Collmberg

Collmberg rises 312 metres above the flat Northwest Saxon Basin, six kilometres west of Oschatz. The hill is the highest point in the Nordsachsen district and a landmark in Wermsdorf Forest. Its summit is capped with Ordovician greywacke, some of the oldest exposed rocks in northern Saxony. A ridge of smaller hills called the Collmrücken stretches east from Collmberg. Windmühlenberg and Eichberg stand nearby, adding to the wooded skyline.

The hill has drawn people since the 10th century, when a medieval fort occupied the summit. A later earthen wall enclosed an area two hundred metres long and one hundred metres wide, with three more walls on the western slope. In the 18th century the hill served as a hunting ground for Saxon prince-electors. An observation tower, the Albertturm, opened in 1854 and still offers wide views across the plain.

Visitors climb ninety-nine steps to the tower’s platform. On clear days Leipzig, the Petersberg near Halle, Augustusburg and the Ore Mountains can be seen. Below the tower the geophysical observatory records earthquakes and measures winds high in the atmosphere. A stone pillar from the 1865 arc measurement remains on the platform. The surrounding forest and the ridge of hills provide quiet walks among the older walls and wartime radio towers.