In the Rhön Mountains

1 - A legend tells of a giant named Mils who once lived in the hills of the Rhön. He believed in no god and was in league with the devil. But when the monk Gangolf converted more and more people to Christianity, the giant despaired and eventually took his own life. The devil covered his body with stones and rubble. This is said to have created a mountain called the Milseburg.

2 - In stories like these, people in the past explained things they did not understand. Today we know that the Milseburg was not formed by giants or devils. It is one of the hills in the Rhön known as domed hills.

3 - All these hills were formed by volcanoes that became inactive about 5 million years ago. Hot, glowing liquid magma rose from deep within the Earth into the volcanoes. Eventually, the flow of magma stopped, and it remained trapped in the volcanic vents. Over millions of years, rain and ice, heat and cold wore away the peaks of the volcanoes. What remained were numerous rises in the landscape that look like giant hills. Today, they shape the landscape. Because the ground beneath these hills is rocky, very little forest grows on them.

4 - The Rhön covers parts of the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Thuringia. The Milseburg reaches a height of 835 meters. Other peaks are over 900 meters high: Dammersfeldkuppe (928 m), Kreuzberg (928 m), Heidelstein (926 m), Eierhauckberg (910 m), Abtsrodaer Kuppe (905 m) and Stirnberg (902 m).

5 - At 950 metres, the Wasserkuppe is the highest mountain in the Rhön and in the state of Hesse. It lies about 20 kilometres southeast of Fulda. Because a lot of rain falls here, there are numerous springs, including the source of the Fulda. This river flows for just over 220 kilometres before joining the Werra at Hannoversch Münden. From there, the river is called the Weser.

6 - In 1910, students from Darmstadt began experimenting with gliders on the Wasserkuppe. The gliders were pulled by rubber ropes, while updrafts along the slope provided lift. Since then, the Wasserkuppe has been considered one of Germany’s centres of gliding. After the Second World War, American soldiers built a radar station here. From here, they monitored the airspace over the Soviet Union and its allied states. The station ceased operating in 1998.

7 - Today, the Rhön is a popular holiday region. Its peaks attract hikers and sporty cyclists. The Wasserkuppe continues to draw glider and hang-glider pilots, who find ideal conditions here for their sport.