Ritterstein

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Ritterstein 213, Drei Buchen ("Three Beeches"). Upper left: its symbol (three stylized beech trees); below left: the year it was erected (1978); below right: its height (293 metres) Drei Buchen.jpg
Ritterstein 213, Drei Buchen ("Three Beeches"). Upper left: its symbol (three stylized beech trees); below left: the year it was erected (1978); below right: its height (293 metres)

A Ritterstein ("Ritter Stone") is the German name given to markers made of sandstone erected at sites of historic or natural interest in the Palatine Forest, a range of low mountains in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. In some cases, glacial erratics were used, in others, rocks or walls at the site were used on which to carve the information.

Sandstone A clastic sedimentary rock composed mostly of sand-sized particles

Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized mineral particles or rock fragments.

History past events and their record

History is the study of the past as it is described in written documents. Events occurring before written record are considered prehistory. It is an umbrella term that relates to past events as well as the memory, discovery, collection, organization, presentation, and interpretation of information about these events. Scholars who write about history are called historians.

Natural science branch of science about the natural world

Natural science is a branch of science concerned with the description, prediction, and understanding of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatability of findings are used to try to ensure the validity of scientific advances.

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The stones are typically inscribed with their name, a suitable symbol, the date they were erected, their height above sea level and the initials PWV for the Pfälzerwald-Verein or Palatine Forest Club, who set up and look after the stones. They are named after chief forester, Karl Albrecht von Ritter (died 1917), the founding chairman of the PWV, who initiated the system in the early 20th century.

Palatine Forest Club organization

The Palatine Forest Club is a hiking club in the former Bavarian Palatinate, i.e. the southern part of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate and the Saarland county of Saarpfalz-Kreis. In 2011 it had 221 local branches with around 27,000 members.

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Neustadt an der Weinstraße Place in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Neustadt an der Weinstraße is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With 54,000 inhabitants as of 2002, it is the largest town called Neustadt.

Palatinate Forest low mountain range in Germany

The Palatinate Forest, sometimes also called the Palatine Forest, is a low-mountain region in southwestern Germany, located in the Palatinate in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The forest is a designated nature park covering 1,771 km2 and its highest elevation is the Kalmit.

Kalmit highest peak in the Palatinate Forest, Germany

The Kalmit is the highest peak in the Palatinate Forest and the second highest 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.

Palatine Northern Railway railway line

The Palatine Northern Railway is a non-electrified single-track main line that connects Neustadt (Weinstr) Hbf with Monsheim in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It was opened between 1865 and 1873 in three stages. With the replacement of the old Ludwigshafen terminus with the modern Ludwigshafen Hauptbahnhof through station in 1969, Bad Dürkheim station became the only station in the form of a terminus in the Palatinate region. Passenger services over the Grünstadt–Monsheim section were discontinued in 1984, but re-established in 1995.

Neustadt (Weinstraße) Hauptbahnhof railway station in Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Germany

Neustadt (Weinstr) Hauptbahnhof – called Neustadt a/d. Haardt until 1935 and from 1945 until 1950 – is the central station of in the city of Neustadt in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition to the Hauptbahnhof, Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn services stop at Neustadt (Weinstr) Böbig halt (Haltepunkt). Mußbach station and Neustadt (Weinstr) halt, opened on 19 November 2013, are also located in Neustadt.

Bobenthaler Knopf mountain

The Bobenthaler Knopf is a hill, 534 m above sea level, in the southeastern Wasgau, the name given to the region covering the southern part of the Palatine Forest in Germany and the northern part of the Vosges in France.

Steigerkopf Mountain in Germany

The Steigerkopf, also colloquially called the Schänzel, near Edenkoben in the county of Südliche Weinstraße in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, is a mountain, 613.6 m above sea level (NHN), in the Palatine Forest. At the summit, which lies on the territory of Gommersheim, is the Schänzel tower.

