Maikammer ( Palatine German : Maikomma ) is a municipality in the Südliche Weinstraße district, in Rhineland-Palatinate , Germany . It is situated on the German Wine Route , approx. 5 km south of Neustadt an der Weinstraße . Maikammer is the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde Maikammer .
25-781: Maikammer lies at elevations from 120 to 300 m at the foot of the Kalmit , the highest mountain in the Palatine Forest (673 m), in a landscape dominated by vineyards . Other high ground within the boundaries of the parish includes the north flank of the Schafkopf (617 m), the Rotsohlberg (607 m), the north flank of the Stotz (603 m), the northeast flank of the Breitenberg (545 m), the Flachkopf (498 m) and
50-557: A department of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Forestry Commission. Another feature is that the values were introduced to alert nature lovers, because exceptional visibility is very rare and difficult to forecast. The summit has a good view of the Rhine Plain , over 500 m below, as well as the nearby villages of Maikammer and St. Martin. There are views of the cities of Ludwigshafen, Mannheim on
75-582: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Kalmit The Kalmit is the highest peak in the Palatinate Forest and the second highest (after the Donnersberg ) in the Palatinate region of Germany . It is 672.6 m above sea level (NHN) and located 5.5 kilometres (3.4 mi) south of the town of Neustadt an der Weinstraße . The mountain attracts many tourists thanks to
100-488: Is also used for sporting events like mountain running competitions and road bicycle racing . Since Mai 2008 a so-called Stoppomat , an automatic timer, has been available for the use of sports cyclists, runners and skaters; the starting apparatus is at the western exit of Maikammer village (about 170 m), the finish apparatus at the Kalmit car park just below the summit, 5.75 kilometres away. On 23 and 24 August 2009
125-683: Is classified as a major region of the 3rd order. Within the internal classification of the natural region, it belongs to the Central Palatine Forest and the mountain range of the Haardt, which forms the boundary of the Palatine Forest with the Upper Rhine Plain . In summary the natural regional classification of the Kalmit is as follows: On the summit is the Kalmithaus , a hut managed by
150-459: Is predominantly supported by the wine industry. The area is well known for the vineyards of Alsterweiler , Kappellenberg , Kirchenstück , Immengarten and Heiligenberg , which produce Müller-Thurgau and Riesling grapes. Wine has played a significant part in Maikammer's history, both economically and culturally. Maikammer is also host to numerous villas built by the original wine families of
175-508: The Breitenberg (545.2 m), the Taubenkopf (603.8 m) and the Kanzel (531.7 m), is one of the outlying peaks of the Kalmit massif (672.6 m). It is located in an exposed location right on the edge of the Haardt so that, despite its low elevation, it is seen from places in the Rhine Plain as a prominent peak. To the north the hill is linked to the Kanzel over a shallow saddle. At
200-471: The Kalmit . After another six kilometres the Kalmitstraße road runs roughly from east to west past the summit of the Kalmit to the north. On a plateau on the mountainside there is a large walker's car park which is only a few minutes walk from the summit itself. From May to October, the local public transport services operate a "walkers' bus" ( Wanderbuslinie ) from Neustadt (Weinstraße) Central Station to
225-644: The North Palatine Uplands . On the Kalmit's subpeak, the Hüttenberg, is the Hüttenberg Felsenmeer . Here, large pieces of rock from the Middle Bunter , the so-called Karlstal beds, lie on the surface. These blocks were formed during the various ice ages , but frost action has broken down the once uniform layer of rock into a felsenmeer or blockfield . The steeply climbing Kalmitstraße road
250-650: The Palatine Forest Club mainly at weekends and public holidays. There is also a weather station and a free-standing, steel-framed radio tower , the Kalmit Transmitter ( Sender Kalmit ). After the 1868 viewing tower on the exposed summit had collapsed, in 1928/29 a new 21-metre-high observation tower was built by the Palatine Forest Club, which, from the outset was fitted with living accommodation, electric light and running water. From this tower there
275-460: The Wetterkreuzberg (401 m). Neighbouring municipalities are (clockwise): Neustadt an der Weinstraße , Kirrweiler (Pfalz) , Edenkoben , Sankt Martin (Pfalz) , Edenkoben (exclave), Gommersheim (exclave) and Kirrweiler (exclave). Due to its mild climate, not only do grapes grow here but also exotic fruit such as kiwis , lemons , almonds and sweet chestnuts . Maikammer's local economy
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#1732876535188300-557: The Hüttenberg is a well-known bouldering area. The Kalmit is a waypoint on several circular walks as well as the following long distance paths in the Palatine Forest : Private cars may approach the area from the A ;65 motorway (from Ludwigshafen am Rhein to Karlsruhe ), leaving at the Edenkoben exit. After 3 kilometres on the B ;38 federal highway to Maikammer , there are signs for
325-632: The Kalmit. The journey time is about 35 minutes; these buses are shown on the local rail service timetable. Special tickets, such as the Rhineland-Palatinate Ticket ( Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket ) are accepted on these buses. Wetterkreuzberg The Wetterkreuzberg ( 400.7 m above NHN ) is a hill in the Haardt range on the eastern edge of the Palatine Forest in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate . The Wetterkreuzberg, like
