The Kalmithaus, also called the Ludwigshafener Hut, near

Maikammer Maikammer ( pfl, Maikomma) is a municipality in the Südliche Weinstraße district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the German Wine Route, approx. 5 km south of Neustadt an der Weinstraße. Maikammer is the seat of the ''V ...

in the

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 ...

county of

Südliche Weinstraße Südliche Weinstraße ( pfl, Siedlischi Woischdrooß; en, "Southern Wine Route") is a district (''Kreis'') in the south of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from west clockwise) Südwestpfalz, Bad Dürkheim, the district-f ...

is a

refuge hut Refuge is a place or state of safety. It may also refer to a more specific meaning: Safety * Area of refuge, a location in a building that may be used by occupants in the event of a fire * Bunker, a defensive fortification designed to protect pe ...

in the Palatinate Forest run by the Ludwigshafen-Mannheim branch of the Palatinate Forest Club. It is located in the southern part of the Haardt mountains at the summit of its highest peak, the

Kalmit The Kalmit is the highest peak in the Palatinate Forest and the second highest (after the Donnersberg) in the Palatinate region of Germany. It is and located south of the town of Neustadt an der Weinstraße. The mountain attracts many tourists ...

(), and is thus the highest hut in the Palatinate Forest. From its terrace there is "a splendid view of the

Upper Rhine Plain The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben (German: ''Oberrheinische Tiefebene'', ''Oberrheinisches Tiefland'' or ''Oberrheingraben'', French: ''Vallée du Rhin'') is a major rift, about and on average , between Basel in the s ...

and German Wine Road as far as the foothills of the southern

Odenwald The Odenwald () is a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Location The Odenwald is located between the Upper Rhine Plain with the Bergstraße and the ''Hessisches Ried'' (the northeastern section ...

and northern

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...

.''(Große) Kalmit mit Kalmithaus''
at pfalz-info.com. Retrieved 3 September 2022. Immediately next to the hut is the

observation tower An observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, an ...

on the Kalmit, which is out of bounds to the public, and houses a radio relay station, a weather station and a visibility survey station.

History

A commemorative board below the Kalmithaus refers to a refuge hut built in 1882 by the Palatinate Conservation Club. The first hut managed by the Ludwigshafen branch of the Palatinate Forest Club was inaugurated in 1908. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the Kalmit and its refuge hut were occupied by French troops. After lengthy negotiations the hut was handed back on 11 October 1953 and opened again in 1955. Following the receipt of a large sum of money from the War Damages Office, supplemented by donations, a brand new hut was opened in 1957. On 13 November 1981 the front part of the hut was completely destroyed by a gas explosion. After it was rebuilt the present Kalmithaus was inaugurated on 12 June 1983.

Access and walking

The Kalmithaus can only be reached on the forest tracks of the Kalmit; although there is hiker's car park known as the ''Kalmit'' on the ''Kalmithöhenstraße'' (ca. 645 m) only about 250 metres northwest of the summit. One route to the top runs from Alsterweiler (; in the municipality of Maikammer) through the valley between the

Wetterkreuzberg The Wetterkreuzberg () is a hill in the Haardt range on the eastern edge of the Palatine Forest in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Location The Wetterkreuzberg, like the Breitenberg (545.2 m), the Taubenkopf (603.8 m) and ...

(400.7 m) and Breitenberg (545.2 m). Other routes include the one from Sankt Martin () through the Altbach and Wolsel valley, from Maikammer through the Klausental and from

Neustadt an der Weinstraße Neustadt an der Weinstraße (, formerly known as ; lb, Neustadt op der Wäistrooss ; pfl, Naischdadt) is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With 53,300 inhabitants , it is the largest town called ''Neustadt''. Geography Location T ...

() through the Kaltenbrunnen valley. Other walks run from Hüttenhohl (476.9 m) on the ''Totenkopfstraße'' via the

Hüttenberg Hüttenberg is a municipality in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Hüttenberg lies about 6 km southeast of Wetzlar and 10 km southwest of Giessen south of the river Lahn. Neighbouring communities Hüttenberg b ...

(620.1 m) and the Felsenmeer Hüttenberg or from

Hambach Castle Hambach Castle (german: Hambacher Schloss) is a castle near the urban district Hambach of Neustadt an der Weinstraße in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is considered a symbol of the German democracy movement because of the Hambacher Fest which ...

(379.2 m) via the Sommerberg (501.9 m), the Hohe Loog Plateau () and the Zwergberg (589.3 m). The neighbouring Palatinate Forest Club huts are the Haus an den Fichten, the Totenkopf Hut, the Klausental Hut and the Hohe Loog Haus.

Gallery

File:2012 Pfälzerwald 081 Kalmithaus.jpg, The Kalmithaus File:2013 Pfälzerwald 002 Kalmithaus ji.jpg, The Kalmithaus in winter File:2012 Pfälzerwald 088 Kalmit Tafel 1882.jpg, 1882 information board below the Kalmithaus File:2012 Pfälzerwald 446 Kalmit Kriegerdenkmal Edenkoben.JPG, War memorial for the Palatinate Forest Club's Edenkoben branch at the summit of the Kalmit File:2012 Pfälzerwald 450 Kalmit Kriegerdenkmal Maikammer.JPG, War memorial for the Palatinate Forest Club's Maikammer branch at the summit of the Kalmit

References

''Geschichte & Infos''
auf kalmithaus.de

Literature

* Matthias Wittber: ''Pfälzerwald mit Bienwald.'' Bruckmann Verlag, 2009, . * Pietruska-Wanderkarte: ''Edenkoben – Die Urlaubsregion zwischen Landau und Neustadt.'' 1:25,000. Pietruska Verlag, Rülzheim, 2007, . * Pietruska-Wanderkarte: ''Hauenstein & Trifelsland.'' 1:25,000. Pietruska Verlag, Rülzheim, 2006, .

External links

{{Commons category
''Das Kalmithaus''
(official home page) Mountain huts in Germany Buildings and structures in Südliche Weinstraße Maikammer