The Ahr Hills
[Elkins, T.H. (1972). ''Germany'' (3rd ed.). London: Chatto & Windus, 1972. .] (german: Ahrgebirge or ''Ahreifel'' ) are a range of low mountains and hills up to and long in the
Eifel
The Eifel (; lb, Äifel, ) is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Community of ...
region of
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, which lie roughly southwest of
Bonn
The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...
on the border between the German states of
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...
and
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
.
The forested Ahr Hills have numerous tourist destinations (e. g.
Aremberg Castle
Aremberg Castle (german: Burg Aremberg) is a ruined mediaeval hill castle on the Aremberg in the Ahr Hills in the Eifel region in Germany. The ruins lie near Aremberg in the county of Ahrweiler in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
...
and the
Effelsberg Radio Telescope
The Effelsberg 100-m Radio Telescope is a radio telescope in the Ahr Hills (part of the Eifel) in Bad Münstereifel, Germany. For 29 years the Effelsberg Radio Telescope was the largest fully steerable radio telescope on Earth, surpassing the ...
) and the section of a
Roman road
Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...
with its ancient
Eifel Aqueduct.
Geography
Location
The Ahr Hills are part of the
Eifel
The Eifel (; lb, Äifel, ) is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Community of ...
, the bulk of which lies to the south and southwest of it. It lies on the left, i.e. northwestern, bank of the river
Ahr
Ahr () is a river in Germany, a left tributary of the Rhine. Its source is at an elevation of approximately above sea level in Blankenheim in the Eifel, in the cellar of a timber-frame house near the castle of Blankenheim. After it crosses fro ...
, roughly 40 km southwest of
Bonn
The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...
. Sometimes the ridge on the right, southeastern, bank of the Ahr in the area of Altenahr is also counted as part of the Ahr Hills. This small range is bordered by a square enclosed by the
Grafschaft
A ''Grafschaft'' was originally the name given to the administrative area in the Holy Roman Empire over which a count, or ''Graf'', presided as judge. It is often, therefore, translated as 'county'. The term has survived as a placename in German- ...
and
Remagen
Remagen ( ) is a town in Germany in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, in the district of Ahrweiler. It is about a one-hour drive from Cologne, just south of Bonn, the former West German capital. It is situated on the left (western) bank of the ...
to the east, by
Altenahr
Altenahr () is a municipality in the Ahrweiler (district), district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the administrative centre for the Verbandsgemeinde Altenahr, eponymous collective municipality, to which it belongs. Altenahr ...
to the southeast,
Antweiler
Antweiler is a municipality in the district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
References
Populated places in Ahrweiler (district)
{{Ahrweiler-geo-stub ...
to the south,
Blankenheim Blankenheim may refer to:
Places
*Blankenheim, North Rhine-Westphalia, a municipality in western Germany
* Blankenheim, Saxony-Anhalt, a municipality in eastern Germany
*Blankenheim Castle, a schloss above the village of Blankenheim in the Eifel mo ...
to the west and
Bad Münstereifel
Bad Münstereifel () is a historical spa town in the district of Euskirchen, Germany, with about 17,000 inhabitants, situated in the far southwest of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The little town is one of only a few historical tow ...
and
Rheinbach
Rheinbach is a town in the Rhein-Sieg-Kreis district (Landkreis), in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It belongs to the administrative district (Regierungsbezirk) of Cologne.
Geography
Situated south-west of Bonn and south of Cologne, Rheinbach ...
to the north.
To the north the terrain of the Ahr Hills descends into the
Cologne Bay
The Cologne Lowland,Dickinson 1953, 35, 461–64, 466–73.Elkins 1968, 229. also called the Cologne Bay or, less commonly, the Cologne Bight (german: Kölner Bucht), is a densely populated area of Germany lying between the cities of Bonn, Aachen ...
, to the east it drops down to the
Voreifel
The Voreifel ("Fore-Eifel" or "Pre-Eifel") is the name of a settlement area in the southern part of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a term that grew out of the local speech.
The region of the Voreifel includes the towns and vil ...
and the valley of the
Middle Rhine
Between Bingen and Bonn, Germany, the river Rhine flows as the Middle Rhine (german: Mittelrhein) through the Rhine Gorge, a formation created by erosion, which happened at about the same rate as an uplift in the region, leaving the river a ...
