The Westerwald (; literally 'Western forest') is a low mountain range on the right bank of the river Rhine in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a part of the Rhenish Massif ( or Rhenish Slate Mountains). Its highest elevation, at 657 m above sea level, is the Fuchskaute in the High Westerwald.
Tourist attractions include the (394 metres), site of some Celtic ruins from the La Tène times (5th to 1st century BC), found in the community of the same name, and Limburg an der Lahn, a town with a mediaeval centre.
The geologically old, heavily eroded range of the Westerwald is, in its northern parts overlaid by a volcanic upland made of Neogene basalt layers. It covers an area of some , and therefore roughly , making the Westerwald one of Germany's biggest mountain ranges by area. In areas of subsidence, it has in its flatter western part (Lower Westerwald) the characteristics of rolling hills. Typical for the economy of the Upper Westerwald, some 40% of which is actually wooded, are traditional slate mining, clay quarrying, diabase and basalt mining, pottery and the iron ore industry, and among other things mining in the (roughly "Siegerland Ore Grounds"). Despite its relatively slight elevation, the Westerwald has for a low mountain range a typical agreeable climate. Economically and culturally, it belongs among Germany's best known mountain ranges.
The name "Westerwald" was first mentioned in 1048 in a document from the Electorate of Trier and described at that time the woodlands (Wald is German for "forest" or "woods") around the three churches in Bad Marienberg, Rennerod and Emmerichenhain, west of the royal court at Herborn. Only since the mid 19th century has the name come into common usage for the whole range.
The High Westerwald has since the Middle Ages formed the heart of the (also or ) ("Lordship over the Westerwald"). This comprised the three court districts of Marienberg, Emmerichenhain and Neukirch. The Lordship later fell under the governance of the Lordship or County of Beilstein.
Geography
Location
The Westerwald lies mostly southwest of the three-state common point shared by Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia in the districts of Altenkirchen, Lahn-Dill, Limburg-Weilburg, Neuwied, Rhein-Lahn, Rhein-Sieg, Westerwaldkreis and partly in Siegen-Wittgenstein. It is found south of the Rothaargebirge, southwest of the Lahn-Dill-Bergland (another low mountain range), north of the Taunus and east of the Middle Rhine and stretches more or less southwards from Siegen and Burbach, southwestwards from Haiger, northwestwards from Weilburg, northwards from Limburg an der Lahn, northeastwards from Koblenz, eastwards from Linz am Rhein, southeastwards from Wissen and southwards from Betzdorf. In its centre lie Bad Marienberg and Hachenburg.
Clockwise, the Westerwald is bordered by the following river valleys: the Rhine between Koblenz and Linz, the Sieg as far as Betzdorf, the Heller, the Dill and from its mouth near Wetzlar, the Lahn up to Lahnstein.
Geomorphologically, the Westerwald belongs to the Rhenish Massif, which forms the greater part of that range's eastern half on the Rhine's right bank. Likewise, the Gladenbach Uplands, lying east of the Dill, also belong to the Westerwald, whereas the mountains reaching up to near the Haiger Saddle () and east of Siegen are counted as part of the Rothaargebirge.
The Westerwald's regions The Westerwald is divided by elevation into these three regions: Unterer or Vorderer Westerwald, or Vorderwesterwald: Translated here as Lower Westerwald, this region borders on the Rhine and Lahn river valley landscapes and manifests itself as the western and southwestern part of the Westerwald, a heavily truncated upland with elevations ranging from 200 to 400 m. The subsidence areas found within (Dierdorfer Senke, Montabaurer Senke) are known for their clay deposits. Indeed, the name for this small region is the Kannenbäckerland, or "Jug Bakers’ Land", a reference to the traditional ceramics industry here. In the southwest, in the richly wooded Montabaur Heights (Montabaurer Höhe) is found a monadnock made of quartzite, as well as the Malberg Conservation Area (Naturschutzgebiet Malberg). The Siebengebirge joining the range in the northwest near Bonn (reaching 464 m) is, however, regionally grouped with the Middle Rhine area. Oberer Westerwald: Translated here as Upper Westerwald, this is a partly wooded land of volcanic crests with major basalt layers, above all in the area of the Westerwald Lake Plateau (Westerwälder Seenplatte), with elevations ranging from some 350 to 500 m. To the south, as part of the Lahn valley, the hilly Limburg Basin abuts the Upper Westerwald. Hoher Westerwald: The High Westerwald is an undulating and basalt-rich tableland decked with woodlands, making for a highly moderated microclimate, especially against extreme warmth. It ranges from roughly 450 to 657 m in height. Here is found the Fuchskaute, the highest peak.
Climate The climate of the region vastly qualifies as oceanic (Köppen climate classification: Cfb), while higher altitudes experience a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification: Dfb).
In the lowlands of the Lower Westerwald, summers tend to be warm to hot. Erratic convective downpours are not uncommon, yet mostly brief. Winters are mild and see a lot of precipitation, which mostly falls as rain. Snowfall occurs multiple times a year, but usually melts within hours. Thermophilic fruits like figs and peaches are hardy in this area.
The mountainous areas of the Upper Westerwald and the High Westerwald feature a much colder climate and are more prone to extreme weather, such as extreme wind gusts during extratropical cyclones. Summer days are pleasantly warm and rarely become hot due to a cool breeze, while winters are cold and rich in snow. The area is home to a number of ski areas.
Places District seats in the Westerwald are: Altenkirchen (Altenkirchen district), Montabaur (Westerwaldkreis) and Neuwied (Neuwied district). Furthermore, the Lahn-Dill-Kreis, the Mayen-Koblenz district, the Rhein-Lahn-Kreis and the Limburg-Weilburg district each have shares of the Westerwald. If Sieg is taken as the Westerwald's northernmost limit, then the Rhein-Sieg district likewise belongs here, at least in parts (for example the Siebengebirge and the communities of Eitorf and Windeck).
