Sickingen Heights

The Sickinger Höhe is a landscape in the western Rhineland- Palatinate. It was named after the noble family of the kingdom knight Franz von Sickingen (1481-1523), because in the Middle Ages, much of the area was part of the territory of the Sickinger.

Geography

Geographical location

The Sickinger Höhe forms the northern part of the West Richer plateau and is about one-third in the district of Kaiserslautern, and two-thirds in the district of West Palatinate. It extends from the Sickinge town of Landstuhl in the north almost to the city of Zweibrücken in the south and from the border between Rhineland -Palatinate and Saarland in the west to the Palatinate Forest in the east.

Geology

The Sickinger Höhe belongs to the large landscape Pfälzisch - Saarländisches limestone area. The hilly plateau with altitudes 300-430 m above sea level. NN falls in the north in several densely wooded steep steps to Landstuhler break out from. Along the escarpment occur frequently small and medium-sized rock formations from the new red sandstone of the Karlstalschichten to light, such as the heath rocks at the main chair, the same rocks at the bear hole in child stream or the rocky landscape in the flesh Ackerloch at Landstuhl. A little less harshly is the transition towards west to the Saarland and even less that in the East, where the broad valley of Moosalb forms the border. In the south, Sickinger height is almost imperceptibly into the Zweibrücker hills.

Waters

The drainage of most of the Sickinger Höhe via Moosalb, Wall Auerbach and half south to Schwarzenbach and then continue on Assemblies, Saar and Moselle to the Rhine. To the west, directly to Blew down the Lambsbach flows.

Sights and culture

• In 1836 built former schoolhouse Queidersbach the museum offers Sickinger height since 1976 500 sqm with an overview of the early history up to the recent past of the region.

• In Herschberg the municipality Wallhalben organized every two years the Sickinger dialect poet - contest.

Settlement and transport

The country is sparsely populated and has only outside on the deeper edges, larger cities. Also on regional roads do not exist, with the exception of a predominantly only two-lane section of Highway 62 developed - country chair of Pirmasens.

Due to its remoteness, the area is ideal for hiking, for example on the Miihlenweg in Wallhalbtal. About the Sickinger height passes the signposted route north of the Palatine sections of the historical Camino de Santiago.