köpfchen and its mouth where it flows into the Fulda ...

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 ...

( Kinzig and Nidda) and

Lahn The Lahn () is a , right (or eastern) tributary of the Rhine in Germany. Its course passes through the States of Germany, federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia (23.0 km), Hesse (165.6 km), and Rhineland-Palatinate (57.0 km). ...

(

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 ...

). The following natural regions form the Vogelsberg: * 350 Lower Vogelsberg (''Unterer Vogelsberg'') ** 350.1 Northern Lower Vogelsberg (''Nördlicher Unterer Vogelsberg'') ** 350.2 Northwestern Lower Vogelsberg (''Nordwestlicher Unterer Vogelsberg'') ** 350.3 Eastern Lower Vogelsberg (''Östlicher Unterer Vogelsberg'') ** 350.4 Western Lower Vogelsberg (''Westlicher Unterer Vogelsberg'') ** 350.5 Southern Lower Vogelsberg (''Südlicher Unterer Vogelsberg'') ** 350.6 Giesel Forest (''Gieseler Forst'') * 351 High Vogelsberg (''Hoher Vogelsberg'') ** 351.0 Western High Vogelsberg (''Westlicher Hoher Vogelsberg'') ** 351.1 Eastern High Vogelsberg (''Östlicher Hoher Vogelsberg'') ** 351.2 Oberwald Soils and rocks are, in all parts of the Vogelsberg – with the exception of the Giesel Forest – similar, but average annual temperatures drop noticeably towards the centre of the range (varying by up to 5 K) and the annual precipitation rises towards the Oberwald to an average of 1,200 mm. The

areas of the Vogelsberg continue towards the east and north into its neighbouring natural regions, whilst the Giesel Forest in the east is already on

, like the rest of the natural regions towards the east. The Vogelsberg massif has

stone run A stone run (called also ''stone river'', ''stone stream'' or ''stone sea''tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock co ...

raised bog Raised bogs, also called ombrotrophic bogs, are acidic, wet habitats that are poor in mineral salts and are home to flora and fauna that can cope with such extreme conditions. Raised bogs, unlike fens, are exclusively fed by precipitation (ombro ...

s and areas of ancient woodland. Numerous

hiking trail A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. " ...

s cross, not only the Oberwald, but also the rest of the area.

Oberwald

The ''Oberwald'' (351.2) is the heart of the Vogelsberg and is entirely wooded; its outer boundary roughly follows the 600 metre

contour line A contour line (also isoline, isopleth, isoquant or isarithm) of a Function of several real variables, function of two variables is a curve along which the function has a constant value, so that the curve joins points of equal value. It is a ...

. In outer areas of the Vogelsberg, by contrast, there is a tapestry of green pasture, arable fields and woodlands. Large parts of the Oberwald are protected. For example, the

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

wood in the Taufstein Nature Reserve has been left to manage itself since 1906. On the northern slopes of the Taufstein are large

stone run A stone run (called also ''stone river'', ''stone stream'' or ''stone sea''watersheds of the source region of the most important rivers and especially that of the Rhine-Weser watershed, which runs from southeast to northwest, and the

watershed which heads east. Because large areas of the original forest were cleared and the precipitation exceeds 1,000 mm per year,

snow melt In hydrology, snowmelt is surface runoff produced from melting snow. It can also be used to describe the period or season during which such runoff is produced. Water produced by snowmelt is an important part of the annual water cycle in many part ...

starts early. This and the less porous basalt loam soil frequently leads to flooding. In this part of the Vogelsberg, the scenery changes in loose succession from woodlands, rich in springs, wetlands, poor grassland and stream valleys; besides there are also a raised bog and, in the southeast a number of waterbodies, the Vogelsberg Lakes (''Vogelsberger Seen'').

Lower Vogelsberg (excluding the Giesel Forest)

The basaltic parts of the Lower Vogelsberg (350.1-350.5) range in height between 300 and 500 m, except on the western to southwestern fringes by the

where they descend below 200 m in places. Its boundary with the Büdingen Forest to the south, with the Landrücken to the southeast and with the Giesel Forest (see below) to the east is less of a relief feature than the geological transition from basalt to bunter sandstone. There is also this geological divide with the Fulda-Haune Tableland, which lies in front of the

to the northeast. Between them is the ''Großenlüder-Lauterbacher Graben''. By contrast, in the north, the vulcanite does not end until it reaches the adjacent North Vogelsberg Foreland, i.e. outside the actual Vogelsberg. Even the Anterior Vogelsberg which lies outside the latter region still has large areas of basaltic rock. To the west the basalt zone reaches far into the gently rolling lowlands of the

