DMany wreaths have already been woven in the landscape of the Rhön. In fact, the mountain range captivates with an unmistakable topography of bold ups and downs of volcanically formed mountains, among them, as Wilhelm von Humboldt felt, the “most beautiful in Germany”, the Milseburg. Such a hymn-like description of the 835-meter-high elevation is probably less a subjective perception than – and Humboldt may have meant it too – a eulogy for its unique shape due to the summit ridge, which drops 115 meters to the north.
This mountain naturally exerted a great attraction on people, and it was primarily the Celts who probably settled here without interruption from the 6th to the 1st century BC. They benefited from the loose rock of huge block seas for a four meter high and up to twelve meter deep fortress wall, as well as the plateau on the east side, which was not exposed to the weather, which offered sufficient settlement space.
Regardless of major destruction for the construction of a railway line in 1889, several excavations provided evidence of the last 35 hectare “oppidum”. During the most extensive investigations in 2004, it was surprisingly found that the stones of the 1200-meter-long enclosing wall were not held together like a timber structure. Rather, large rocks weighing up to half a ton served as a stabilizing element.
Since then, a reconstructed section and a model from the Vonderau Museum in Fulda have shown how the wall should be imagined. A special exhibition as part of the Hessian Year of the Celts 2022 also shows the latest iron finds, which once again underline the masterful handling of the material by the Celts. For the residents there it will have been the most important commodity.
The resurrected section of the wall is integrated into an archaeological and natural history circular route around the Milseburg, which last but not least touches on the terrace-like recesses of some living platforms. Whether one also settled at the summit, or whether a “prince” even resided there, the nature trail must leave open. The roaring winds around the rugged peak speak against it, but the grandiose panorama over half the world from the Taunus to the Thuringian Forest is undoubtedly worthy of a ruler.
Directions:
The Milseburg can only be conquered on foot, closer from the north or in a wide arc from the south. Here you almost completely circumnavigate the striking elevation and can also include the nature-protected Stellberg as well as the “painter’s village” Kleinsassen and the Milseburg railway tunnel, which has been repurposed for tourism. The Grabenhöfchen pass on the B 458 is a good starting point. It offers plenty of parking space on both sides and is also served by bus from Fulda.
It goes out from the inn with the number 4 in the direction of “Kunstmeile”. Behind it are sculptural works that were presented at symposia in 2003 and 2011 over a kilometer along the paved dirt road to the Fulda house. There, within sight of the managed hostel, stands the legendary giant Mils. We can still see his local mountain, only briefly interrupted by the small forest on the Maulkuppe.
With the red M, which has been added in the meantime, you measure through an open depression and then turn left about 400 meters below the trees of the Stellberg. On the top of the 726 meter high volcanic cone you have to scramble over roots and slippery rock. As the “core zone” in the Rhön biosphere reserve, nature can be left to its own devices, apart from paths that are to be kept clear, such as a left-hand one here, to avoid climbing.
Both paths meet north of the hilltop, and further to the right slightly downhill with the M. This “Extratour Milseburg” circles the mighty Hauenstein after a youth campground and comes out in the Biebertal, soon right over a small bridge (the closure only applies to vehicles) and left behind a leisure facility towards Kleinsassen. The M, which turns sharply to the right just before it, can be used there to shorten the Milseburg.