Hahnenbogen

The Hahnenbogen is a ridge in the Bavarian Forest, part of the Bayerischer Wald National Park’s extension near Lindberg in Lower Bavaria. It lies halfway between the well-known peaks of Großer Falkenstein and Großer Rachel, with the Czech border just 1.5 kilometres east. The ridge has two summits: the 1,257-metre Grosse Hahnenbogen and the 1,232-metre Kleine Hahnenbogen, eight hundred metres to the south-east. Below the northern slope of the smaller summit, two large bogs—Dreilinienmoos and Grenzmoos—cover more than 150 hectares in a depression called Gfällei. The area drains into the Moldau via the Stubenbach, while the ridge itself carries the Elbe–Danube watershed, one of Europe’s main divides. The region remained sparsely settled until the 16th century because of its harsh climate—long, snowy winters and short, wet summers. Its volcanic gneiss and granite soils were poor for farming and formed the border between Bohemia and Bavaria. Occasional hunting parties entered, and charcoal burners supplied the early glassworks, creating clearings later used for pasture. The Bavarian cadastre of the 1810s shows only the cattle track and the hamlet of Buchenau. Protected archaeological sites include the remains of three abandoned glassworks and medieval gold-washing sites in the valley streams. The Grosse Hahnenbogen’s rarely climbed rock summit holds a small summit cross and overlooks the towns of Zwiesel and Regen. Only locals and experienced hikers attempt the route, which starts at Buchenau via the Lindberger Schachten and takes about two hours. The final section is unmarked and, lying within the national park’s core zone, may only be climbed between 15 July and 15 November.