Adelegg

The Adelegg is a forested, mountain range, up to 1,129 m above sea level (NN)[1] and 112 km²[2] in area, which is part of the northern foothills of the Alps, within the Westallgäu in the south German districts of Ravensburg and Oberallgäu.

This article is about the mountain range in Bavaria. For the hamlet near Kempten, see Wiggensbach.
Adelegg
View from NE slope of the Laubenberg across the Eistobel valley and municipality of Maierhöfen looking NE towards the Adelegg
Highest point
PeakUrsersberg
Elevation1,129 m above NN
Dimensions
Area112 km2 (43 sq mi)
Geography
CountryGermany
StatesBaden-Württemberg and Bavaria
Range coordinates47°41′33″N 10°07′32″E
Parent rangeAllgäu Alps

Geography

Location

The Adelegg forms the northernmost foothills of the Allgäu Alps in the southeastern part of the Bavarian Alps and extend a long way out into the Alpine Foreland. They lie between the Untere Argen near Isny to the southwest and west, and Leutkirch to the northwest (both in the Baden-Württemberg district of Ravensburg), and between Altusried to the northeast, Wiggensbach to the east, Buchenberg to the southeast and the Wengener Argen near Weitnau to the south (all in the Bavarian district of Oberallgäu).

The name Adelegg is generally only used for that part of the range located in Württemberg, but the landscape unit of the same name [3] also includes the Hohentanne Forest to the north-northeast, the Kürnach Forest to the northeast and the Buchenberg Forest to the east. To the south it is adjoined by the mountain ridge of Sonneck on the far side of the Wengener Argen, which is not however part of the Adelegg landscape unit.

Mountains

The highest mountain in the Adelegg range is the Schwarzer Grat, whose summit is located on Württemberg soil, just a few metres northwest of the Bavarian border, in the province of Tübingen. This peak and other mountains and hills, together with their foothills within the Adelegg range, and the landscape unit of Adelegg - which is higher in places –are sorted below by height in metres (m) above sea level (NN)[1]; (BW = Baden-Württemberg; BV = Bavaria):

  • Ursersberg (ca. 1,129 m), 1.4 km northwest of Buchenberg-Eschach, BV, highest mountain in the Kürnach Forest
  • Hohenkapf (ca. 1,121.1 m), 2.3 km southwest of Buchenberg-Eschach, BV, highest mountain of the Buchenberg Forest
  • Schwarzer Grat (1,118.0 m), 2.3 km north-northwest of Weitnau-Wengen, BW, highest mountain of the Adelegg
  • unnamed summit (ca. 960 m), 2.2 km west-southwest of Kimratshofen-Walzlings, BV, highest of the Hohentanne Forest
View from the Schwarzer Grat looking SE past the Wenger Egg-Alp to the Raggenhorn with its summit cross and the crest of the Sonneck in the background

Also only in the Adelegg range:

  • Rote Fluh (1,090.0 m), 1 km northeast of the Schwarzer Grat, BW, Adelegg
  • Schönbühl (1,074.8 m), 400 m north-northwest of the Schwarzer Grat, BW, Adelegg
  • Raggenhorn (1,056.2 m), 1.4 km north-northwest of Weitnau-Wengen, BW und BV, Adelegg
  • Hohkopf (1,035.2 m), 2.3 km east-southeast of Isny-Ratzenhofen, BW, Adelegg
  • Wegmannshöhe (1,031.8 m), 2.4 km east of Isny-Ratzenhofen, BW, Adelegg
  • Ochsenkapf (1,011.7 m), 1.8 km east-southeast of Isny-Ratzenhofen, BW, Adelegg
  • Steinbergele (1,009.2 m), 2 km southeast of von Rohrdorf, BW, Adelegg
  • Schafberg (1,008.9 m), 900 m south of Isny-Eisenbach, BW, Adelegg
  • Rudershöhe (999.2 m), 2.3 km southeast of von Rohrdorf, BW, Adelegg
  • Ölberg (961.8 m), 1.5 km east of Rohrdorf, BW, Adelegg
  • Herrenberg (931.2 m), 1.8 km northeast of Rohrdorf, BW, Adelegg
  • Bärenbühl (930.5 m), 1.2 km northeast of Rohrdorf, BW, Adelegg
  • Heidenkopf (918.2 m), 800 m north-northeast of Rohrdorf, BW, Adelegg
  • Kapf (885.7 m), 1 km west-southwest of Schmidsfelden, BW, Adelegg

Waterbodies and watersheds

The Eschach rises in the Buchenberg Forest that adjoins the Adelegg range and runs along the northeastern edge of the range in a mainly northwesterly direction before discharging into the Aitrach, whose waters make their way into the Danube via the northwards running Iller. At the southeastern end of the range is the little pond of Eschacher Weiher which, despite the name, is not connected to the Eschach. The Wengener Argen flows past the Adelegg to the south in an east-west direction and empties into the Untere Argen that runs past the southwestern end of the mountains from southeast to northwest, before its waters flow into Lake Constance and thence into the Rhine. The Adelegg is thus on the Rhine-Danube Watershed.

Nature reserves

Small areas of the Adelegg range, totalling 6.4 km² in area, belong to the Adelegg Special Area of Conservation Region (No. 8326-341). Large parts lie in the protected area of Adelegg and Associated Tertiary Hill Foreland (Adelegg und zugehöriges tertiäres Hügelvorland) (LSG No. 319441), which covers 68.14 km² and was founded on 31 March 1994.[1]

Signpost in the Adelegg

Economy and tourism

The Adelegg is used primarily for forestry and tourism. In the Modern Era, but possibly also in the Late Middle Ages, there were various glassworks here; one that may still be visited in the glassworks in the former glassmaking village of Schmidsfelden.

Hiking across the Adelegg is possible on the 320 km long Black Forest-Swabian Jura-Allgäu Way and the 185 km long Heuberg-Allgäu Way. There are also winter sports facilities, especially in the Buchenberg Forest area.

The Adelegg in autumn. View from the west of Isny-Kleinholzleute and the valley of the Untere Argen
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References
  1. Map services of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation
  2. Landschaftssteckbrief des BfN – Adelegg
  3. Geoinfo des BfN – Landschaft Adelegg

Sources
  • Rudi Holzberger, Manfred Thierer: Die Adelegg, Das dunkle Herz des Allgäus, Wanderungen und Streifzüge 2009, ISBN 978-3-933614-50-6.
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