Weißenberg (Frankenweide)

The Weißenberg in the Palatine Forest is a hill in the municipality of Merzalben. Its height is variously give as 610 m above sea level (NHN) or 607 m above NHN. The higher value has been officially recommended since 2011. That makes the Weißenberg the highest point in the west of the mountain range, ahead of the Eschkopf and Mosisberg. As part of the Palatine Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve it is protected by special conservation measures.

Luitpold Tower tower in the Palatinate Forest

The Luitpold Tower was erected in 1909 on the summit of one of the highest hills in the Palatine Forest, the 610-metre-high Weißenberg as an observation tower. It is made of bunter sandstone.

Walking routes in the Palatine Forest

Walking routes in the Palatine Forest fall into two categories. The first are longer walking routes, most of which are maintained by the Palatine Forest Club, or PWV, and which are linked to the national and international network of long distance paths. The second category are those local circular walks and themed walking routes, some of which are of wider regional importance, and which are maintained by municipal authorities. The Palatine Forest, as part of the Palatine Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve, is an important conservation area. As a result, the Palatine Forest, the bunter sandstone landscape of the Palatine Forest Nature Park, the castles in the Dahner Felsenland and the cross-border paths into Alsace and the Vosges make the region particularly popular with ramblers and walkers.

Kehrdichannichts Lodge

Kehrdichannichts Lodge is a former hunting lodge in the Palatine Forest west of Bad Dürkheim in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It belonged to the Leiningen counts.

Murrmirnichtviel Lodge château

Murrmirnichtviel Lodge, alternatively spelt Murr-mir-nicht-viel, occasionally Murmel-nicht-viel, is a ruined hunting lodge with a watchtower that used to belong to the counts of Leiningen. It lies in the Palatine Forest southwest of the county town of Bad Dürkheim in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Schaudichnichtum Lodge ( was a former hunting lodge southwest of the town of Bad Dürkheim in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Like its near neighbours, Kehrdichannichts, Murrmirnichtviel and Jägerthal, it was used as accommodation for the nobility of the Electoral Palatinate during the 18th century when they went hunting in the Palatine Forest.

Breitenstein Castle rock castle

The ruins of Breitenstein Castle stand on a crag, 220 metres (720 ft) high, on the northern side of the Speyerbach valley in the Palatine Forest in Germany. The castles is 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) east of the village of Elmstein in the county of Bad Durkheim in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Schänzel Tower Tower near Edenkoben, Germany

The Schänzel Tower is a 13-metre-high viewing tower on the Steigerkopf near Edenkoben in the county of Südliche Weinstraße in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It was built in 1874 and is the highest-located tower in the mountain range of the Palatinate Forest.

Heidenmauer (Palatinate)

The Heidenmauer near the Palatine county town of Bad Dürkheim in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate is a circular rampart or ringwork, two and a half kilometres long, which was built by the Celts around 500 B. C. as a type of Murus Gallicus but was pulled down again not long afterwards. The wooden elements of the wall have disappeared over the course of time by rotting away, but the stones have survived.

Lambrecht (Pfalz) station railway station in Lambrecht, Germany

Lambrecht (Pfalz) station is the station of the town of Lambrecht in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Deutsche Bahn classifies it as belonging to category 4 and it has three platform tracks. The station is located in the network of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar and belongs to fare zone 121. Its address is Bahnhofstraße 4.

Sondernheim station railway station in Germersheim, Germany

Sondernheim station is a station in the Germersheim suburb of Sondernheim, in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Deutsche Bahn classifies it as a category 6 station and it has two platform tracks. The station is located in the network of the Karlsruher Verkehrsverbund and belongs to fare zone 575. Since 2001, the station has also been part of the area where the fares of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar are accepted at a transitional rate. The address of the station is Germersheimer Straße 14. Its former entrance building is under heritage protection.

Jockgrim station railway station in Jockgrim, Germany

Jockgrim station is the only station in the town of Jockgrim in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Deutsche Bahn classifies it as a category 6 station and it has two platform tracks. It is located on the network of the Karlsruher Verkehrsverbund and belongs to fare zone 555. Since 2001, the station has also been part of the area where the fares of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar are accepted at a transitional rate. Its address is Am Bahnhof 1.

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