Hiking Highlight
Recommended by 35 out of 36 hikers
This Highlight is in a protected area
Please check local regulations for: Naturpark Steinwald
Location: Kemnath, Tirschenreuth, Upper Palatinate, Bavaria, Germany
4.9
(10)
21
03:46
12.8km
360m
4.5
(2)
15
04:43
16.2km
420m
4
05:14
17.8km
500m
You can only smile tiredly about the brave little tailor, because "seven in one empire" is not against what you can do in the northern Upper Palatinate near Waldeck, effortlessly and without tricks, namely a whopping 250 million years of earth's history to bridge just one step.
This geological peculiarity is unique in Bavaria. The roughly five meter long and two meter wide rock outcrop in the embankment of a ravine a few hundred meters north of Waldeck looks quite unspectacular. You can see ancient crystalline rocks from the ancient world, which are stored over sandstones and clays from the Middle Ages, in between there is a gray strip of a "friction zone" a few decimeters wide. But how can that be?
If you look at the history of the earth and all rocks are "normal" and undisturbed one above the other, then the 450 million old crystalline rocks should be at the bottom and the 250 million year old sandstone up to 10 kilometers (!) Above.
The reason for the sensation on the slope of the Kühberg is a very significant fault zone in the earth's crust, several hundred kilometers long and up to 30 kilometers deep, the so-called "Franconian Line". This runs almost straight from the Thuringian Forest in a south-easterly direction to the Bavarian Forest. When the Alps were formed, the low mountain ranges, which were around 300 million years old, were pushed onto the much younger sediments of their western forelands and lifted very strongly. Therefore today there is a striking steep slope down to the foreland on the western edge of the Fichtelgebirge, which can be seen from a distance from Goldkronach to Weiden. But only at the Kühberg near Waldeck is the fault area of the Franconian Line exposed and visible and tangible on the earth's surface.
April 26, 2020
To cross more than 250 million years of earth's history in one step and lay your hand on one of the most significant fractures in the earth's crust in Central Europe is something that can only be done in Waldeck, between the Bavarian and Thuringian Forests. The outcrop on the Franconian Line was only discovered in 2013. A geological peculiarity.
June 14, 2024
This geologically interesting place is registered as Geotop 377A038 at the State Office for the Environment.
Brief description of the geotope:
In a forest about 500 m north of the church in Waldeck, the Franconian Line, which is in line with ENE, is open in a narrow path in the southern embankment. Epigneise of the basement (rhyolitic metavolcanites of the Saxothuringian) lie on trias (Benker sandstone) due to the tecton. Gray disturbance marks are formed in the border area.
March 22, 2020
In the know? Log-in to add a tip for other adventurers!
Location: Kemnath, Tirschenreuth, Upper Palatinate, Bavaria, Germany
4.9
(10)
21
03:46
12.8km
360m
4.5
(2)
15
04:43
16.2km
420m
4
05:14
17.8km
500m