350-446: The area, which now help to attract tourists to the area. During the 1850s, Anton Ullrich and his brother Franz Ullrich established an enameling factory in Maikammer producing enameled kitchenware. This factory was a major source of employment for the people of Maikammer, employing around 1,000 people at its peak. The products made in Maikammer were sold throughout Europe , distribution extended as far east as Russia . The factory
375-497: The endurance athlete, Christoph Fuhrbach, ran 488 kilometres (303 miles) on the Kalmitstraße within 24 hours, climbing a total of 17,615 metres in height. He ran the just under 6 kilometre-long stretch between Maikammer and the Kalmit car park 42 times there and back; on the 43rd ascent he reached the 400 metre sign at the 24‑hour point. Fuhrbach thus beat the hitherto best German performance by Rainer Klaus, who climbed 15,458 metres in height in 1996. The Felsenmeer on
400-490: The main summit, including the Zwergberg (589.3 m) to the north, the Taubenkopf (603.8 m) to the northeast, the Kanzel (531.7 m) and the Wetterkreuzberg (400.7 m) to the southeast, the Breitenberg (545.2 m) to the south and the Hüttenberg (591.2 m) to the southwest. On the Hüttenberg ridge there is a blockfield or felsenmeer , which also bears that name, with great boulders of bunter sandstone on
425-405: The numerous footpaths leading to its summit, its mountaintop restaurant, extensive views over the Palatinate wine region and striking rock formations on its forest-clad mountainsides. The mountain lies within the municipal forest of the wine village of Maikammer and 6 kilometres (3.7 miles) southwest of the independent town of Neustadt an der Weinstraße . Several lower peaks are grouped around
450-529: The plain and also of Speyer and Philippsburg . In the far distance, the southwestern part of the Odenwald forest near Heidelberg and the first foothills of the northern Black Forest may be made out. Schwetzingen Castle , 36 kilometres away, is exactly west-southwest of the Kalmit. To the north-northwest, also 36 kilometres distant, is the highest summit in the Palatinate, the 686.5 m high Donnersberg in
475-563: The present-day Federal Network Agency with a frequency of 145.700 MHz. The amateur radio relay is housed in the tower next to the Kalmithaus. Since 2012 there has been a special facility on the Kalmit for measuring visibility; its task is to record visibility in the Palatine Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve. Whilst at many, unmanned, weather stations, visibility measurements are made automatically for
500-513: The range 0 to 10 km which is relevant to traffic safety, the measurement station on the Kalmit is designed for the range 10 to 390 km, which is relevant in assessing the fine dust content of the air. Measurements and survey photographs are obtainable through the "Fern-Sehen Project" ( Projekt Fern-Sehen ) in the Palatine Forest, which is managed by the House of Sustainability in Johanniskreuz,
525-573: The summit is a chapel to St. Mary (the Maria-Schutz-Kapelle ) which is visible from a long way off. The hill belongs to the parish of Maikammer . The Kalmitstraße road, which runs from Maikammer to the Hüttenhohl runs across the hill. Just below the summit there is a walker's car park. The summit may be gained on footpaths from the Maikammer hamlet of Alsterweiler, from St. Martin or even from
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#1732876535188550-533: The surface of the terrain. The Kleine Kalmit ("Little Kalmit"), which is only 270.5 m high and is designated as a nature reserve lies just outside the Palatine Forest and is about 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) to the south. The Kalmit belongs to the natural region known as the Palatine Forest which, in the system published by Emil Meynen and Josef Schmithüsen in their Handbook of the Natural Region Divisions of Germany and its successor publications
575-533: Was a comprehensive panoramic view that not only took in the entire Palatine Forest and the Vosges to the south, but also, on clear days, the ranges of the Hunsrück , Taunus , Odenwald and Black Forest . According to contemporary sources, the Kalmit was thus "the most beautiful viewing mountain in the Palatinate" . Since then, in and around the tower, various survey and radio-technical facilities have been added so that it
600-523: Was closed in 1928 as a result of Germany's hyperinflation . The town of Maikammer has also been spelled in the following ways: Meinkeimere (1315), Meinkemer (1329), Menkemer (1335), Menkemere (1345), Meinkemeren (1346), Meinkemer (1348), Meinkeymer (1350, 1366), Meinkeimer (1370), Meinkemer (1391, 1419), Meynkeimere (1437), Meynkamere (1464), Meinkheimer (1468), Meyekeymere (1500), Mainkeimer (1542), Meynkammer (1560), Maycammer (1650), and since 1800 Maikammer. This Südliche Weinstraße location article
625-547: Was periodically and then generally placed out of bounds to the public. The Kalmit Transmitter is used to broadcast the RPR1 103.6 MHz and BigFM 106.7 MHz radio stations. Amateur radio hams also use the height and location of the Kalmit. A branch of the German Amateur Radio Club , Ortsverband Z22 , erected a relay station on the summit with the call sign, DB0XK, which was authorized on 30 November 1971 by
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