Uhlberg

The Uhlberg is a forested hill rising to 469.8 m in the Schönbuch, a large wooded area of the Keuper hills south-west of Stuttgart. It lies within the Baumbachtal-Uhlberg landscape-protection zone on the edge of the Schönbuch Nature Park. The hill stands between the Filderstadt districts of Plattenhardt and Bonlanden to the north and the Aichtal district of Neuenhaus to the south. The Aich stream flows past its southern flank, and the Bombach stream runs along its eastern side. The hill is best known for its viewing tower, the Uhlbergturm, built in 1963 of reinforced concrete. An earlier wooden lookout had stood on the same spot since 1890, replaced in 1903 by a taller timber tower that was demolished in 1961 after pest damage. During the Second World War the tower served as a military observation post, spotting enemy aircraft approaching Stuttgart. From the covered viewing platform visitors can see a long stretch of the Swabian Alb escarpment, from the Plettenberg and Hohenzollern in the south-west to the Teck and Kaiserbergen in the north-east. A broad clearing surrounds the tower, where the Schwäbischer Albverein runs a weekend kiosk with seating. A grill site is also close by, though not open to the public. The hilltop is reached by forest paths from Plattenhardt, Bonlanden, Neuenhaus and Aich, and a small car park stands at the edge of the woods on Schlattweg in Plattenhardt.