, this depression lies alongside the middle and lower reaches of the Horloff river. From a natural landscape perspective, the region is an island of forest comprising melic grasses and

Giesel Forest

In the Giesel Forest (350.6), which covers an area of 130 km², the Vogelsberg pushes eastwards at heights of up to over 500 m to the edge of the Fulda Basin. From a natural region perspective, the only bunter sandstone part of the Vogelsberg is clearly separated from the basaltic areas of the Lower Vogelsberg. In addition to the woods that cover almost the entire natural region (including

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

forests) there are extensive vegetation-free areas by the huge spoil tips of the potassium salt mine near Neuhof.

Table of natural regions (with high points)

The following table lists the natural regions from the centre outwards and then in clockwise order.

Drainage and water supply

Not only does a section of the Rhine-Weser watershed run over the Vogelsberg, but also (within the

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...

and

systems) the watersheds between the Eder and Schwalm and Lower Fulda as well as (within the

Rhine basin The Rhine ( ) is one of the major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Swiss-Austrian border. From Lake Const ...

) that between the

and the

Groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit ...

and

spring water A spring is a natural exit point at which groundwater emerges from an aquifer and flows across the ground surface as surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere, as well as a part of the water cycle. Springs have long been important f ...

from the Vogelsberg, along with water from the dem

hills and

Hessian Ried The Hessian Ried () is a low-lying, agricultural region that forms part of the northeastern area of the Upper Rhine Plain. It is situated in Regierungsbezirk Darmstadt, South Hesse in west central Germany. Location and description The Hessian Ri ...

provides

drinking water Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...

for the

. As early as 1876 were springs in the eastern Vogelsberg enclosed for that purpose and the construction of

water pipes Plumbing is any system that conveys fluids for a wide range of applications. Plumbing uses pipes, valves, plumbing fixtures, tanks, and other apparatuses to convey fluids. Heating and cooling (HVAC), waste removal, and potable water deliver ...

from the Spessart and the Vogelsberg to the city of

. A lack of understanding of the particular hydrogeological and ecological situation in the Vogelsberg and excessive withdrawal resulted in springs drying up, cracks appearing in buildings and subsidence of the ground. The Upper Hessian Water Companies (''Oberhessischen Versorgungsbetriebe AG'', OVAG) are the largest water suppliers in the Vogelsberg: they pump out around 30 million cubic metres of

ground water Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidat ...

annually from their wells; about 2/3 goes to the city of Frankfurt in the Rhine-Main region.

Rivers and streams

Numerous rivers and streams rise in the Vogelsberg, and flow radially from its highest point in all directions of the compass. In clockwise order, the rivers of the main catchments are the Schwalm, Lower Fulda, Kinzig, Nidda and Ohm. Often a well known river is fed by several almost equal tributaries.

The most important rivers systematically

The main rivers of the Vogelsberg, in clockwise order starting in the north, are: In the Vogelsberg the following lengths are misleading, however: * The Schwalm takes only a fraction of its water from the Vogelsberg and is fed ''inter alia'' by the

and

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 ...

. * The Fliede is only fed from the left from the Vogelsberg, while its right tributaries come from the Rhön and Landrücken. * The Kinzig itself does not flow at all through the range. Only its important right-hand tributaries come from the Vogelsberg, while e. g. its left-hand branches rise in the

. * In the Nidda river system the Wetter leaves the Vogelsberg shortly after its source and obtains water from ''inter alia'' the

Taunus The Taunus () is a mountain range in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, located north west of Frankfurt and north of Wiesbaden. The tallest peak in the range is '' Großer Feldberg'' at 878 m; other notable peaks are '' Kleiner Feldberg' ...

; even the Horloff soon leaves the Vogelsberg and from then on only forms its eastern boundary. * In its middle reaches, the Ohm is fed ''inter alia'' from the

Waterbodies

Among the

waterbodies A body of water or waterbody is any significant accumulation of water on the surface of Earth or another planet. The term most often refers to oceans, seas, and lakes, but it includes smaller pools of water such as ponds, wetlands, or more ra ...

of the Vogelsbergs are the following lakes and reservoirs (sorted alphabetically): * Antrift Reservoir * Gederner See * Nidda Reservoir * Mooser Teiche * Storage basin of the Nidder Power Station

Wildlife

In recent years the

Eurasian lynx The Eurasian lynx (''Lynx lynx'') is one of the four wikt:extant, extant species within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. It is widely distributed from Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe to Cent ...

has returned. There are rumors about wolves being sighted in the region. Sightings have been confirmed in an area north of the Vogelsberg. Wildcats are also said to exist in the region, although they, like lynxes, are notoriously hard to spot. As in most of Hesse, wild boar are present in large numbers.

