The Hohneck is, at the third highest summit of the

Vosges Mountains The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

(after

Grand Ballon The Grand Ballon () or Great Belchen is the highest mountain of the Vosges, located northwest of Mulhouse, France. It is also the highest point of the Grand-Est French region. Name ''Grand Ballon'' means "great ound-toppedmountain" because ...

[] and Storkenkopf []) and the highest point of Lorraine (region), Lorraine. On its summit stands a mountain hut, clearly visible in the distance. Nearby the mountain's top is located the ski resort of ''La Bresse Hohneck''.

Geography

The mountain is divided between the French Communes of France, municipalities of

La Bresse La Bresse () is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. The area is known for its ski resorts and outdoor activities. La Bresse is located about 45 km west of Colmar and 55 km north west of Mulhouse in ...

( dep. of

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

), Metzeral (

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

Haut-Rhin Haut-Rhin (, ; Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; german: Oberelsass, ) is a department in the Grand Est region of France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine. Its name means ''Upper Rhine''. Haut-Rhin is the ...

) and

Stosswihr Stosswihr () is a Communes of France, commune in the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Haut-Rhin department References

Communes of Haut-Rhin {{HautRhin-g ...

(

). A mountain, located east of the Hohneck, is named ''Petit Hohneck'' (in English ''Little Hohneck''). On a clear day from the Hohneck summit is possible to spot not just the entire Vosges range but also 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 ...

, the Jura, a good part of the

Swiss Alps The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps (german: Schweizer Alpen, french: Alpes suisses, it, Alpi svizzere, rm, Alps svizras), represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss ...

and, in the distance, the

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and i ...

History

The Hohneck area has been up to the 19th century the main connection route between

Gérardmer Gérardmer (; or archaic ''Geroldsee'', and ''Giraumoué'' in local Vosgian) is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Population Culture The Festival international du film fantastique de Gérardmer (literally ...

and

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

, before the opening of the

col de la Schlucht The Col de la Schlucht (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the Vosges Mountains of France. On the west side lies the historical region of Lorraine (Lothringen in German), on the east side lies the historical region of Alsace (Elsass in German). Th ...

road. Therefore, not faraway from the summit have been found ruins dating back to the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

and re-used during

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's military champaigns.Pierre-Marie David, "Note sur les traces d'anciens réseaux de communication et les traces de retranchements dans le massif du Hohneck – Vosges", ''Bulletin de la Société Philomatique Vosgienne'', 1991 A tramway line from

to the Hohneck operated between July 25, 1897 and August 28, 1939. From the

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

side of the mountain a

rack railway A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with ...

reached the Hohneck from

passing through the

between 1907 and 1914.

Access to the summit

The well known

Route des Crêtes Route des Crêtes ( en, Route of the Ridges) is an road in the Vosges Mountains in eastern France, which passes through the Parc Naturel Régional des Ballons des Vosges. It connects Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines (north) with Cernay (south) and runs o ...

(French for ''road of the peaks'') transits not faraway from the top of the mountain, which can be reached by car following a small asphalted branch.

Bibliography

* ''Une Montagne vosgienne : le Hohneck'', Guy-Jean Michel; Institut coopératif de l'École moderne, Imprimerie Merle et Cie, Grasse, 1963 * ''Guide du botaniste au Hohneck et aux environs de Géradmer'', C. Brunotte and C. Lemasson, Coubé, 1921 * ''La Bresse-Le Hohneck, clins d'oeils sur l'histoire'', Imprimerie Sailley, Le Thillot, 1995

External links

Webcam on the mountain's top

References

{{Reflist Mountains of Vosges (department) Mountains of Haut-Rhin Mountains of the Vosges One-thousanders of France