Houbirg – SevenSummits in the Nuremberg region

Seven tours to the highest elevations in the Nuremberg region - all 600-meter peaks. Seven Summits. Today we start with the Houbirg (616 m) from Happurg. The path leads to one of the most important Celtic hilltop settlements in southern Germany. The first people settled on the Houbirg plateau as early as the Middle Bronze Age around 1600 BC. Past one of the closed entrances to the Doggerstollen, a planned but never completed underground factory complex for the armaments industry in the last year of the Second World War, the path goes up to the ring wall of the former settlement. It is a remnant of the former 4.5 km long surrounding wall. The path continues to the Hohlen Fels, from where you have a wonderful view of the Happurg reservoir.

As part of the preliminary exploration for our multi-day hike in autumn 2024, Johanna and I walked the tour, albeit with minor deviations from the original tour. A beautiful, albeit really challenging circular tour in the first section. From the beginning it goes quite steeply uphill, then soon on the ring wall steadily rising slightly up to the Hohler Fels (wonderful view). You move mostly in the forest on beautiful paths, mostly root and stony paths - a dream. Our conclusion: In dry weather, a beautiful, somewhat demanding tour, for which you should not do without high hiking boots and poles. We hardly met anyone up to the Hohler Fels lookout point, but there was almost a "cattle drive" there.

The description from "schöne-aussicht.de" is absolutely accurate: "Probably the most beautiful tour of the Seven Summits. An absolute dream tour in the Nuremberg region with the Houbirg and the Hohlen Fels as the destination. Even the deciduous forest had its golden robe in autumn and even made the approach a special treat. There is no way around the tour." We started from Happurg and changed the route slightly from the memorial site in order to ease the extremely long and steep climb past the Dogger. Our GPS data (Garmin GPSmap 66st): Distance 9.2 km, 400 m elevation

I was here a few months ago. During the 1000 meter hike (https://bergparadiese.de/1000-hoehenmeter-wandern-bei-pommelsbrunn-im-nuernberger-land) we went to this impressive vantage point above the Happurg reservoir. But not only the Hohle Fels with its bizarre rock formations and the wonderful panorama is a highlight of this tour. Afterwards it was quite a stretch over the 4.5 km long ring wall, which the Celts built here around 550-440 BC. have erected. There are also wonderful forest paths that simply make you want more. Highly Recommended!

The tour is not only scenically spectacular, but also has a long history with the Houbirg (Hou~Hag: enclosure or fortified place, Birg: to withdraw for defence). The first evidence of settlement comes from around 1600 BC. From 900 B.C. The 4.5 km long ring wall was probably built, on which long sections of the route are covered. Even from modern times, some historical - if not so beautiful - can be visited. From 1944, more than 8,000 prisoners from the Flossenbürg concentration camp dug the Doggerwerk (Dogger: horizontal layer of sandstone) into the mountain. Miles of tunnels in which the BMW aircraft engine plant was to be protected from bomb attacks. Almost 2,700 prisoners lost their lives here. Many of the tunnels have now been filled, the remaining tunnel entrances - apart from the openings for the bats - are walled up and not accessible. Safety measures are currently being taken by the state building authority in Nuremberg, so that the original route (green dot on a white background) is being partially diverted.

Today I went on my first summit tour of the SevenSummits. While this term actually means the highest peak of the 7 continents, here 7 round tours to the highest elevations in the Nuremberg region are meant. The Houbirg from Happurg made the start today. It started from a parking lot at the Happurger Bach. Uphill past the war memorial and memorial of the concentration camp satellite camp, we soon went into the forest and continued uphill on a steep path. Passing one of the blocked entrances to the Dogger tunnel, a planned underground factory for the armaments industry of the 3rd Reich, it continues uphill until you finally come to the Celtic ring wall, which offered protection to one of the most important Celtic hilltop settlements in Germany. On a narrow path we continue on these impressive fortifications, which had a similar extent as medieval Nuremberg. The next highlight can already be guessed from the path, when the forest begins to thin out and the rocky peaks of the imposing Hohle Fels can be seen. The view over the Happurg reservoir and the surrounding area is simply fantastic! As is the cave in the rock below. After a short break to look around and enjoy, we went on and slowly downhill again. Instead of following the actual path, I turned into the "Steinerne Gassl", which shouldn't be missing on this "mountain tour". After I had left the rock and scree field, the route was actually supposed to pass further Dogger tunnels of this monstrous construction project. However, since the path was blocked for securing work in the tunnels, I followed the detour and only got one of the walled-up entrances in front of the lens. From there, the starting point of today's hike was almost reached again. It was a short but crisp tour, with a lot of variety and historically and geologically interesting things. Sturdy shoes and sure-footedness are recommended!

Hiking trip organized by the Schnaittach SCR (Swiss Alpine Club). From Happurg, we first visited the documentation center and the central entrance tunnel H of the Doggerwerk (Dogger Works). Further up, we encountered the Celtic ring wall, which we followed to the summit of the Houbirg. Of course, we also visited the viewpoint overlooking the reservoir with its distinctive pine tree. The Hohle Fels (Hollow Rock) can be visited and explored again after the raven breeding season has ended. It's always beautiful up here. The descent took us to the Steinernes Gassl (Steinerner Gassl), which consists of the fallen rubble. Finally, we walked along various Doggerstollen entrances to Entrance F, which, as a special feature, is not completely walled up but has a door. However, access is not permitted. At the Glücksmühle (Lucky Mill), we were well looked after in the shady garden. Despite the high temperatures, it was a successful hiking trip.

Today we were just before (or behind😉) the Upper Palatinate, i.e. still in Franconia. I only knew Happurg because of the reservoir, but there is much more to see from the past 👍🏼 - https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houbirg - https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doggerstollen - https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/KZ-Au%C3%9Fenlager_Hersbruck