Erbeskopf
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| Erbeskopf | |
|---|---|
 Erbeskopf from the northeast (Wildenburg Castle) | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 816.32 m above sea level (NHN) (2,678.2 ft) [1] |
| Prominence | 571 m ↓ Bruchhof, Homburg[2] |
| Isolation | 113 km → Großer Feldberg |
| Geography | |
  Erbeskopf | |
| Region | DE-RP |
| Parent range | Hunsrück |
The Erbeskopf is a mountain in the Hunsrück range in central Germany. At a height of 816 metres (2,677 ft), it is the highest point in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, as well as the highest point of German territory on the western bank of the Rhine. It lies within the Saar-Hunsrück Nature Park.
Geography
Location
The Erbeskopf lies in the southwest of the Hunsrück and the Idar Forest - forming part of both natural regions - near their boundary with the Schwarzwalder Hochwald, to which it belongs morphologically. Its largest part and the summit are part of the municipality of Hilscheid in the county of Bernkastel-Wittlich. The rest belongs to Allenbach in the county of Birkenfeld. Its northeasterly neighbour, also in the Idar Forest, is the Kahlheid (766 m).
The streams that rise near on the Erbeskopf are: the Idarbach whose source lies to the northeast below the subpeak of Sandkopf and thus south of the Kahlheid; the Thranenbach, the upper course of the Traunbach, whose source is southeast of the summit; the Hohltriefbach, whose source lies below the subpeak of Springenkopf and is a tributary of the Röderbach which rises northwest of the Erbeskopf; and the Simm to the north, a tributary of the Schalesbach.
Elevation
In 2008 a re-survey of the height of the Erbeskopf was conducted by the Rhineland-Palatinate State Office of Survey and Geobasis Information (Landesamt für Vermessung und Geobasisinformation Rheinland-Pfalz); using two independent survey measurements that each gave a height of 816.32 m.[1]
Its subpeaks, with their heights in metres (m) above sea level (Normalhöhennull or NHN),[3] are:
- Sandkopf (802 m), ca. 0.6 km northeast of the Erbeskopf
- Springenkopf (784.2 m), ca. 1.7 km southwest of the Erbeskopf
- Viehauskopf (720.7 m), ca. 1.3 km southwest of the Springenkopf
- Hohltriefberg (680.6 m), ca. 0.8 km southwest of the Viehausberg
History
During a military exercise in 1892, sappers built a wooden observation tower on the mountain. In 1894, the Society for the Moselle, Hochwald and Hunsrück (today the Hunsrück Society) decided to construct a stone Emperor William Tower at the summit. This 24-metre-high tower was opened in 1901, 111 steps leading up to a viewing platform. In 1933 a kiosk was built at the entrance to the tower and a weather station installed at the top.
In late August 1939 the tower was closed to civilians, three more storeys were added, a military signals equipment was installed and it acted as the communication centre for a radio relay link from Berlin to the Atlantic coast. The weather station was upgraded.
US troops occupied the Erbeskopf on 17 March 1945. They expanded its military facilities considerably and observed all military air traffic well into the territory of the Soviet Union. Three large radar towers and the Erwin Bunker with the wartime headquarters for Central Europe supported NATO strategy as a multinational command post during the Cold War. The Emperor William Tower was blown up on 18 August 1961 because it obstructed the all-round military radar picture.
In 1971 the 11-metre-high, wooden Erbeskopf Observation Tower or "Erbeskopf Tower" (Erbeskopfturm) was built outside the out-of-bounds area. The tower is of wooden design with three platforms. Although its views are now restricted by trees, in places there are good views as far as the Eifel.
In the wake of the political easing of tension between NATO and the so-called Eastern Bloc states the significance of the listening equipment and electronic alarm systems on the Erbeskopf waned rapidly. Half a century after the end of the Second World War, American troops withdrew and the radar site continued in operation by the Bundeswehr.[4]
References
- ^ a b Article entitled Wie hoch ist der Erbeskopf nun wirklich? and the eponymous press release (pdf; 145 kB) by the Landesamt für Vermessung und Geobasisinformation Rheinland-Pfalz dated 17 January 2008 at lvermgeo.rlp.de (retrieved 31 January and 1 February 2013)
- ^ Isolations and prominences at highrisepages.de
- ^ Map service of the Landscape Information System of the Rhineland-Palatinate Nature Conservation Office (Naturschutzverwaltung Rheinland-Pfalz)
- ^ Marion Maier: Die Himmelswächter vom Erbeskopf, Trierischer Volksfreund, 16 November 2011