The Taunus is a mountain range in

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

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 ...

, located north of

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

. The tallest peak in the range is ''

Großer Feldberg The Großer Feldberg ('Great Field Mountain') is, at a height of 879.5 metres, the highest elevation of the Taunus mountains, and of the entire Rhenish Massif. It is situated in the Hochtaunuskreis district in Hesse, Germany. The Feldberg/Taunus ...

'' at 878 m; other notable peaks are ''

Kleiner Feldberg The Kleiner Feldberg with an elevation of is the second-highest mountain of the Taunus mountain range in Hesse, Germany. The Großer Feldberg is located in its immediate neighbourhood. In 1913, a meteorological and geophysical observatory wa ...

'' (825 m) and ''

Altkönig The Altkönig is the third highest mountain of the Taunus range in Hesse, Germany, reaching a height of . Its summit is lies within the borough of Kronberg im Taunus not far from the village of Königstein im Taunus which is part of Falkenstein i ...

'' (798 m). The Taunus range spans the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

Hochtaunuskreis The Hochtaunuskreis is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the middle of Hesse, Germany and is part of the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Neighbouring districts are Lahn-Dill, Wetteraukreis, district-free Frankfurt, Main-Taunus, Rheingau-Taunus, ...

Main-Taunus-Kreis Main-Taunus is a Kreis (district) in the middle of Hessen, Germany and is part of the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region as well as the Frankfurt urban area. Neighboring districts are Hochtaunuskreis, district-free Frankfurt, Groß-Gerau, d ...

Rheingau-Taunus Rheingau-Taunus is a Kreis (district) in the west of Hesse, Germany. Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis is part of the Darmstadt region; its main administrative seat is Bad Schwalbach. Outposted sections of the local administration are located in Idstein and ...

Limburg-Weilburg Limburg-Weilburg is a Kreis (district) in the west of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Lahn-Dill, Hochtaunuskreis, Rheingau-Taunus, Rhein-Lahn, Westerwaldkreis. History *1867 the ''Oberlahnkreis'', capital Weilburg was created *1886 the ...

, and

Rhein-Lahn Rhein-Lahn-Kreis is a district (''Kreis'') in the east of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Westerwaldkreis, Limburg-Weilburg, Rheingau-Taunus, Mainz-Bingen, Rhein-Hunsrück, Mayen-Koblenz, and the dist ...

. The range is known for its geothermal springs and

mineral water Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. Mineral water may usually be still or sparkling (carbonated/effervescent) according to the presence or absence of added gases. Tra ...

s that formerly attracted members of the European aristocracy to its

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. H ...

s. The car line

Ford Taunus The Ford Taunus is a family car that was sold by Ford Germany throughout Europe. Models from 1970 onward were built on the same basic construction as the Ford Cortina MkIII in the United Kingdom, and later on, the two car models were essentiall ...

is named after it.

Description

It is a relatively low range, with smooth, rounded mountains covered with forest. The Taunus is bounded by the valleys of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

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 ...

, and

Lahn The Lahn is a , right (or eastern) tributary of the Rhine in Germany. Its course passes through the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia (23.0 km), Hesse (165.6 km), and Rhineland-Palatinate (57.0 km). It has its source in t ...

rivers and it is part of the

Rhenish Slate Mountains The Rhenish Massif, Rhine Massif or Rhenish Uplands (german: Rheinisches Schiefergebirge, : 'Rhenish Slate Uplands') is a geologic massif in western Germany, eastern Belgium, Luxembourg and northeastern France. It is drained centrally, south to n ...

. On the opposite side of the Rhine, The Taunus range is continued by the

Hunsrück The Hunsrück () is a long, triangular, pronounced upland in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the valleys of the Moselle-Saar (north-to-west), the Nahe (south), and the Rhine (east). It is continued by the Taunus mountains, past ...

. For geographical, ecological and geological purposes the Taunus is divided in three parts: *

Anterior Taunus The Anterior Taunus (german: Vordertaunus or ''Vortaunus'') is a natural region within the Hessian Central Upland range of the Taunus (major unit group 30) in Germany that lies south of the High Taunus (301). The region lies below the main ridg ...

''(Vortaunus'' or ''Vordertaunus)'' in the south, next to the cities of

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

and

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

. This section is mainly made up of old

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...

s with

phyllite Phyllite ( ) is a type of foliated metamorphic rock created from slate that is further metamorphosed so that very fine grained white mica achieves a preferred orientation.Stephen Marshak ''Essentials of Geology'', 3rd ed. It is primarily compo ...

greenschist Greenschists are metamorphic rocks that formed under the lowest temperatures and pressures usually produced by regional metamorphism, typically and 2–10 kilobars (). Greenschists commonly have an abundance of green minerals such as chlorite ...

and

muscovite Muscovite (also known as common mica, isinglass, or potash mica) is a hydrated phyllosilicate mineral of aluminium and potassium with formula K Al2(Al Si3 O10)( F,O H)2, or ( KF)2( Al2O3)3( SiO2)6( H2O). It has a highly perfect basal cleavag ...

