The Hohburg Hills (german: Hohburger Berge), also called Hohburg Switzerland (''Hohburger Schweiz''), are located in the district of

Nordsachsen Nordsachsen ("North Saxony") is a district ('' Kreis'') in Saxony, Germany. History The district was established by merging the former districts of Delitzsch and Torgau-Oschatz as part of the district reform of August 2008. On 10 December 200 ...

near the eponymous village of

Hohburg Hohburg is a former municipality in the Leipzig district in Saxony. With effect from 1 January 2012, it has merged with Falkenhain, forming the new municipality of Lossatal Lossatal is a municipality in the Leipzig district in Saxony, Germany, c ...

in the municipality of

Lossatal Lossatal is a municipality in the Leipzig district in Saxony, Germany, created with effect from 1 January 2012 by the merger of Hohburg and Falkenhain Falkenhain is a former municipality in the Leipzig district in Saxony, Germany Ger ...

in the German state of

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

Geography

These

quartz-porphyry Quartz-porphyry, in layman's terms, is a type of volcanic (igneous) rock containing large porphyritic crystals of quartz. These rocks are classified as ''hemi-crystalline acid rocks''. Structure The quartz crystals exist in a fine-grained matrix ...

hills rise prominently up to 120 metres out of the surround plain of the

Leipzig Bay The Leipzig BayDickinson (1964), p. 29.River Mulde The Mulde () is a river in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Elbe and is long. The river is formed by the confluence, near Colditz, of the Zwickauer Mulde (running through Zwickau) and the Freiberger Mulde (wit ...

. Their highest point is the

Löbenberg Löbenberg is a mountain of Saxony, southeastern Germany. Geology Like the other mountains in the Hohburg Hohburg is a former municipality in the Leipzig district in Saxony. With effect from 1 January 2012, it has merged with Falkenhain, ...

at (). Other high points are the Gaudlitzberg (), the Burzelberg () and the Galgenberg ("Gallows Hill", ). South of Hohburg is the Kleine Berg ("Little Hill") with a height of . In the valley lying amongst the Hohburg Hills, the stream of the Lossabach flows through Müglenz, Hohburg, Klein- and Großzschepa to empty into the

Mulde The Mulde () is a river in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Elbe and is long. The river is formed by the confluence, near Colditz, of the Zwickauer Mulde (running through Zwickau) and the Freiberger Mulde (with ...

near

Thallwitz Thallwitz is a municipality in the Leipzig district in Saxony, 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 mos ...

History

The Hohburg Hills were shaped by decades of intensive stone quarrying. This produced steep rock faces and several lakes in the hollows that were left behind. The rock faces, up to forty meters high, have been used for climbing since 1925. Climbers from the area, such as Felix Simon, made use of the terrain as a training ground for the Alps. Many of the climbs used in those days fell victim to ongoing quarry operations. From 1965, the ''Schwarze Wand'' ("Black Wall") has been used for Alpine training (

aid climbing Aid climbing is a style of climbing in which standing on or pulling oneself up via devices attached to fixed or placed protection is used to make upward progress. The term contrasts with free climbing in which progress is made without using artifi ...

). Since the mid-1990s, many, new, very difficult routes have emerged as part of a further wave of development. Currently there are over 500 climbing routes in various quarries. Steinbruchsee

References

External links

Climbing in the Hohburg Hills
at ''Der Bergvagabund.de'' {{Authority control Hills of Saxony Hill ranges of Germany Climbing areas of Germany Protected landscapes in Germany Quarries in Germany