The best walks and hikes around Neustadt am Kulm

very beautifully laid out path

great view from the Kulm

challenging climb - respect to our little miniature pinscher lady that she always found a way to overcome it

There is something to rest

The rampart on the Rauher Kulm is a fortification at the foot of the Rauher Kulm. Gate area of the rampart Area disturbed by quarrying The Rauher Kulm, as a basalt mountain in the otherwise flat surroundings, was already visited by people in prehistoric times. The rampart made of basalt blocks runs around the foot of the mountain. Finds point to the Bronze Age, the Celts, the time of the Carolingians and the Slavic settlement chambers. Fighting took place during the time of the Hungarian invasions. Even if the rampart has been disturbed by later interventions, including the creation of an English garden across the entire mountain or the mining of the basalt in quarries, the course can be recognized from the basalt boulders. There is a lower main rampart with at least two gate areas and another fortified area at medium height. The hilltop castle is, however, classified as largely late medieval. Several burial mounds are also known. It is assumed that the settlement was located within the protective wall, so that it was not just a refuge. The predominantly stone remains were reinforced by wooden structures, among other things. There is evidence of post-and-slot walls, kennel-shaped walls and additionally secured gate areas. The cartographer Johann Christoph Stierlein made a drawing of the Rauher Kulm and recorded both the rampart and the hilltop castle.[1] The rampart was researched at the beginning of the 20th century by Adalbert Neischl on behalf of the Nuremberg Natural History Society and Hugo Obermaier, who completed Neischl's work. Hans Losert has been carrying out excavations for over ten years and is responsible for the scientific analysis.

The ascent leads through the basalt field. A little bit of an adventure and when it's wet, quite slippery. You should wear sturdy shoes. The view from up here is great - definitely worth it

The Rauhe Kulm is a volcano around 25 million years old that never erupted. The magma that solidified inside was exposed over the years by erosion until the current formation was created. It was protected as a natural monument in 1949 and is now part of the Upper Palatinate Forest Nature Park. There are several routes you can walk around or climb the mountain. A 25 m high observation tower was built on the summit. After a somewhat arduous climb, you can enjoy a wonderful panoramic view of the Fichtel Mountains, the Franconian Alb and northern Upper Palatinate. In the Middle Ages, this view also fascinated those rulers who built a castle on the summit. However, it was destroyed in 1554. The surrounding forests have been in Bavarian ownership for around 200 years. Previously, they were an elementary basis for obtaining wood as fuel for smelting and the many iron hammers in the region. The Upper Palatinate was the "Ruhr region of the Middle Ages". Back then, the only source of energy was the forests. Today, foresters are doing everything they can to develop mixed and structurally rich forest stands.

The rock, a nepheline basalt, contains a number of inclusions, souvenirs from the depths, so to speak. On the one hand there is olivine and augite, on the other hand (especially in the "tuff") sandstone (presumably Keuper sandstone). The small olivine deposits weather easily, which is how the centimeter-sized "holes" in the basalt came about. On the Kleiner Kulm (popularly known as the "bad Kulm"), small augite crystals (similar to Anzenberg) have repeatedly been found in the "tuff". In the past (now overgrown), the sharp contact between the basalt and the surrounding sandstone was clearly visible on the Rauher Kulm. Today, the changing vegetation (the basalt forms a different, fairly good humus) reveals the subsoil. The enormous sea of blocks on the south and east flanks of the mountain is a form of weathering that was favored by the ice ages.