Schwanberg is a mountain, or hill of higher elevation (474 m), in the rural district of

Kitzingen Kitzingen () is a town in the German state of Bavaria, capital of the district Kitzingen. It is part of the Franconia geographical region and has around 21,000 inhabitants. Surrounded by vineyards, Kitzingen County is the largest wine producer ...

Regierungsbezirk A ' () means "governmental district" and is a type of administrative division in Germany. Four of sixteen ' ( states of Germany) are split into '. Beneath these are rural and urban districts. Saxony has ' (directorate districts) with more res ...

Lower Franconia Lower Franconia (german: Unterfranken) is one of seven districts of Bavaria, Germany. The districts of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia make up the region of Franconia. History After the founding of the Kingdom of Bavaria the state was totally ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

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 ...

. It is part of the

Steigerwald The Steigerwald is a hill region up to in the Bavarian-Franconian part of the South German Scarplands between Würzburg and Nuremberg. It is part of the Keuper Uplands, and within it, it is continued to the north-northeast and right of the river ...

. In ancient times the mountain was used by the

Celts The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...

as a refuge. It is probably safe to assume that the mountain has been considered sacred ground since. Later, the counts of Castell build a castle that still exists today. The southern slopes are used for viniculture; the top of the mountain is covered by forest. There are two burial sites on the Schwanberg, the vault of the princes of Castell, as well as the cemetery of the Protestant order

Communität Casteller Ring Communität Casteller Ring (CCR) is a Religious order for women in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria. CCR emerged shortly after World War II from the Bavarian Girl Guide Movement Bund Christlicher Pfadfinderinnen. The Religious communi ...

. The latter emerged shortly after the 2nd World War from the Bavarian Girl Scout Movement "" (BCP). Members are still living on the mountain, where they maintain a retreat, the "Geistliches Zentrum Schwanberg" (Spiritual Center Schwanberg). According to legend, Hadeloga, a daughter of Franconian king Pippin, set her veil flying from the top. An abbey should be built wherever it landed. A shepherd named Kitz found the veil near the river

Main Main may refer to: Geography * Main River (disambiguation) **Most commonly the Main (river) in Germany * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *"Spanish Main", the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territories in the 16th and 17th centuries ...

, which allegedly was the origin of the abbey and the town of Kitzingen. A play written for children retells the story; it is occasionally performed by school children of the region. Parts of the region belonged to the

county of Castell Castell was a county of northern Bavaria, Germany, ruling a string of territories in the historical region of Franconia, both east and west of Würzburg. Little is known about the noble Counts of Castell, although they were the counts of Kreis Ger ...

. One road leads from the Rödelsee to the top of the mountain. Towns and villages around the mountain are Castell,

Rödelsee Rödelsee is a municipality in the district of Kitzingen, Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after ...

, Wiesenbronn,

Iphofen Iphofen is a town in the district of Kitzingen in Bavaria, Germany. It has a population of around 4,500. Iphofen is known for its rare complete medieval town wall and other historic buildings as well as for being a location of wine production. G ...

, Birklingen and Greuth.

External links

Geistliches Zentrum Schwanberg
Kitzingen (district) Hills of Bavaria {{Kitzingen-geo-stub