Hohenseelbachs-Kopf

The Hohenseelbachskopf is a 517.5-metre-high mountain and lava dome in the Southern Hellerbergland, part of the Siegerland region. It stands on the border between Daaden in Rhineland-Palatinate and Neunkirchen in North Rhine-Westphalia. The summit belongs to Daaden, though the nearest settlement is the Waldgaststätte Hohenseelbachskopf, 220 metres north at 495.1 metres. The mountain is surrounded by the Heller river to the north and its tributaries, the Sotterbach and Daade, to the west. A kilometre north-west on the border lies the Mahlscheid. The site is worth visiting for its geological and archaeological layers. The mountain formed as a basalt dome from the Westerwald volcanic field, leaving hexagonal basalt columns and traces of an old quarry. Between 1900 and 1925 basalt was quarried here, removing the summit and destroying a medieval castle of the Ritter von Seelbach and an Iron Age ringwall. Excavations revealed a 1.88-metre-wide dry-stone wall and a four-metre-wide well shaft, suggesting early medieval use. The ringwall measured up to 207 metres long and 87 metres wide, with a 490-metre-long rampart. Visitors find a forested summit with views over the surrounding hills. The protected slopes host part of the Mahlscheid nature reserve and the larger Wälder am Hohenseelbachkopf Natura 2000 site. The area also falls within two large bird-protection zones covering forests and meadows. A deep former quarry shows the hexagonal basalt columns, and the remaining high block of columns stands near the old excavation site. The mountain’s layers tell stories of volcanic activity, medieval conflict and early settlement.