The Petersberg, at , is the highest point in the district of Saalekreis in the German state of

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it th ...

. Its name is derived from St. Peter's Church, which is on the hill. Until the 14th century the Petersberg was known as the Lauterberg.

Geography

The Petersberg is located about 10 kilometres north of the German city of Halle on the

River Saale The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale (german: Sächsische Saale) and Thuringian Saale (german: Thüringische Saale), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Franconian Saale, ...

not quite halfway between Halle and Köthen. The municipality of

Petersberg Petersberg may refer to: * The Hotel Petersberg near Bonn, the site of the ** Petersberg Agreement, 1949, regarding the international status of West Germany. ** Petersberg tasks, 1992 and 1997, regarding European security cooperation. Also known a ...

with its hamlets of Drehlitz and Frößnitz lie on the hill. At the foot of the hill are the villages of Ostrau and Wallwitz as well as three small

nature reserves A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

. On the southern slopes of the hill is a small lake. A stretch of the A 14 motorway runs past the Petersberg to the west and south, and the B 6 federal highway runs by to the southwest. They form a junction at ''Halle-Trotha'', from where the Petersberg may easily be reached.

Geology

The Petersberg is the highest point of the Halle Porphyry complex. It was formed, like the other porphyritic domes in the surrounding area, during the

Upper Carboniferous Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found f ...

and

Lower Permian The Cisuralian is the first series/epoch of the Permian. The Cisuralian was preceded by the Pennsylvanian and followed by the Guadalupian. The Cisuralian Epoch is named after the western slopes of the Ural Mountains in Russia and Kazakhstan an ...

by the solidification of numerous molten lava flows under the earth. In the slowly cooling lava, easily visible feldspar and quartz crystals were formed. The Petersberg consists of small-grained Halle porphyry – this hard rock is used mainly as a raw material for the manufacture of ballast and gravel. The present shape of the hill is a result of the last ice age. The surrounding loose rock was cleared away by the

ice sheet In glaciology, an ice sheet, also known as a continental glacier, is a mass of glacial ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than . The only current ice sheets are in Antarctica and Greenland; during the Last Glacial Period at La ...

leaving the hard porphyritic core behind. The top of the hill stood clear of the glacier as a nunatak.

Petersberg Abbey

Petersberg Abbey Petersberg may refer to: * The Hotel Petersberg near Bonn, the site of the ** Petersberg Agreement, 1949, regarding the international status of West Germany. ** Petersberg tasks, 1992 and 1997, regarding European security cooperation. Also known ...

with its collegiate church of St. Peter is a former Augustinian monastery. Since 1999 it has been used by an Evangelical monastic community of the Community of the Christ-Brotherhood Selbitz.

Bismarck tower

One of the 15 surviving

Bismarck towers A Bismarck tower (german: Bismarckturm) is a specific type of monument built according to a more or less standard model across Germany to honour its first chancellor, Otto von Bismarck (d. 1898). A total of 234 of these towers were inventoried ...

stands on the Petersberg. Its 15-metre-high tower was built to a design by Wilhelm Kreis and inaugurated on 24 September 1902. 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 ...

that was badly damaged in 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 opposi ...

was thoroughly renovated in 1999/2000, so that it is once again climbable for the first time since the war.

Communication towers

There is a communication tower on the Petersberg at which was built in 1963 and became operational on 1 May 1965. Made of reinforced concrete, the Petersberg communication tower is 119 metres high and is now operated by Deutsche Telekom. It broadcasts several radio programmes for the Halle region, including MDR 1 Radio Sachsen-Anhalt, MDR Sputnik and Radio SAW. There is also a seven-storey A Tower on the Petersberg which also belongs to Deutsche Telekom and has directional antennas on the roof.

Tourism

The Petersberg is a popular tourist destination. On the hill is a wildlife park with Eurasian animals. There is also a ''

sommerrodelbahn A summer toboggan is an amusement or recreational ride which uses a bobsled-like sled or cart to run down a track usually built on the side of a hill. There are two main types: an Alpine coaster or mountain coaster is a type of roller coaster ...

'' with

toboggan A toboggan is a simple sled traditionally used by children. It is also a traditional form of transport used by the Innu and Cree of northern Canada. In modern times, it is used on snow to carry one or more people (often children) down a hill ...

s and similar vehicles, that is open all year round. There are regular flea markets on a festival ground on the hill as well as other events. The E11 European long distance path from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Masuria Masuria (, german: Masuren, Masurian: ''Mazurÿ'') is a ethnographic and geographic region in northern and northeastern Poland, known for its 2,000 lakes. Masuria occupies much of the Masurian Lake District. Administratively, it is part of the ...

runs close by the Petersberg.

Literature

*Otfried Wagenbreth und Walter Steiner: ''Geologische Streifzüge. Landschaft und Erdgeschichte zwischen Kap Arkona und Fichtelberg''. Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, 4th edition, Leipzig, 1990, . *Peter Rothe: ''Die Geologie Deutschlands. 48 Landschaften im Portrait''. 2nd edition, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt, 2006, .

External links

{{Authority control Mountains and hills of Saxony-Anhalt Bismarck towers Saalekreis