, to the south on the far side of the Ahr is the
Eifel
The Eifel (; lb, Äifel, ) is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Community of ...
proper (up to 747 m), to the west the
Zitter Forest The Zitter Forest (german: Zitterwald) is located in the Eifel region in the German district of Euskirchen (North Rhine-Westphalia) and in the Belgian province of Liège (Wallonia). Its highest point is .
The Zitter Forest lies in the North Eifel ...
and in the northwest the
North Eifel The North Eifel (german: Nordeifel), the northern part of the Eifel, a low mountain range in Germany and East Belgium, comprises the following six sub-regions:
* Venn Foreland,
* Hohes Venn,
* Rur Eifel,
*Limestone Eifel,
* Our Valley and
* High Eif ...
.
Hills
The summits of the Ahr Hills include the:
*
Aremberg
Aremberg() is a municipality in the district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe aft ...
(623.8 m), with
Aremberg Castle
Aremberg Castle (german: Burg Aremberg) is a ruined mediaeval hill castle on the Aremberg in the Ahr Hills in the Eifel region in Germany. The ruins lie near Aremberg in the county of Ahrweiler in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
...
- near
Aremberg
Aremberg() is a municipality in the district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe aft ...
*
Michelsberg (586.1 m) near
Mahlberg
Mahlberg ( gsw, label= Low Alemannic, Mohlburg) is a town in the Ortenaukreis, in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 8 km southwest of Lahr,
near the Europa-Park Rust. It is about north of Freiburg im Breisgau and south o ...
*
Junkerberg (543.4 m) - near
Reetz
*
Knippberg (537.3 m) – between
Rodert and
Scheuerheck
*
Hühnerberg (Lommersdorf) (533.5 m) – near
Lommersdorf
*
Sommerberg (c. 527 m) – between
Reetz and
Rohr
*
Kalvarienberg (Alendorf) (522.8 m) – near
Alendorf
*
Kopnück (514.4 m) – near
Kop Nück
*
Hochthürmerberg (499.9 m) – near
Lanzerath
*
Hühnerberg (Kirchsahr) (c. 398 m) – near
Kirchsahr
* Tomberg (308.5 m) and the ruins of the
Tomburg Castle
The Tomburg is a castle ruin near Wormersdorf, a village in the municipality of Rheinbach near the German city of Bonn. It is located in a small nature reserve that contains a number of rare plant species, on the high Tomberg hill. The Tomberg i ...
- near
Wormersdorf
The Tomburg is a castle ruin near Wormersdorf, a village in the municipality of Rheinbach near the German city of Bonn. It is located in a small Naturschutzgebiet, nature reserve that contains a number of rare plant species, on the high Tomberg ...
Streams
The Ahr Hills is crossed by the following streams, some of which have their sources here:
*
Ahr
Ahr () is a river in Germany, a left tributary of the Rhine. Its source is at an elevation of approximately above sea level in Blankenheim in the Eifel, in the cellar of a timber-frame house near the castle of Blankenheim. After it crosses fro ...
(source in
Blankenheim Blankenheim may refer to:
Places
*Blankenheim, North Rhine-Westphalia, a municipality in western Germany
* Blankenheim, Saxony-Anhalt, a municipality in eastern Germany
*Blankenheim Castle, a schloss above the village of Blankenheim in the Eifel mo ...
)
*
Erft
The Erft () is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It flows through the foothills of the Eifel, and joins the Lower Rhine (left tributary). Its origin is near Nettersheim, and its mouth in Neuss-Grimlinghausen south of the Josef Cardinal ...
(source on the western edge)
*
Liersbach,
*
Sahrbach,
*
Steinbach
*
Swist
The Swist is a stream, long, in the German Rhineland. It rises on the northern edge of the Eifel at 330 metres above sea level and empties from the right and southeast into the Rhine tributary, the Erft, between Weilerswist and (a district of ...
(source near
Kalenborn).
In
July 2021 the area was hit by severe rainfall and subsequent heavy flooding.
Places
The following towns and villages border the Ahr Hills:
*
Rheinbach
Rheinbach is a town in the Rhein-Sieg-Kreis district (Landkreis), in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It belongs to the administrative district (Regierungsbezirk) of Cologne.
Geography
Situated south-west of Bonn and south of Cologne, Rheinbach ...
(north)
*
Meckenheim
Meckenheim (; ksh, Meckem) is a town in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 15 km south-west of Bonn
The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in t ...
