The Haßberge are a hill range, up to , north of 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
...
in
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 r ...
in the German state of
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 ...
. The hills are in the county of
Bamberg
Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castle. C ...
and divided by the Main valley from their sister hills, 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 ...
. Both forested hill ranges fall steeply down to the Main. Between the
Ebelsbach
Ebelsbach is a municipality in the district of Haßberge in Bavaria in 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, an ...
and
Haßfurt
Haßfurt (; English: Hassfurt) is a town in Bavaria, Germany, capital of the Haßberge district. It is situated on the river Main, 20 km east of Schweinfurt and 30 km northwest of Bamberg. In 1852, Ludwig's Western Railway reached the ...
the river cuts through the hills in a wide gap, creating an easy route between the Upper Main and the fertile Middle Main region.
The Haßberge are a central part of the
Haßberge Nature Park
Haßberge Nature Park (german: Naturpark Haßberge) is a park of located in the north east of Franconian Keuperland in Bavaria, Germany.
Isolated castles and ruins
The park has a large number of isolated castles and ruins which are integrated i ...
, whose extensive mixed forest is criss-crossed by numerous footpaths. The
nature park
A nature park, or sometimes natural park, is a designation for a protected natural area by means of long-term land planning, sustainable resource management and limitation of agricultural and real estate developments. These valuable landscape ...
reaches from the former
Inner German Border
The inner German border (german: Innerdeutsche Grenze or ; initially also ) was the border between the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West Germany) from 1949 to 1990. Not including the ...
near
Bad Königshofen
Bad Königshofen im Grabfeld is a small spa town in the German state of Bavaria, located in the Rhön-Grabfeld district in northeast Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. According to the Bavarian State Office for Statistics and Data, Bad Königsho ...
to the Main near
Hallstadt
Hallstadt is a town in the Upper Franconian district of Bamberg on the left bank of the Main, 4 km north of Bamberg.
Geography
Hallstadt borders in the south on the city of Bamberg and in the west on the Main. There are two constituent comm ...
. On the far side of the Main is the Steigerwald Nature Park.
The Haßberge region not only covers the actual, clearly defined hills, but also their western foreland and parts of the Itz-Baunach hills or
to the east.
The region is unusually rich in historic
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
s and
palaces
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whic ...
, of which over 40 survive either as
ruins
Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...
or are still lived in. Several once heavily fortified towns at the edge of the range still have historic centres.
Haßberge Park and the modern county of Haßberge are named after the hills.
File:Hassberge.jpg, Typical Haßberg countryside near
Ebern
Ebern () is a town in the Haßberge district of Bavaria, Germany. It is situated southwest of Coburg and northwest of Bamberg. Its population is about 8,000. Its mayor is Robert Herrmann.
Ebern is about 1,000 years old and has an intact defen ...
. View from the old training area looking south to the Zeilberge hills. The Franconian Jura may be seen in the background
File:Zeilberg 3.jpg, The rolling hills of the Haßberge from the eastern hillside of the
Maroldsweisach
Maroldsweisach is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the district of Haßberge (district), Haßberge in Bavaria in Germany.
Culture and sights
* Alte Burg (Altenstein), the "Old Castle"
* Altenstein Castle (Lower Franconia), Altenstei ...
. Centre left: the prominent volcanic cone of the Bramberg
See also
*
Alte Burg (Altenstein)
The Alte Burg ("Old Castle") is an early medieval ringwork between Altenstein and ''Lichtenstein'' in the borough of Market Maroldsweisach in the Lower Franconian county of Haßberge in the province of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany.
Loca ...