. The rocks are often given a greenish hue by the presence of

epidote Epidote is a calcium aluminium iron sorosilicate mineral. Description Well developed crystals of epidote, Ca2Al2(Fe3+;Al)(SiO4)(Si2O7)O(OH), crystallizing in the monoclinic system, are of frequent occurrence: they are commonly prismatic in habi ...

and

chlorites The chlorite ion, or chlorine dioxide anion, is the halite with the chemical formula of . A chlorite (compound) is a compound that contains this group, with chlorine in the oxidation state of +3. Chlorites are also known as salts of chlorous ...

. *

High Taunus The High Taunus (german: Hoher Taunus) is the name of a major natural region unit (no. 301) in the Hessian Central Uplands range of the Taunus mountains and forms the area immediately around the main ridge of the Taunus. It should not be confused ...

''(Hoher Taunus)''. The central region of the range where the highest peaks are found. Its geological composition includes

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...

, and

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

s. * Farther Taunus ''(Hintertaunus)'' at its northern end is the biggest section by area. The geological materials that compose it include

graywacke Greywacke or graywacke (German ''grauwacke'', signifying a grey, earthy rock) is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness, dark color, and poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or lit ...

claystone Mudrocks are a class of fine-grained siliciclastic sedimentary rocks. The varying types of mudrocks include siltstone, claystone, mudstone, slate, and shale. Most of the particles of which the stone is composed are less than and are too sm ...

s, and

siltstone Siltstone, also known as aleurolite, is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed mostly of silt. It is a form of mudrock with a low clay mineral content, which can be distinguished from shale by its lack of fissility.Blatt ''et al.'' 1980, p ...

s. The Taunus range originated during the

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...

period. The geological composition of the mountains was formed in a region covered by an ancient sea that was a few hundred kilometers wide. The mountains are mainly made up of

gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures an ...

s, and

Summits

(878 m),

( Kreis = district). Being the highest point in the range, it provides the scenario for the ''Feldbergrennen''

hillclimbing Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the fir ...

and

rallying Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...

contests. It should not be confused with the Feldberg in the

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 ...

(825 m), Hochtaunuskreis. It has an observatory on the summit. *

(798 m), Hochtaunuskreis. It has the remains of a late

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

hill fort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

(La-Tène A, ca. 400 BC) near the summit. * Weilsberg (701 m), Hochtaunuskreis *

Glaskopf Glaskopf is a mountain of Hesse, 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 t ...

(685 m), Hochtaunuskreis *

Pferdskopf Pferdskopf is a mountain of Hesse, Germany, in the vicinity of the Wasserkuppe in the Rhön Mountains The Rhön Mountains () are a group of low mountains (or '' Mittelgebirge'') in central Germany, located around the border area where the states ...

(663 m), Hochtaunuskreis *

Kolbenberg Kolbenberg is a mountain of Hesse, 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 ...

(684 m; telecommunication facility), Hochtaunuskreis * Klingenkopf (683 m), Hochtaunuskreis * Sängelberg (665 m), Hochtaunuskreis * Weißeberg (660 m), Hochtaunuskreis * Fauleberg (633 m), Hochtaunuskreis * Großer Eichwald (633 m), Hochtaunuskreis * Roßkopf (632 m; telecommunication facility), Hochtaunuskreis *

Kalte Herberge Kalte Herberge is a mountain of Hesse, 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 stat ...

(619 m),

Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis Rheingau-Taunus is a Kreis (district) in the west of Hesse, Germany. Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis is part of the Darmstadt region; its main administrative seat is Bad Schwalbach. Outposted sections of the local administration are located in Idstein and R ...

* Hohe Wurzel (618 m; telecommunication facility), Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis * Hohe Kanzel (592 m), Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis * Herzberg (591m), Hochtaunuskreis *

Hallgarter Zange The Hallgarter Zange is a hill in the Taunus mountains of Hesse, 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 m ...

(580 m), Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis * Erbacher Kopf (580 m), Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis * Steinkopf (Hochtaunuskreis) (570 m), Hochtaunuskreis *

Kuhbett Kuhbett is a hill of Hesse, 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 Eu ...

(526 m), Kreis Limburg-Weilburg at

Weilrod Weilrod is a municipality made up of several villages in the northwest Hochtaunuskreis lying in the Weil Valley in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Weilrod lies north of the crest of the Taunus, from 210 to 600 m above sea level. The near ...

- Hasselbach * Steinkopf (Wetteraukreis) (518 m), Wetteraukreis

History

The

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

Limes Limes may refer to: * the plural form of lime (disambiguation) * the Latin word for ''limit'' which refers to: ** Limes (Roman Empire) (Latin, singular; plural: ) is a modern term used primarily for the Germanic border defence or delimiting ...

was built across the Taunus. The

Saalburg The Saalburg is a Roman fort located on the main ridge of the Taunus, northwest of Bad Homburg, Hesse, Germany. It is a cohort fort, part of the Limes Germanicus, the Roman linear border fortification of the German provinces. The Saalburg, ...