Tourism

The Vogelsberg is known for its

winter sports area Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Diffe ...

s on the

Herchenhainer Höhe Herchenhainer Höhe is a mountain of Hesse, Germany. It has the fourth highest peak of the Vogelsberg range. It contributes to the watersheds of the Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The ri ...

and

(

Alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping) ...

and 55 km of ''

loipe A cross-country skiing trail or ''loipe''From or ''Langlaufloipe'', pl. –''n'', ''loipe'' is a loanword in English-language travel guides, referring to cross-country ski trails in Europe. It is a Germanization of the Norwegian language, Norwegia ...

s''). In summer, apart from

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

is well catered for on the numerous

long-distance cycling route Long-distance cycling routes are designated cycling routes in various countries around the world for bicycle tourism. These routes include anything from longer rail trails, to national cycling route network A national cycling route network is a ...

s such as the Volcano Cycleway (''Vulkanradweg'', Vogelsberg Southern Railway Cycleway (''Vogelsberger Südbahnradweg'' ...). Moreover, there are regular RMV buses, the so-called Vulkan Express running from

Stockheim Stockheim () is a municipality in the district of Kronach in Bavaria in Germany. It is located on Bundesstraße 85 The Bundesstraße 85 (abbr. B 85) runs southeast through Thuringia and Bavaria, from Kyffhäuser to Passau, near the Austrian b ...

, Nidda,

Hungen Hungen () is a town in the district of Gießen, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated 20 km southeast of Gießen, and 18 km northeast of Friedberg. Surrounding towns are Laubach to the north, Nidda to the east, Wölfersheim to the south ...

Mücke Mücke is a municipality in the Vogelsbergkreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Mücke lies from 200 to 350 m above sea level in the northwest foothills of the Vogelsberg Mountains on the upper reaches of the river Ohm, a tributary to the ...

and Schlitz via Lauterbach at weekends to the heights of the Vogelsberg. These buses are equipped with bicycle trailers. The majority of bus routes run to the

and so may be used in combination. The Volcano and Southern Railway Cycleways are tarmacked and may also be used by

inline skater Inline skates are boots with wheels arranged in a single line from front to back, allowing one to move in an ice skate-like fashion. Inline skates are technically a type of roller skate, but most people associate the term roller skates with q ...

s. There is a large network of signposted cycleways in and around the Vogelsberg Nature Fitness Park around the highest summits and also 70 km of signed

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling (''mountain biking''). Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in r ...

routes. The Hoherodskopf is the touristic centre of the region. Here you will find the Nature Conservation Information Centre for the

and a tourist information centre for the town of

Schotten Schotten () is a town in the middle of Hesse, Germany. Larger towns nearby include Alsfeld in the north, Fulda in the east, Friedberg, Hesse, Friedberg in the south and Gießen in the west. Geography Location The officially recognised climatic sp ...

, which are open daily all year-round. From this point, three nature trails have been set up, covering in the fields of geology, nature and sensory perception.Nature Conservation Information Centre on the Hoherodkopf
There is a summer toboggan run, a tree ropes course, numerous hiking trails and several restaurants.

References

Mountain height – various mountains unknown / unresearched source Landscape fact fil
''35002 – Fuldavorland des Vogelsberg''
''(Gieseler Forst)'', at bfn.de

Literature

* * * Wilhelm Schottler: ''Der Vogelsberg''. Notizblatt der Hessischen Geologischen Landesanstalt zu Darmstadt, V. Folge, 18. Heft. Darmstadt 1937, . * * * Fritz Wolff: ''Wetterau und Vogelsberg in alten Landkarten'' = Geschichte und Kultur in Wetterau und Vogelsberg 2. Friedberg

994 Year 994 ( CMXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * September 15 – Battle of the Orontes: Fatimid forces, under Turkish general Manjutakin (also the governor ...

External links

in German, return of the Eurasian Lynx

''Vogelsberg – Hessens Urgestein''
(Vogelsberg Consult GmbH)
''Naturpark Hoher Vogelsberg''
at naturpark-hoher-vogelsberg.de * of the Vogelsberg with natural region boundaries, all important high points and river systems

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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 ...

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