Leininger Sporn

The Leininger spur is a highly prominent promontory in the north east of the Palatinate Forest, which is built primarily through the rock formations of the Middle and Upper Buntsandstein. It forms between Green City in the north and Leistadt, a district of Bad Durkheim, in the southeast of the western boundary of the Upper Rhine Plain. In the natural spatial structure concept of the low mountain he is regarded as one of the four subunits of the Middle Palatinate Forest.

Geography

Geographical location

The Leininger spur lies between the valleys of the south and the Isenach Eckbachs in the North and has an area of ​​approximately 44.8 km ². Its length from north to south about 10 km, its width from west to east about 4 to 5 and in the northern tip of only 2 to 3 kilometers. The outer limit of the mountain spur runs from Kleinkarlbach in the northeast along the Rhine grave edge to the south, turning later to the southwest near Leistadt. Here it follows the Lambrechter fault, a fault line that crosses between Peter and the Devil head stone at the Hausen Isenachtal and separates the mountain range of the Haardt from Leininger and the spur to the southwest subsequent Limburg- Dürkheimer forest. From the "Old melting " it turns north and reached via the Rahnfels (517 m above sea level. NHN ) the valley of the brook Höninger with the community Höningen. Here, the natural area is in the west fluent in the foothills of the interior of the Palatinate Forest and to the northwest in the stump forest and deforested areas of the basin over Eisenberger. From Altleiningen the boundary then follows up Kleinkarlbach the valley of Eckbachs in a northeasterly direction.

Name

The term " Leininger spur " was coined by the geographer Adalbert Pemöller, the refined internal structure of the " Palatinate Forest " developed in the 60s of the last century for the manual of the biogeographic division of Germany. Here, Pemöller oriented nature of this spatial subunit on the historic name Leiningerland, which in turn is named after the formerly most important noble family of the region, the Leiningern. Geographically, the Leiningerland next to the highlands of the Leininger also spur interest in the Wine Route region or the Vorhügelzone the mountain edge and the Upper Rhine Plain.

Landscape character

The relief of the natural environment is characterized by a distinctive ridge with steep mountain slopes, extending from the Pickelhaube ( 360.7 m above sea level. NHN ) in the north to Rahn and Heidenfels ( 496.0 m above sea level. NHN ) extends to the south and the direction Eckbachtal and upper Rhine plain, but especially for Isenachtal around 250 to 300 meters in altitude drops steeply. Smaller and larger rivers have cut deep into the sandstone package, so that a multi-faceted surface structure with V-shaped valleys, rock formations and cliffs arose. Larger valleys include the Vallelunga in the northwest of the spur and the Krumbachtal which begins on Ungeheuersee and extends in a northeasterly direction until after Kleinkarlbach. In the south the drainage of the mountain range on the other hand is only by some smaller streams that flow in narrow V-shaped valleys to Isenach.

The landscape of the Leininger spur is mainly characterized by dense forest, and in the east mainly conifers, especially pure pine monoculture or mixed stands dominated from pine and mixed beech, whose soil flora are often composed of heather, simple grasses and blueberry bushes. These pine forests developed in the 19th and 20th centuries through targeted afforestation of land by intensive farming use over long periods of time - for example for the production of wooden poles for viticulture - the overuse and devastated. Besides these typical Haardt forests are in heat favored locations on the eastern foot of the mountain and chestnuts to be found, which often occur in larger flocks. Wine and fruit growing also demonstrate the favorable climate of the Wine Route region and create alternating with slopes of the Haardt Forest offers a varied landscape.

The forest areas in the west of the natural area, however, are somewhat different composition. Here you'll find - among other things in the area of ​​Rahn and Heidenfels - larger mixed stands with stronger hardwood percentage and more balanced age structure, so that these areas are largely the same in forest cover and composition with the remaining natural areas of the Middle Palatinate Forest.

Settlement activities are restricted to the peripheral regions of the Leininger spur the hill country itself, however, is not settled. It jumps Particularly eye on a clearing island in the northeastern border region of the spur in a height of about 300 m above sea level. NHN located village with castle Battenberg Battenberg. On this cleared area agriculture is operated mainly because the prevailing here loamy - clay residual soils of the Upper Buntsandstein are rich in nutrients and therefore in contrast to other regions of the Middle Palatinate Forest allow higher yields. In contrast, the earlier also spread viticulture is in decline, what is clear from former vineyard terraces in the north of the municipal territory; additionally can be found on the slopes of Battenberg district orchards and fallow land. A geological feature and is classified as a natural monument, the Bltzröhren are below the castle Battenberg. It is to tubular iron rinds, by an ocher -colored sandstone wall several meters high and are caused by precipitation and sintering formation of iron solutions. Other settlements are located in the north-western edge regions of the Leininger spur. In Eckbachtal are the village and castle Altleiningen and in the valley of the brook Höninger the village Höningen with the ruins of the former convent.

Historic iron region

Westward focuses colonization - by former ironworks reinforced - the valleys of Eckbachs with village and castle Altleiningen and the Höninger Bach with the village Höningen and the ruins of the former convent. Chance of recoverable ( Paleozoic? ) Iron ore depends geologically together with distortions on the edge of the Leininger spur.

The Eckbachtal was involved in the historic ironworking the region, eg a great work below Altleiningen ( wire drawing ) shows. The creek was dammed to form reservoirs for the iron works and also some operating sawmills. Upstream, it has the character of a meadow valley.