Rothaargebirge

The Rothaargebirge (also called the Rotlagergebirge) is a low mountain range reaching heights of up to 843.1 m in North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse, Germany.

It is believed that its name must once have been "Rod-Hard-Gebirge", or "the cleared forest mountain range", as the range has nothing whatsoever to do with the colour red ("rot" in German), nor with hair ("Haar").

Geography

Location

The thickly wooded Rothaargebirge, rich in mineral deposits, is found mostly in Westphalia between the Sauerland in the north, the Upland (northeastern foothills of the Rothaargebirge) in the northeast, the Wittgensteiner Land in the southeast and the Siegerland in the southwest; only the range's southeastern foothills are actually in Hesse. It stretches from the upper Eder and the Lenne from the "Kahler Asten" (841 m) southwest of the Winterberg Tableland ("Winterberger Hochfläche") some 30 km to the southwest and drops off steeply towards the west, but much less sharply towards the east.

The Rothaargebirge is a narrow, banklike, mostly over 600 m high mountain chain forming geologically a large northeastern part of the "Rheinisches Schiefergebirge" ("Rhenish Slate Mountains"). Since the land's elevation averages quite high, the mountains themselves, up to the 843.1 m-high Langenberg hardly stand out from each other.

The Rothaargebirge is more or less coëxtensive with the Rothaargebirge Nature Park, parts of which do, however, reach into neighbouring geological areas, such as the ones named here.

Bodies of water

In the northern Rothaargebirge rise, among others, the rivers Diemel, Lenne, Neger, Nuhne, Odeborn, Orke, Ruhr, Wenne and Wilde Aa. In the south rise the Dill, Eder, Ferndorfbach, Ilse, Lahn and Sieg. Over the range runs the Rhine-Weser watershed. In the farthest southwest of the Rothaargebirge, and also the Rothaargebirge Nature Park, are the Obernau and Breitenbach dams.

Mountains

Among the best known (but not necessarily the highest) of the Rothaargebirge's peaks, which consist partly of porphyry, are (including all "Achthunderter", or "eight-hundreders", sorted by height):

The German Wikipedia has a more exhaustive list of the Rothaargebirge's many peaks.

Places

In the Rothaargebirge and/or the Rothaargebirge Nature Park or their outskirts are found, among others, these municipalities:

Activities

Through the Rothaargebirge run many hiking trails, among others the "Rothaarsteig", a 154 km-long trail through the heights, and the "Waldskulpturenweg" ("Forest Sculpture Way") along which are found various sculptures and other artworks by different artists.

In winter, many sporting opportunities beckon visitors to the range. Suitable facilities for this include the Postwiesen skiing area (near Neuastenberg), the "Skiliftkarussell Winterberg" and "Snow World Züschen".

Within or on the outskirts of the Rothaargebirge are found the "Panorama-Park Sauerland" and "Fort Fun Abenteuerland" amusement parks.

Free-ranging wisents?

The club Taurus Naturentwicklung e. V. in coöperation with the "Wittgenstein-Berleburg'sche Rentkammer" and the internationally active Large Herbivore Foundation (LHF), and with the involvement of the Hochsauerland biological station, is preparing to reintroduce free-ranging wisents into the Rothaargebirge (Sauerland, North Rhine-Westphalia). The project is, however, not without its controversy in the region, with cultivators in particular worrying about possible damage that the creatures might do.

References

External links

* [http://www.rothaargebirge.com/ Rothaargebirge Region]
* [http://www.rothaarsteig.de Rothaarsteig]
* [http://www.waldskulpturenweg.de Waldskulpturenweg]