The Großer Rachel or Great Rachel is a mountain, ; it is the second highest summit in the Bavarian Forest and

Bohemian Forest The Bohemian Forest, known in Czech as Šumava () and in German as Böhmerwald, is a low mountain range in Central Europe. Geographically, the mountains extend from Plzeň Region and South Bohemia in the Czech Republic to Austria and Bavaria in ...

after the Großer Arber and the highest mountain in the Bavarian Forest National Park. Together with the

Kleiner Rachel Kleiner Rachel is a mountain of Bavaria, 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 ...

or Little Rachel, 900 metres to the northwest, it forms the mountain of ''Rachel'' (Czech: ''Roklan'').

Description

On its rocky summit stands an impressive wooden cross and a

Bergwacht The Bergwacht is an organisation that is part of the German Red Cross (DRK-Bergwacht), whose primary functions are mountain rescue and nature conservation. The voluntary organisation provides over 90% of the emergency services in the impassable t ...

(mountain rescue) hut. The panorama extends from the Osser and

Arber Arber is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Agnes Arber (1879–1960), British botanist and philosopher of biology *Edward Arber (1836–1912), British academic and writer * Edward Alexander Newell Arber, British paleobotanist ...

to the northwest to the Dreisesselberg to the southeast; when there are

föhn A Foehn or Föhn (, , ), is a type of dry, relatively warm, downslope wind that occurs in the leeward, lee (downwind side) of a mountain range. It is a rain shadow wind that results from the subsequent adiabatic warming of air that has dropped m ...

winds or temperature inversion conditions, the chain of the Alps can be seen from the Totes Gebirge to the Zugspitze. However, recently this all-round view is being obscured by the growth of

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...

in the summit region. The Great Rachel is a popular destination. Walkers can stop at the Waldschmidthaus below the summit and order food and drink; since 2011 it has not been possible to overnight here due to fire regulations. As on the neighbouring Lusen, large parts of the Rachel forest fell victim to

bark beetle A bark beetle is the common name for the subfamily of beetles Scolytinae. Previously, this was considered a distinct family (Scolytidae), but is now understood to be a specialized clade of the "true weevil" family (Curculionidae). Although the ...

in 1995. According to the thinking of the

National Park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

authorities, no defensive measures were taken nor were dead trees removed. Instead, nature was left to itself and instead of the former, monotonous spruce

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s, mixed forest is returning. Southeast of the summit is the lake of

Rachelsee Rachelsee is a lake in the Bavarian Forest, Bavaria, 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 ...

, about 400 metres below. The

Rachel Chapel Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aunt ...

is also situated on the slopes of the mountain. To the north-east of the mountain in the Czech Republic, in the Rachel Forest (Roklanský les) lie the source areas of the

Little Regen The Regen (; ) is a river in Bavaria, Germany, and a left tributary of the Danube, at Regensburg, Germany. The source of its main headstream, the Great Regen (''Großer Regen''), is in the Bohemian Forest on the territory of the Czech Republic, ne ...

and the Great Müllerbach/Roklanský potok. The Rachel is the

local mountain {{italic title ''Hausberg'' (lit.: "house mountain", plural: ''Hausberge'') is German for a prominent mountain or hill in the immediate vicinity of a village, town or city, usually located on its municipal territory, but outside the built up are ...

Frauenau Frauenau is a municipality in the district of Regen, in Bavaria, Germany. It is known for its artificial lake, which is used as a water supply of the area around Deggendorf and Passau Passau (; bar, label=Central Bavarian, Båssa) is a cit ...

and

Spiegelau Spiegelau is a municipality in the district of Freyung-Grafenau in Bavaria in Germany. It lies in the heart of the Bavarian Forest. Subdivisions There are 33 villages in the municipality: There are also the ''Gemarkungen'' of Spiegelau, Obe ...

. Its summit can only be reached on foot.

Mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...

s are not allowed on the trails. The shortest way is from the Gfäll car park to the summit in hours. Further starting points are Oberfrauenau, the railway station at Klingenbrunn and the Racheldienst Hut car park. Access to the two car parks mentioned is closed from 15 May to 2 November between 8 am and 6 pm and they can then only be reached by the buses of the ''Regional Bus Ostbayern''. In winter, the mountain can often only be climbed with touring skis or snowshoes because of the metre-high snow. A direct ascent from the Czech side is no longer possible, as the traditional starting point, the Rachel Hut (Roklanská hájenka) is in the core zone of the

Bohemian Forest National Park Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

and thus out-of-bounds.

Geotope

The summit crags of the Großer Rachel are designated as an important

geotope A geotope is the geological component of the abiotic matrix present in an ecotope. Example geotopes might be an exposed outcrop of rocks, an erratic boulder, a grotto or ravine, a cave, an old stone wall marking a property boundary, and so forth. ...

by the

Bavarian State Office for the Environment Bavarian is the adjective form of the German state of Bavaria, and refers to people of ancestry from Bavaria. Bavarian may also refer to: * Bavarii, a Germanic tribe * Bavarians, a nation and ethnographic group of Germans * Bavarian, Iran, a vill ...

(Geotope no.: 276R029).

Panoramas

Gallery

File:Rachel-Nationalpark.jpg, View of the Großer Rachel File:Roklan z Cerne hory.jpg, View of the Rachel from the Černá hora File:Rachelkreuz.JPG, Summit cross of the Großer Rachel File:Rachelblick vom Lusen.JPG, View from Lusen of the Großer Rachel

References

Bayerisches Landesamt für Umwelt, Geotop ''Gipfelklippen des Großen Rachel''
(retrieved 18 October 2017).

External links

Information about the Rachel, interactive map, ascents
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grosser Rachel One-thousanders of Germany Mountains of Bavaria Bohemian Forest Mountains of the Bavarian Forest