| Wasserkuppe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 950.2 m above sea level (NN) (3,117 ft) |
| Listing | highest mountain of Hesse |
| Coordinates | 50°29′53″N9°56′16″E / 50.498056°N 9.937778°E /50.498056; 9.937778 |
| Geography | |
  Wasserkuppe Wasserkuppe (Germany) Show map of Germany | |
| Parent range | Rhön (Hohe Rhön) |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type(s) | Basalt,Bunter extinctvolcano |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | asphalt road almost to the top |
TheWasserkuppe (German pronunciation:[ˈvasɐˌkʊpə]ⓘ;) is the highest mountain in theRhön range and the tallest elevation in theGerman state ofHesse, standing at 950 metres (3,120 ft) abovesea level. It forms a prominentplateau within theFulda district and is known as the "cradle of gliding". Great advances insailplane development took place here during theinterwar period, driven by annual contests. To this day, anairfield near the summit continues to be used by gliding clubs andlight aircraft pilots.
TheGerman name is derived fromWasenkuppe, Asenberg orWeideberg and meansPasture mountain.
The Wasserkuppe lies in the administrative districtFulda 5.3 kilometres (3.3 mi) north ofGersfeld. Other villages nearby arePoppenhausen (4.7 kilometres (2.9 mi) west - south west) andWüstensachsen (5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east, part ofEhrenberg, Hesse). It is part of theRhön Biosphere Reserve.
The Wasserkuppe sources the spring of the riverFulda (the western source of theWeser) and the riverLütter which joins the Fulda after 50 kilometres (31 mi).
The other peaks near the Wasserkuppe areAbtsrodaer Kuppe (north, 905 metres (2,969 ft) NN),Schafstein [de] (east, 831.8 metres (2,729 ft) NN) andPferdskopf (south west, 874.9 metres (2,870 ft) NN).
Wasserkuppe's climate is classified ashumid continental (Köppen:Dfb;Trewartha:Dclo) closely bordering on asubarctic climate (Dfc). The average annual temperature in Wasserkuppe is 6.0 °C (42.8 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,106.1 mm (43.55 in) with December as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around 14.8 °C (58.6 °F), and lowest in January, at around −2.2 °C (28.0 °F).
The Wasserkuppe weather station has recorded the following extreme values:[1]
| Climate data for Wasserkuppe: 920m (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1923–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 12.7 (54.9) | 16.6 (61.9) | 20.3 (68.5) | 26.2 (79.2) | 28.5 (83.3) | 30.4 (86.7) | 33.2 (91.8) | 32.7 (90.9) | 27.2 (81.0) | 23.0 (73.4) | 19.9 (67.8) | 12.8 (55.0) | 33.2 (91.8) |
| Mean maximum °C (°F) | 7.0 (44.6) | 8.7 (47.7) | 13.2 (55.8) | 19.4 (66.9) | 23.1 (73.6) | 26.1 (79.0) | 27.6 (81.7) | 27.3 (81.1) | 22.3 (72.1) | 17.7 (63.9) | 12.6 (54.7) | 8.1 (46.6) | 29.1 (84.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 0.0 (32.0) | 0.8 (33.4) | 4.4 (39.9) | 10.0 (50.0) | 14.1 (57.4) | 17.3 (63.1) | 19.4 (66.9) | 19.3 (66.7) | 14.5 (58.1) | 9.5 (49.1) | 4.3 (39.7) | 1.1 (34.0) | 9.6 (49.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −2.2 (28.0) | −1.9 (28.6) | 1.1 (34.0) | 5.6 (42.1) | 9.6 (49.3) | 12.8 (55.0) | 14.8 (58.6) | 14.7 (58.5) | 10.6 (51.1) | 6.2 (43.2) | 1.9 (35.4) | −1.1 (30.0) | 6.0 (42.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −4.3 (24.3) | −4.1 (24.6) | −1.7 (28.9) | 2.0 (35.6) | 5.8 (42.4) | 8.9 (48.0) | 11.1 (52.0) | 11.1 (52.0) | 7.6 (45.7) | 3.8 (38.8) | −0.3 (31.5) | −3.2 (26.2) | 3.1 (37.6) |
| Mean minimum °C (°F) | −12.2 (10.0) | −11.3 (11.7) | −7.9 (17.8) | −4.8 (23.4) | −0.5 (31.1) | 3.1 (37.6) | 6.1 (43.0) | 5.8 (42.4) | 2.8 (37.0) | −2.1 (28.2) | −6.5 (20.3) | −10.2 (13.6) | −14.6 (5.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −23.9 (−11.0) | −26.3 (−15.3) | −17.1 (1.2) | −10.7 (12.7) | −4.8 (23.4) | −2.2 (28.0) | 1.9 (35.4) | 1.8 (35.2) | −1.6 (29.1) | −8.5 (16.7) | −13.1 (8.4) | −20.7 (−5.3) | −26.3 (−15.3) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 98.9 (3.89) | 79.5 (3.13) | 82.1 (3.23) | 60.7 (2.39) | 99.5 (3.92) | 84.4 (3.32) | 123.6 (4.87) | 92.4 (3.64) | 93.1 (3.67) | 95.4 (3.76) | 90.9 (3.58) | 105.6 (4.16) | 1,106.1 (43.55) |
| Average extreme snow depth cm (inches) | 36.7 (14.4) | 43.1 (17.0) | 30.5 (12.0) | 9.5 (3.7) | 0.8 (0.3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1.7 (0.7) | 14.3 (5.6) | 29.4 (11.6) | 58.6 (23.1) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 20.4 | 18.0 | 17.9 | 14.5 | 16.1 | 15.4 | 16.5 | 15.0 | 14.5 | 17.0 | 19.6 | 21.4 | 206.2 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 1 cm) | 24.1 | 22.6 | 16.5 | 4.6 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 8.8 | 20.9 | 99.4 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 92.0 | 88.6 | 84.6 | 75.0 | 76.2 | 77.3 | 76.5 | 76.7 | 83.8 | 89.5 | 92.6 | 92.4 | 83.8 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 55.6 | 78.1 | 119.6 | 173.6 | 198.5 | 204.0 | 212.1 | 204.5 | 147.9 | 104.0 | 56.7 | 45.3 | 1,600 |