(northeast)
*
Remagen
Remagen ( ) is a town in Germany in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, in the district of Ahrweiler. It is about a one-hour drive from Cologne, just south of Bonn, the former West German capital. It is situated on the left (western) bank of the ...
(east)
*
Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler (south)
*
Antweiler
Antweiler is a municipality in the district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
References
Populated places in Ahrweiler (district)
{{Ahrweiler-geo-stub ...
(south)
*
Blankenheim Blankenheim may refer to:
Places
*Blankenheim, North Rhine-Westphalia, a municipality in western Germany
* Blankenheim, Saxony-Anhalt, a municipality in eastern Germany
*Blankenheim Castle, a schloss above the village of Blankenheim in the Eifel mo ...
(west)
*
Bad Münstereifel
Bad Münstereifel () is a historical spa town in the district of Euskirchen, Germany, with about 17,000 inhabitants, situated in the far southwest of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The little town is one of only a few historical tow ...
(northwest)
Other places in the Ahr Hills include:
*
Altenahr
Altenahr () is a municipality in the Ahrweiler (district), district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the administrative centre for the Verbandsgemeinde Altenahr, eponymous collective municipality, to which it belongs. Altenahr ...
*
Ahrbrück
Ahrbrück () is a municipality in the district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The municipality comprises the three districts of Ahrbrück (formerly known as Denn), Brück and Pützfeld.
History
In 893, Pützfeld was mentioned a ...
*
Aremberg
Aremberg() is a municipality in the district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe aft ...
*
Effelsberg
*
Grafschaft
A ''Grafschaft'' was originally the name given to the administrative area in the Holy Roman Empire over which a count, or ''Graf'', presided as judge. It is often, therefore, translated as 'county'. The term has survived as a placename in German- ...
*
Hilberath
*
Kalenborn
*
Mahlberg
Mahlberg ( gsw, label= Low Alemannic, Mohlburg) is a town in the Ortenaukreis, in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 8 km southwest of Lahr,
near the Europa-Park Rust. It is about north of Freiburg im Breisgau and south o ...
*
Mutscheid
*
Ohlenhard
*
Odesheim
*
Rupperath
*
Wershofen
Tourism
The ''Große Eifelroute'' ("Great Eifel Route"), a tourist route, runs through the Ahr Hills. There are also numerous footpaths for walkers. Amongst its places of interest are
Aremberg Castle
Aremberg Castle (german: Burg Aremberg) is a ruined mediaeval hill castle on the Aremberg in the Ahr Hills in the Eifel region in Germany. The ruins lie near Aremberg in the county of Ahrweiler in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
...
, on the eponymous hill above
Aremberg
Aremberg() is a municipality in the district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe aft ...
, and the ruins of the 11th-century castle of
Tomburg above
Wormersdorf
The Tomburg is a castle ruin near Wormersdorf, a village in the municipality of Rheinbach near the German city of Bonn. It is located in a small Naturschutzgebiet, nature reserve that contains a number of rare plant species, on the high Tomberg ...
with views of Cologne. Near
Effelsberg is the
Effelsberg Radio Telescope
The Effelsberg 100-m Radio Telescope is a radio telescope in the Ahr Hills (part of the Eifel) in Bad Münstereifel, Germany. For 29 years the Effelsberg Radio Telescope was the largest fully steerable radio telescope on Earth, surpassing the ...
, on the summit of the
Michelsberg is a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
, dedicated to the
Archangel Michael
Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...
and regularly visited by
pilgrim
A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...
s and walkers. Part of the Roman
Eifel Aqueduct, which runs through the northern part of the Ahr Hills, is a popular tourist destination. The
Ahr Valley with its wine centres is also picturesque; the southeastern slopes of the Ahr Hills above the Ahr have
vineyards
A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...
through which one may walk on the
Red Wine Trail (''Rotweinwanderweg'').
See also
*
List of mountain and hill ranges in Germany
This list of mountain and hill ranges in Germany contains a selection of the main mountain and hill regions in Germany.
In addition the list shows the highest (German) mountain in the range together with its height above sea level (taken as Norma ...
References
{{Authority control
Central Uplands
Regions of the Eifel
Regions of Rhineland-Palatinate
Regions of North Rhine-Westphalia
Landscapes of Rhineland-Palatinate
Mountain ranges of North Rhine-Westphalia
Mountain ranges of Rhineland-Palatinate
Ahr