| Kalmit | |
|---|---|
 The Kalmit | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 672.6 m above sea level (NN) (2,207 ft) |
| Listing | Highest peak in thePalatine Forest |
| Coordinates | 49°19′08″N8°04′58″E / 49.31889°N 8.08278°E /49.31889; 8.08278 |
| Geography | |
| Parent range | Haardt |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Bunter Sandstone |
TheKalmit is the highest peak in thePalatinate Forest and the second highest (after theDonnersberg) in thePalatinate region ofGermany. It is672.6 m above sea level (NHN)[1] and located 5.5 kilometres (3.4 mi) south of the town ofNeustadt an der Weinstraße.
The mountain attracts many tourists thanks to the numerous footpaths leading to its summit, its mountaintop restaurant, extensive views over thePalatinate wine region and striking rock formations on its forest-clad mountainsides.[citation needed]
The mountain lies within the municipal forest of the wine village ofMaikammer and 6 kilometres (3.7 miles) southwest of the independent town ofNeustadt an der Weinstraße. Several lower peaks are grouped around the main summit, including the Zwergberg (589.3 m) to the north, theTaubenkopf (603.8 m) to the northeast, the Kanzel (531.7 m) and theWetterkreuzberg (400.7 m) to the southeast, theBreitenberg (545.2 m) to the south and the Hüttenberg (591.2 m) to the southwest. On the Hüttenberg ridge there is a blockfield orfelsenmeer, which also bears that name, with great boulders ofbunter sandstone on the surface of the terrain.
TheKleine Kalmit ("Little Kalmit"), which is only 270.5 m high and is designated as anature reserve lies just outside the Palatine Forest and is about 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) to the south.
The Kalmit belongs to the natural region known as the Palatine Forest which, in the system published by Emil Meynen and Josef Schmithüsen in theirHandbook of the Natural Region Divisions of Germany and its successor publications[2] is classified as a major region of the 3rd order. Within the internal classification of the natural region, it belongs to the Central Palatine Forest and the mountain range of the Haardt, which forms the boundary of the Palatine Forest with theUpper Rhine Plain.[3]
In summary the natural regional classification of the Kalmit is as follows:
On the summit is theKalmithaus, a hut managed by thePalatine Forest Club mainly at weekends and public holidays. There is also aweather station and a free-standing, steel-framedradio tower, the Kalmit Transmitter (Sender Kalmit).
After the 1868 viewing tower on the exposed summit had collapsed, in 1928/29 a new 21-metre-high observation tower was built by the Palatine Forest Club, which, from the outset was fitted with living accommodation, electric light and running water. From this tower there was a comprehensive panoramic view that not only took in the entire Palatine Forest and theVosges to the south, but also, on clear days, the ranges of theHunsrück,Taunus,Odenwald andBlack Forest. According to contemporary sources, the Kalmit was thus"the most beautiful viewing mountain in the Palatinate".[4] Since then, in and around the tower, various survey and radio-technical facilities have been added so that it was periodically and then generally placed out of bounds to the public.[5]
The Kalmit Transmitter is used to broadcast theRPR1 103.6 MHz andBigFM 106.7 MHz radio stations. Amateur radio hams also use the height and location of the Kalmit. A branch of theGerman Amateur Radio Club,Ortsverband Z22, erected arelay station on the summit with the call sign, DB0XK, which was authorized on 30 November 1971 by the present-dayFederal Network Agency with a frequency of 145.700 MHz. The amateur radio relay is housed in the tower next to the Kalmithaus.
Since 2012 there has been a special facility on the Kalmit for measuring visibility; its task is to record visibility in the Palatine Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve.[6] Whilst at many, unmanned, weather stations, visibility measurements are made automatically for the range 0 to 10 km which is relevant to traffic safety, the measurement station on the Kalmit is designed for the range 10 to 390 km, which is relevant in assessing the fine dust content of the air. Measurements and survey photographs are obtainable through the "Fern-Sehen Project" (Projekt Fern-Sehen) in the Palatine Forest,[7] which is managed by theHouse of Sustainability in Johanniskreuz, a department of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Forestry Commission. Another feature is that the values were introduced to alert nature lovers,[6] because exceptional visibility is very rare and difficult to forecast.
The summit has a good view of theRhine Plain, over 500 m below, as well as the nearby villages of Maikammer and St. Martin. There are views of the cities of Ludwigshafen,Mannheim on the plain and also ofSpeyer andPhilippsburg. In the far distance, the southwestern part of theOdenwald forest nearHeidelberg and the first foothills of the northernBlack Forest may be made out.
Schwetzingen Castle, 36 kilometres away, is exactly west-southwest of the Kalmit.
To the north-northwest, also 36 kilometres distant, is the highest summit in the Palatinate, the 686.5 m high Donnersberg in theNorth Palatine Uplands.
On the Kalmit's subpeak, the Hüttenberg, is theHüttenberg Felsenmeer. Here, large pieces of rock from the MiddleBunter, the so-called Karlstal beds, lie on the surface. These blocks were formed during the variousice ages, butfrost action has broken down the once uniform layer of rock into afelsenmeer orblockfield.
The steeply climbingKalmitstraße road is also used for sporting events likemountain running competitions androad bicycle racing. Since Mai 2008 a so-calledStoppomat, an automatic timer, has been available for the use of sports cyclists, runners and skaters; the starting apparatus is at the western exit of Maikammer village (about 170 m), the finish apparatus at the Kalmit car park just below the summit, 5.75 kilometres away.[8]
On 23 and 24 August 2009 the endurance athlete, Christoph Fuhrbach, ran 488 kilometres (303 miles) on theKalmitstraße within 24 hours, climbing a total of 17,615 metres in height. He ran the just under 6 kilometre-long stretch between Maikammer and the Kalmit car park 42 times there and back; on the 43rd ascent he reached the 400 metre sign at the 24‑hour point. Fuhrbach thus beat the hitherto best German performance by Rainer Klaus, who climbed 15,458 metres in height in 1996.[9]
The Felsenmeer on the Hüttenberg is a well-knownbouldering area.
The Kalmit is a waypoint on several circular walks as well as the followinglong distance paths in the Palatine Forest:
Private cars may approach the area from theA 65 motorway (fromLudwigshafen am Rhein toKarlsruhe), leaving at theEdenkoben exit. After 3 kilometres on theB 38 federal highway toMaikammer, there are signs for theKalmit. After another six kilometres theKalmitstraße road runs roughly from east to west past the summit of the Kalmit to the north. On a plateau on the mountainside there is a large walker's car park which is only a few minutes walk from the summit itself.
From May to October, the local public transport services operate a "walkers' bus" (Wanderbuslinie) fromNeustadt (Weinstraße) Central Station to the Kalmit. The journey time is about 35 minutes; these buses are shown on the local rail service timetable. Special tickets, such as the Rhineland-Palatinate Ticket (Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket) are accepted on these buses.
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