The Battert is a hill, , on the western edge of the

Northern Black Forest The Northern Black Forest (german: Nordschwarzwald) refers to the northern third of the Black Forest in Germany or, less commonly today, to the northern half of this mountain region. Geography The Northern Black Forest is bounded in the north b ...

north of

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the Rhine, the border with Fra ...

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 ...

. On its western slopes are the ruins of Hohenbaden Castle (the ''Altes Schloss'' or "Old Castle"), on the southern side is the climbing area and

nature reserve 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 ...

called the Battert Rocks (''Battertfelsen''). On the hill ridge are the remains of a

circular rampart A circular rampart (German: ''Ringwall'') is an embankment built in the shape of a circle that was used as part of the defences for a military fortification, hill fort or refuge, or was built for religious purposes or as a place of gathering. The ...

, probably built by Celtic settlers. On the eastern side lies the village of

Ebersteinburg Ebersteinburg is an Ortsteil of Baden-Baden, Germany. At 426m in elevation it lies between the valleys of the Murg and Oos rivers. The village has a population of 1,300 and since 1972 has been part of the city of Baden-Baden. By 1100CE the C ...

. The Battert is a destination for ramblers and climbers all year round, heading for the 15–60-metre-high ''Battertfelsen''. Above and below the rock face is a footpath around the rocks. The red rock face is visible from far off and may be easily reached on the road to the ruins of Hohenbaden or from a car park near Ebersteinburg.

Geology

Consisting of sediments of

Rotliegend The Rotliegend, Rotliegend Group or Rotliegendes (german: the underlying red) is a lithostratigraphic unit (a sequence of rock strata) of latest Carboniferous to Guadalupian (middle Permian) age that is found in the subsurface of large areas in wes ...

, the Battertfelsen were formed about 251-299 million years ago. By contrast with their immediate environment, the rocks of the Battertfelsen silicified due to an east-west oriented fault line. Because of this

silicification In geology, silicification is a petrification process in which silica-rich fluids seep into the voids of Earth materials, e.g., rocks, wood, bones, shells, and replace the original materials with silica (SiO2). Silica is a naturally existing and ...

the rock became more erosion-resistant which is why they now stand out so prominently.

Nature reserve

An area of 34.9 hectares around the ''Battertfelsen'' and east of Hohenbaden Castle on the south side of the hill was declared as a nature reserve by the Regierungspräsidium Karlsruhe on 30 June 1981. The reserve is known as Battertfelsen near Hohenbaden Castle (''Battertfelsen beim Schloss Hohenbaden''). The geologically and earth-historically important rock group is home to rare insects, reptiles,

ravens Ravens may refer to: * Raven, a species of the genus ''Corvus'' Sports * Anderson Ravens, the intercollegiate athletic program of Anderson University in Indiana * Baltimore Ravens, a professional American football franchise * Benedictine Ravens, ...

and peregrine falcons and also to rare plant species, especially in the stone run woodland below the rock faces.

Climbing

Thanks to Wilhelm Paulcke the popularity of the Battert as a climbing area grew after he had opened the first climbing routes there in about 1885. Since then a large number of routes with different levels of difficulty have been developed, from grade II to grade IX. On 24 October 1964 Toni Kinshofer, who was the first to climb the Diamir flank of

Nanga Parbat Nanga Parbat ( ur, ) (; ), known locally as Diamer () which means “king of the mountains”, is the ninth-highest mountain on Earth, its summit at above sea level. Lying immediately southeast of the northernmost bend of the Indus River in ...

and climbed the

Eiger north face The Eiger () is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland, just north of the main watershed and border with Valais. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge crest that extends a ...

the year before, fell from the heights of the Battert and died of his injuries shortly after.

Climbing routes

* Kuhkamin (III), about 1885 * Marterkamin (IV+ to V-), about 1885 * Paulckeweg (III), Wilhelm Paulcke about 1890 * Bockgrat (IV+), first ascent in 1905 * Alter Pforzheimer Weg (IV+), 1925 by Walter Stößer * Neuer Pforzheimer Weg (VI), by Walter Stößer * Wespenkante (V), by Walter Stößer * Neue Falkenwand (VII-), 1945 by Martin Schliessler * Kühnkante (VI+), Reinhard Karl and Kurt Jägel * Südostverschneidung (VII-), Martin Schliessler and Kurt Jägel

Gallery

File:Battertfelsen (Badener Wand) Baden-Baden.JPG, the Badener Wand with its stone run seen from the lower rock path File:Blockgrat.jpg, Blockgrat: the step from the little photography tower to the massif File:Schloss Hohenbaden 001.jpg, Ruins of Hohenbaden Castle File:Wanderportal Altes-Schloss.jpg, Hiking portal

References

Literature

* ''Kletterführer Schwarzwald Nord.'' 2. Auflage, Panico Alpinverlag, Köngen, 2013, . * Urban Schurhammer: ''Der Battert – Ein Kletterführer durch die Felsen bei Baden-Baden''. Verlag Sektion Karlsruhe des Deutschen und Österreichischen Alpenvereins, Karlsruhe, um 1928 (out of print)

External links

The Battert
in the rock information system of the German Alpine Club
Information about the ''Battertfelsen''
* {{Authority control Mountains and hills of Baden-Württemberg Baden-Baden Mountains and hills of the Black Forest