Sophienhöhe

Sophie height at the Hambach mine ( at low ornamental )

Rhenish Braunkohlerevierbdep2

The Sophie height, also called Mount Sophia, is a caused by the breakdown of Braunkohleflözen the Hambach opencast mine rehabilitated waste dump, which at Jülich in the district of Düren (Nordrhein-Westfalen ) located about 13 km ² area covered and its highest point of 301.8 m above sea level. NHN is. The name is derived from the located in the vicinity of today Sophienhoehe Gutsbetrieben Sophie Sophie forest and earth.

Geography

Geographical location

The Sophie height is - visible from afar, the Jülich flare outstanding - just north of the open pit Hambach about 6 km east of Jülich. While a large proportion of one of the city area, it is located in the northeast part of the municipality of Titz and its eastern and southern part in that of low ornamental. Her biggest part belongs to the Hambach Forest, a wooded area between the villages Stetternich, Hambach and Alt- Lich Steinstraß.

Altitude

The Sophie height rises with the character of a small mountain range, which significantly shapes the landscape in the otherwise rather flat Jülich space, an average of 200 meters above the surrounding area. Your highest places are the Stone Wall Strasser ( 301.8 m), on which the small lookout tower Roman tower stands, the Höller Horn ( 291.5 m) and the Jülich head ( 285.8 m). On the ground floor of their tip (ie not on dortigem lookout tower ) it is about 595 m above the base of the mine, which is currently at about 293 m below mean sea level. Between the stone Strasser Wall and the north-northeast village of Hell, which is located at the intersection Landwehr / Ehrenstraße to 83.8 m, there are 218 m height difference.

Formation

The Rhine Braun AG began in 1978 with the above-ground mining of Braunkohleflözen in the Erft plaice in the Rhenish lignite mining area. The resulting surface mining was named the nearby village of Hambach. The underlying seams on these layers are removed by bucket wheel excavators, transported through miles of conveyor belt systems by Hambach open pit on the former forest and meadows today Sophienhoehe and there deposited by a settler as Hochkippe. An introduction into older surface mines was temporarily carried out on a strip mill, would have been partially uneconomic. Today, the overburden is tilted into the already charred parts of the mine.

Fundamental breakthroughs

The network mining injured had in January 2012, the competent mining authority pointed to the fundamental breakthroughs at the height of Sophie.

It is known that there is at the edge of open pit mines often to geological faults. In July 2009, the misfortune of Nachterstedt made ​​the threats again known by landslides also to former opencast mines.

Attractions

At the small access road that leads eastward from Stetternich to Sophienhoehe, historical, Prussian milestones will be presented at the foot of the tailings pond.

The days Bauer closure was associated with archaeological investigations. So the main road was 55, the section between Sindelsdorf and Jülich had to be relocated because of the mine, on the old East-West Connection Via Belgica.

A replica of a found in Zuelpich - Hoven Roman milestone with a dedication to the Emperor Constantine the Great in the year 325 is reminiscent of the Roman road network. A Prussian obelisk with two stone benches was originally Prussian 5 miles ( 37.662 km ) west of Cologne. On a roundabout near is a replica of a Roman Jupiter column.

Nature, Recreation

In 1988 began the restoration of the forest Sophienhoehe which has long been a recreational area. About 90 % of the forested areas are managed and forest, many small clearings and several small ponds are interspersed.

There are now around and on the slag heap, a 70 km network of trails that are shared to some extent also for cyclists and horse riders. On the ridge, at the highest point of the Sophienhoehe ( Strasser Stone Wall ), is the small lookout tower Roman tower, which is a replica of a Roman watchtower and from which one could see in earlier films in the Hambach mine. Slightly below and to the southeast of it is a weather radar (see " Radar "). Is at its southern part, for example, a deer park and just southeast of it is the old cross on the summit (about 265 m above sea level. NN ), which is the first marked the high point of the stockpile and from where the view of the open pit Hambach. In addition, the mammoth forest with sequoias there has been created. On its northeast flank there used to be a starting point for paragliders; in this area is the little cuckoo cottage (approx. 246 m) as one of several refuges of the heap. In addition, there are several toboggan runs to the dump slopes.

Lower ziers Mayor presented in November 2012 at the investor fair Expo Real in Munich a feasibility study " mountains Sophienhoehe " before.

Each year, the Monte - Sophia - run takes place, which leads once around or over the Sophienhoehe. It is 28.5 km long and is because of its numerous slopes as a demanding course. Most of the course will take place in mid-August.

Weather radar

Forschungszentrum Jülich has taken on 12 October 2009 on the Sophienhoehe a weather radar in operation.

The radar unit is mounted on an approximately 34 m high tower. It provides data on precipitation type, quantity and distribution within a radius of about 60 km for the research project Tereno. The polarimetric radar measures, unlike the conventional horizontally oriented systems, and vertically and can thus give a precipitation prediction to 200 m exactly. So far, the accuracy was about 1 km. The data obtained are used for forecasting of precipitation, the nature of the rainfall and wind measurement. In addition to the research institutes and the RWE data are also provided the water boards and the German weather service.

The radar unit is one of four in Germany, operated by the Helmholtz Association. The 1.4 million euro project was funded by the Helmholtz Association.