{{Infobox mountain , name = Nestelberg , photo = Kleinfrankreich.JPG , photo_size = 282px , photo_alt = , photo_caption = Little France fort on the northern slope of the Nestelberg , elevation = {{Höhe, 402, DE-NN, link=true ({{convert, 402, m, ft, disp=output only, abbr=on) , elevation_ref = , isolation = , isolation_ref = , prominence = , prominence_ref = , listing = , range = Wasgau , parent_peak = , location = Palatine Forest,

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 ...

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 ...

, map = Germany Rhineland-Palatinate , map_alt = , map_caption = , map_relief = , map_size = , map_image = , label = , label_position = , range_coordinates = , coordinates = {{coord, 49.1, N, 7.85778, E, type:mountain_region:DE-RP_scale:100000, format=dms, display=inline,title , coordinates_ref = , topo = , type = , geology = Bunter Sandstone , volcanic_arc/belt = , age = , last_eruption = , first_ascent = , access = , easiest_route = , normal_route = The Nestelberg is a 402-metre-high hill in the

Dahner Felsenland The Dahner Felsenland, also referred to as the Dahn Rockland, is a landscape in the county of Südwestpfalz in the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is located in the middle section of the Wasgau, which in turn forms the southern ...

in the Wasgau, a region that comprises the southern part of the Palatine Forest in the German state of

and the northern part of the French

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

in the departments of

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin (; Alsatian: ''Unterelsàss'', ' or '; traditional german: links=no, Niederrhein; en, Lower Rhine) is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its low ...

and Moselle.

Geography

The Nestelberg lies south of

Berwartstein Castle Berwartstein Castle (German: Burg Berwartstein) is a castle in the Wasgau, the southern part of the Palatinate Forest in the state Rhineland-Palatinate in southwestern Germany. It was one of the rock castles that were part of defences of the P ...

and left of the Erlenbach stream in the parish of

Erlenbach bei Dahn Erlenbach bei Dahn is a municipality in Südwestpfalz district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany. Above the village is Berwartstein Castle on one side of the Erlenbach stream and the outwork Little France Little France is a suburb of ...

in the county of

Südwestpfalz Südwestpfalz is a district (''Kreis'' or more precise ''Landkreis'') in the south of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from west clockwise) Saarpfalz, the district-free city Zweibrücken, the districts Kaiserslautern and ...

. The hill is covered in woodland and may be climbed on a footpath, very steep in places, which starts around 200 metres below in the Erlenbach valley.

History

The hill became important in the

Late Middle Ages The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renai ...

when an outwork known as

Little France Little France is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is on the A7, approximately south of the city centre. The area falls within the parish of Liberton in the south-east of the city. It acquired its name from members of the ent ...

(''Klein-Frankreich'') was built in 1484 as a

hillside fort A hillside castle is a castle built on the side of a hill above much of the surrounding terrain but below the summit itself. It is thus a type of hill castle and emerged in Europe in the second half of the 11th century. As a result of the particul ...

at 322 metres above sea level on the northern slope of the Nestelberg at the instigation of the castellan of the Berwartstein, Marshal Hans von Trotha. Only 370 metres in a direct line from the main castle, the fortification enabled the ''Leichenfeld'', a field which was the only past where cannon at that time could be set up near the Berwartstein, to be brought into a

crossfire A crossfire (also known as interlocking fire) is a military term for the siting of weapons (often automatic weapons such as assault rifles or sub-machine guns) so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I. S ...

from the north (Berwartstein) and south (Little France).

External links

burgenparadies.de: Little France Defensive Tower (''Wehrturm Klein-Frankreich'')
with description of the route Mountains and hills of Rhineland-Palatinate Mountains and hills of the Palatinate Forest