The Parkstein, also called the Hoher Parkstein and Basaltkegel Hoher Parkstein is a well-known local hill and tourist destination in the
Steinwald
The Steinwald is a mountain range up to in southern Germany and, at the same time, a nature park (''Steinwald Nature Park'') founded in 1970 with an area of in the province of Upper Palatinate, in North Bavaria.
Geography
Geographica ...
Mountains of central Germany. It lies northwest of
Weiden in der Oberpfalz
Weiden in der Oberpfalz (official name: Weiden i.d.OPf.; Northern Bavarian: ''Weidn in da Owapfalz'') is a district-free city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located east of Nuremberg and west of the Czech border. A branch of the German Army is locat ...
in the district of
Neustadt a.d.Waldnaab and is one of the most popular walking and daytripper destinations in North
Upper Palatinate
The Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz, , ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, and is located in the east of Bavaria.
Geography
The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and numerous ponds and lakes ...
. Around the volcanically-formed hill, which is above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...
(N.N.), is the village of the same name,
Parkstein
Parkstein (Northern Bavarian: ''Parkstoa'') is a municipality in the district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab in Bavaria in Germany. In 2020, it counted approximately 2,300 inhabitants. The origins of its castle, built atop a conical shaped mountain, a ...
. At one time a castle (Parkstein Castle) stood on the summit.
The Parkstein is famous for its impressive
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
outcrop. This basalt formation consists of pentagonal and hexagonal columns, up to one metre high, whose shafts extend into the earth to a depth of up to 30 metres. It is part of an old stream of lava that has been exposed at the surface after the softer rock above it had been weathered away over the course of millions of years. The wall of basalt measures 38 metres.
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, p ...
viewed the Parkstein as the "most beautiful basalt cone in Europe".
In 2004 it was entered by the Free State of Bavaria as No. 20 on the list of the 100 "most beautiful geotopes in Bavaria".
External links
Hoher Parkstein at Geopark Bayern{{in lang, de
Hills of Bavaria
Neustadt an der Waldnaab (district)
South German Scarplands