| Source 1: NOAA[3] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: DWD (extremes)[2][1] | |||||||||||||
Students from theDarmstadt University of Technology, then known asTechnische Hochschule Darmstadt, began flyinggliders from the Wasserkuppe as early as 1911, but interest ingliding in Germany increased greatly after 1918 when theTreaty of Versailles restricted the production or use of powered aircraft in the nation. From 1920 onwards, annual gliding competitions were held, leading to records being set and broken for height, distance and duration of unpowered flight. In 1922Arthur Martens [de] became the first glider pilot to use anupdraft rising along a mountain slope to stay aloft for a lengthy period.[4] He then founded the world's first glider pilot school at the Wasserkuppe.
The first competition was organised byOskar Ursinus,[5]: 58 who also built the first clubhouse on the Wasserkuppe in 1924 to replace the shipping containers that enthusiasts were using as accommodation up to that point. By 1930, the competition had become an international event, drawing pilots from all over Europe and even the United States.
Also in 1924 'Rhönvater' (Rhön father) Oskar Ursinus convinced the then secretary of air transport for the ministry of transportationErnst Brandenburg [de] to turn the new gliding club into a state funded research organization. This started theRhön-Rossitten Gesellschaft and as a result, the Wasserkuppe now had a gliding school, workshops for building gliders and a funded research facility.Alexander Lippisch was appointed as the managing director of the new society.
Virtually every German aeronautical engineer and test pilot of note during the 1920s and 1930s spent time building, testing, and flying aircraft at the Wasserkuppe, including theGünter brothers,Wolf Hirth, theHorten brothers,Robert Kronfeld,Hans Jacobs,Heini Dittmar,Alexander Lippisch,Gottlob Espenlaub,Edmund Schneider,Willy Messerschmitt,Hanna Reitsch,Peter Riedel, andAlexander Schleicher.Beverley Shenstone, who was later a key part of the design team for theSpitfire, flew gliders at Wasserkuppe in 1930. This period saw great advances in new technologies such asflying wings androcket-powered flights.
In the 1930s the "Ehrenhalle" (Hall of Honor) was constructed in the Lilienthal Haus, with heavy bronze doors opening into a large hall with a stained glass window. The centerpiece is a larger-than-life bronze figure ofOtto Lilienthal lying on an (empty) tomb. It is a memorial to all pilots who have died in aviation accidents. The inscription on the memorial is Lilienthal's famous last words: "Opfer müssen gebracht werden" roughly meaning: "Sacrifices must be made."
InNazi Germany, gliding activities became largely controlled by the state, and forHitler Youth pilots and their instructors, proficiency in gliding was viewed as the first step towards theLuftwaffe.Sailplane research was also nationalised under theDeutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug (DFS – German Research Institute for Sailplane Flight).
FollowingWorld War II, aUS Air Force base,radar station, andsurveillance station were established there but when restrictions on German aviation were lifted in 1951, gliding soon returned to the Wasserkuppe where it has remained popular since. Beginning in the 1970s, the newer sport ofhang gliding has also found a home there. Following the reunification of Germany and demise of theSoviet Union, the surveillance and radar installations were removed in the 1990s.
In 1970, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first competition, theDeutsches Segelflugmuseum (German Sailplane Museum) was opened on the plateau, withNeil Armstrong a guest of honour at the ceremony. The museum gained a new building in 1987. The Wasserkuppe is also the home of theOldtimer Segelflugclub (OSC – Oldtimer Gliding Club), dedicated (as its name suggests) to flying vintagesailplanes.
Next to the long tradition of sailplanes the Wasserkuppe has become a sports and weekend centre offering a wide selection of activities.Paragliding as well assnowkiting is offered. In winter the area is used by skiers and snowboarders.
Media related toWasserkuppe at Wikimedia Commons
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