Kroppach Switzerland (German : Kroppacher Schweiz) is a region in the collective municipalities of Hachenburg, Altenkirchen-Flammersfeld and Wissen in the Rhineland-Palatinate part of the Westerwald. It lies on the lower courses of the Nister and takes the first part of its name from the village of Kroppach, which is located above the Nister valley, and the second part thanks to its characteristic rock faces.
Kroppach Switzerland is part of the natural region of the Nister Upland (Nisterbergland) and thus the Mittelsieg Uplands. [1]
The village of Astert, Limbach, Heuzert, Heimborn, Stein-Wingert, Idelberg and Helmeroth belong to Kroppach Switzerland.
Geologically the region was formed by the River Nister, flowing from the High Westerwald, carving a winding course deep into the undulating countryside over thousands of years. As the river scoured downwards year by year, it left steeply cut river banks to create a striking rocky landscape.
Kroppach Switzerland is part of the Nister Valley (Nistertal) protected area, designated in 1969. It is crossed by numerous, waymarked footpaths along the course of the Nister. Among the best known are the Westerwaldsteig, the Marienwanderweg – an old pilgrims' way, which links the Cistercian abbey of Marienstatt with the Franciscan abbey of Marienthal - and the educational path on the so-called “End of the World (Ende der Welt) near Stein-Wingert. The main access points into Kroppach Switzerland are Hachenburg, Kroppach/station Ingelbach and Wissen.
The Westerwald 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. Its highest elevation, at 657 m above sea level, is the Fuchskaute in the High Westerwald.
Bad Marienberg (Westerwald) is a town in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, and also the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality.
Alpenrod is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The Gräbersberg on the Gemarkung Alpenrod – a rural area attached to the community – is the highest point in the Verbandsgemeinde of Hachenburg, a kind of collective municipality. On the Gräbersberg stands an observation tower with a viewing platform 30 m high and open to the public.
Astert is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Atzelgift is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Giesenhausen is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Hattert is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the biggest Ortsgemeinde in the Verbandsgemeinde of Hachenburg, a kind of collective municipality.
Heimborn is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The agriculturally structured residential community belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Hachenburg, a kind of collective municipality. Its seat is in the like-named town.
Heuzert is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The agriculturally structured residential community of Heuzert to the Verbandsgemeinde of Hachenburg, a kind of collective municipality. Its seat is in the like-named town.
Stein-Wingert is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Streithausen is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – and a state-recognized tourism community (Fremdenverkehrsgemeinde) in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Nister-Möhrendorf is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mörlen is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Müschenbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Kroppach is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The agriculturally structured residential community of Kroppach belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Hachenburg, a kind of collective municipality. Its seat is in the like-named town.
Limbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The agriculturally structured residential community belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Hachenburg, a kind of collective municipality. Its seat is in the like-named town.
Nistertal is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
The Nister, also called the Great Nister to distinguish it from its tributary, the Black Nister, is a river in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
The Gräbersberg, at 513.1 m above sea level (NHN), the highest point in the western Westerwald, a low mountain range in central Germany whose western region extends from the Nister river in the east to the Rhine in the west. On the slopes of the Gräbersberg lies the village of Alpenrod, part of the collective municipality of Hachenburg. South of the hill is the protected area of the Westerwald Lake District and village of Lochum.
The Salzburger Kopf, at a height of 654.2 m above sea level (NN), is the third highest summit of the Westerwald after the Fuchskaute and the Stegskopf.