, a restored Roman castellum, now houses a museum. After the fall of the Limes (in 259/260 AD), the

Alamanni The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into pres ...

settled in the range and for this reason there are some Alemannic cemeteries in the southern foothills of the Taunus (

Eschborn Eschborn () is a town in the Main-Taunus district, Hesse, Germany. It is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area and has a population of 21,488 (2018). Eschborn is home to numerous corporations due to its proximity to Frankfurt and relatively ...

). This area of the Taunus became part of the

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

confederation of Germanic tribes after the Battle of Tolbiac around 500 AD. In past centuries the Taunus became famous among aristocrats for its therapeutic

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

s. Certain towns in the area, such as

Bad Homburg vor der Höhe Bad Homburg vor der Höhe () is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains. Bad Homburg is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. The town's official name is ''Bad Homburg v.d.Höhe'', w ...

with its ''Kurpark'', have

geothermal spa A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

s that were formerly renowned. Other spa towns in the Taunus range are

Bad Schwalbach Bad Schwalbach (called Langenschwalbach until 1927) is the district seat of Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. Geography Geographic location Bad Schwalbach is a spa town some 20 km northwest of Wiesbaden. It lies at 289 to 465&nbs ...

(formerly ''Langenschwalbach'') mentioned in documents dating back to the 16th century,

Bad Ems Bad Ems () is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Rhein-Lahn rural district and is well known as a spa on the river Lahn. Bad Ems is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' (administrative community) Bad E ...

, one of the most reputed therapeutic spas in Germany since the 17th century, as well as

Bad Weilbach Bad or BAD may refer to: Common meanings *Evil, the opposite of moral good * Erroneous, inaccurate or incorrect * Unhealthy, or counter to well-being *Antagonist, the threat or obstacle of moral good Acronyms * BAD-2, a Soviet armored trolley ...

, where a spring reached wide fame for some time. By the 19th century the most famous spa towns in the area were

, Bad Homburg vor der Höhe,

Bad Nauheim Bad Nauheim is a town in the Wetteraukreis district of Hesse state of Germany. As of 2020, Bad Nauheim has a population of 32,493. The town is approximately north of Frankfurt am Main, on the east edge of the Taunus mountain range. It is a wor ...

, and

Bad Soden am Taunus Bad Soden (; also: ''Bad Soden am Taunus'') is a town and spa in the Main-Taunus-Kreis, Hessen, Germany. It had a population of 22,563 , up from 21,412 in 2005. Information Bad Soden is a residential town for commuters working in Frankfurt am ...

.Heinz Biehn, ''Der Taunus. Hohe Wälder, weite Täler, warme Quellen.'' Amorbach 1972

Gallery

Image:Taunus_von_Karben-i.jpg, The Taunus with the ''Grosser Feldberg'' viewed from

Karben Karben is a town in the Wetteraukreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated on the banks of the river Nidda in the Rhein-Main-Gebiet (Rhine-Main area), approximately north of Frankfurt. Division of the town Karben as a unified town was founded in ...

Image:Winterstein Steinkopf Taunus.jpg, The Winterstein and the tower on the Steinkopf from Karben Image:Taunusblick002.jpg, View (from top of Frankfurt) of Altkoenig and Grosser Feldberg Image:Skyline-sued-ffm001.jpg,

, with the Taunus Mountains in the background Image:DSC08544 Atzelberg Eppenhain und Rossert-Nebenkuppe Hainkopf von Südwesten.jpg,

Rossert Rossert is a mountain of the Taunus, part of the Anterior Taunus, in Hesse, Germany. The mountain consists of a few hilltops, two of them giving the name for the Naturschutzgebiet (protected area) ''Rossert - Hainkopf - Dachsbau''. Between them l ...

hilltop ''Hainkopf'' on the right belongs to the

, Atzelberg mountain on the left is part of the

References

External links

* * * Umweltatlas Hessen
→ Natur und Landschaft → Die Naturräume Hessens bzw. Naturräumliche Gliederung
nbsp;– Naturraum-Haupteinheit 30 ''(Taunus)'', auf atlas.umwelt.hessen.de
Fremdenverkehrsinformationen
Taunus Tourist Service at taunus.info
Webcams
at taunus.info
Taunus Nature Park
at naturpark-taunus.de
Feldberg Roman Fort circular path
at feldbergkastell.de

at thehighrisepages.de
''Wehrheim, das Tor zur Bronzezeit im Usinger Land''
, Infos zu archäologischen Funden in Wehrheim, auf geschichtsverein-usingen.de
''Das Vortaunusmuseum''
at vortaunusmuseum.de * of the Taunus with boundaries, rivers and all important summits (

Google Earth Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satellite images, aerial photography, and geog ...

), at geographie.giersbeck.de#Taunus Placemarks {{Authority control Regions of Hesse Regions of Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland Rhenish Massif Mountain ranges of Hesse Mountain ranges of Rhineland-Palatinate Natural regions of the Central Uplands