Transport connections
The Westerwald is covered by the four public local transport associations Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV), Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg (VRS), Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Mosel (VRM) and Westfalentarif.
Several local bus lines connect the villages and small towns to one another, and city buses run to Bonn, Koblenz, Limburg and Siegen.
Important local train lines run along the banks of the Rhine, Lahn, Dill and Sieg, and there are as well the lower Westerwald railway RB29 (Limburg - Siershahn), the Westerwald-Sieg-Bahn, RB90 (Limburg - Diez Ost - Westerburg - Hachenburg - Altenkirchen - Au (Sieg) - Betzdorf (Sieg) - Siegen), RB96 (Betzdorf - Herdorf - Haiger - Dillenburg and the RB97, Daade valley railway (Betzdorf - Daaden.
The most notable railway is the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed rail line with minor stops at Montabaur and Limburg an der Lahn.
The Westerwald and its outer edges are crossed by stretches of 8, 42, 49, 54, 62, 255, 256, 277, 413 and 414, over which there are connections to the Autobahnen A 3 (Cologne–Frankfurt), A 45 (Dortmund–Aschaffenburg) and A 48.
The High Westerwald is served by Siegerland Airport for private use and special touristic charters, south of Burbach.
Geology
Geologically, the Westerwald is part of the Rhenish Massif, and likewise represents a heavily eroded remnant of a great Variscan mountain system which in the Mesozoic characterized a great deal of Europe.
The Devonian bedrock is covered by volcanic masses from the Tertiary, particularly basalt and tuffs. Economically important, besides slate, limestone and clay quarrying, were, and still are, iron and its processing industry between Rheintal (Unkel, Linz) and the lower Wied, pumice gravel in the Neuwied Basin, various mineral springs and, once, brown coal mining.
The whole Westerwald region lay under a tropically warm arm of the sea in the Palaeozoic (600 to 270 million years ago). This sea deposited layers of sediments many kilometres thick into the Variscan geosyncline, which were heavily folded in the orogeny that followed. The towns of Siegen and Koblenz on the Westerwald's north and southwest edges even gave two Lower Devonian layers, with their colourful slates, their names. The upper mountain layers are formed of volcanic strata made of basalt containing tuffs.
In a few areas, slate and clay have long been quarried, the latter notably in the so-called Kannenbäckerland, but also in a few other places where the clay is worked into the salt-glazed grey Westerwald Pottery with cobalt blue decoration. The pottery industry is centred on Höhr-Grenzhausen. Exports, particularly to Italy, are also important (more than one million metric tons each year). In the mid 16th century, potters from Raeren in Belgium migrated into the Westerwald, bringing with them some of their moulds. This type of pottery was taken to the New World and was found in the early Chesapeake settlements. Today one finds not only highly crafted moulded vases and mugs but also a range of handcrafted utility ware, with hand-painted swirling floral motifs.
In the eastern Westerwald (the part lying in Hesse) are found interesting limestone deposits from the most varied of geological times. Erdbach limestone from the Lower Carboniferous gave one small time period the name "Erdbachian".
Near Breitscheid are found the remnants of an atoll from the subtropical Devonian sea that was here 380,000,000 years ago. Parts of this limestone formation are worked in open-pit mining; near Enspel, a "fossil conservation area" has been instituted, in which institutes from several colleges conduct research and excursions. A few karst caves are of interest to spelaeology and bring about the temporary disappearance and reappearance of the Erdbach.
Mountains
The Westerwald's highest mountain is the Fuchskaute in the High Westerwald, meaning "fox hollow". Many peaks and crests exceed the 600-metre level. Sorted by elevation above sea level, these are some of the Westerwald's highest elevations:
Fuchskaute (657 m), near Willingen, Westerwaldkreis, Rhineland-Palatinate Stegskopf (654 m), near Emmerzhausen, Altenkirchen district, Rhineland-Palatinate Salzburger Kopf (653 m), near Salzburg, Westerwaldkreis, Rhineland-Palatinate Höllberg (643 m), near Driedorf, Lahn-Dill-Kreis, Hesse Auf der Baar (618 m), near Driedorf/Breitscheid, Lahn-Dill-Kreis, Hesse Barstein (614 m), near Breitscheid, Lahn-Dill-Kreis, Hesse Knoten (605 m), near Driedorf, Lahn-Dill-Kreis, Hesse Die Höh (598 m), near Burbach, Siegen-Wittgenstein, North Rhine-Westphalia Alarmstange (542.2 m), near Horresen, Westerwaldkreis, Rhineland-Palatinate Köppel (540 m), near Montabaur, Westerwaldkreis, Rhineland-Palatinate Hohenseelbachskopf (530 m), near Daaden, Siegen-Wittgenstein and Altenkirchen district, North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate Gräbersberg (513.1 m), near Alpenrod, Westerwaldkreis, Rhineland-Palatinate Mahlscheid (509 m), near Herdorf, Siegen-Wittgenstein and Altenkirchen district, North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate Malberg (422 m), near Ötzingen, Westerwaldkreis, Rhineland-Palatinate Hummelsberg (389 m), near Linz am Rhein, Neuwied district, Rhineland-Palatinate Beulskopf (388 m), near Altenkirchen, Altenkirchen district, Rhineland-Palatinate
Waterways
Flowing waters The following are the Westerwald's rivers and streams: Rivers whose valley systems border the range (clockwise): Rhine – southwest edge Sieg – north edge