Dreienberg

The Dreienberg is a flat-topped mountain 525 metres high in the northern Rhön range, where the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Thuringia meet. It stands just south-east of Friedewald in the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district and is the northernmost summit of the Mittelgebirge. Three rounded knolls give the mountain its name: the main summit in the north, the Linsenkuppe in the south and the Friedewalder Kuppe in the west. The plateau is part of the UNESCO Rhön Biosphere Reserve. The mountain marks the narrowest point between the Fulda and Werra rivers before they join downstream. Streams on its eastern slopes feed the Werra, while those on the west flow into the Fulda, forming the watershed between the two. Along the south-east flank lies the ruined Dreienburg castle, a protected monument. Beneath the turf, the mountain is built of Lower Muschelkalk limestone laid down in a shallow sea during the Triassic period. A 345-hectare nature reserve covers the slopes and summit, protecting beech woods, wet meadows and orchid-rich grasslands. Rare plants include the mottled bee orchid and broad-leaved helleborine, while birds such as the black woodpecker and red kite nest here. Old limestone and basalt quarries reveal the mountain’s layered structure, and nearby sandstone is still worked at the Weißenborn farm. Broad rides through the beech forest offer wide views across the Rhön hills.