Höchsten

The Höchsten stands on the border of three districts in the Regierungsbezirk Tübingen, marking the highest point in Oberschwaben and the Linzgau at 842.6 metres. It rises above the valleys of the Deggenhauser Aach and the Rotach, where the climate is milder. The mountain’s exposed ridge carries the European main watershed, sending streams north to the Danube and south to the Bodensee. The summit offers sweeping views across the Bodensee and the Alps, drawing visitors year-round. A five-kilometre walk from Zußdorf through the Bettenreuter Wald leads to the top. Below the viewing point, the annual Coursing event sees over a hundred windhounds race each October. Nearby, the former Stoppomat cycling time-trial station recorded more than twenty-two thousand runs since 2006, with the fastest descent under fourteen and a half minutes. At the peak a sculpture marks the watershed, while an observation pavilion has a panoramic map of the Alps. A short looped trail, the schwäbisch-alemannische Mundartweg, explains the language border with cast-concrete footprints of local celebrities. In winter, twenty-one kilometres of cross-country ski trails wind through the forest, starting from villages around the mountain. The chapel beside the pavilion hosts regular television services and quiet prayer.