The Hohenstaufen is a 684 m above sea level. NHN[1] high witness mountain near Göppingen in front of the Swabian Jura. Its cone is visible from afar and is a striking element of the landscape silhouette around Göppingen. In addition to the Stuifen and the Rechberg, the Hohenstaufen is the westernmost of the three Kaiserberge mountains, which are close together and lie between the Rems valley in the north and the Lauter and Fils valleys in the south.
The part of the name staufen corresponds to the old name Stauf for a pointed, cone-shaped mountain (derived from the West Germanic adjective *staupa- meaning "steep").[2]
On the mountain are the ruins of the ancestral castle of the Staufer noble family, the former Hohenstaufen Castle. A panel on the summit explains the panorama. Since June 1, 2002, a Staufer stele has stood on the mountain to commemorate the Staufer period.[3]
There is also a small excursion restaurant. The summit can only be reached on foot, the shortest way from the Göppingen district of Hohenstaufen.
On the south-west slope is the so-called Spielburg, a group of limestone rocks that have slipped from the White Jura rocks.