Hornisgrinde

Hornisgrinde
The Hornisgrinde seen from the Hohloh to the northeast
Highest point
Elevation	1,164 m (3,819 ft)
Coordinates	48°36′25″N 8°12′9″E / 48.60694°N 8.20250°E / 48.60694; 8.20250Coordinates: 48°36′25″N 8°12′9″E / 48.60694°N 8.20250°E / 48.60694; 8.20250
Geography
Hornisgrinde The location within Baden-Württemberg
Location	Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Parent range	Black Forest

The Hornisgrinde, 1,164 m (3,820 ft), is the highest mountain in the Northern Black Forest of Germany. The Hornisgrinde lies in northern Ortenaukreis district.

The name is probably derived from Latin, and essentially translates to "boggy head," referring to the raised bog (Hochmoor). Another interpretation of the name is derived from the terms Horn, miss and grind and meant the same as kahler Bergrücken ("bald ridge"), which carries a moorland on its height.

The summit of the Hornisgrinde is framed of the Muhrkopf (1003 m) near Unterstmatt in the north and the Mummelsee (1036 m) in the south. In the west the slope is cut through by the Schwarzwaldhochstraße (B 500) in approximately 900 to 1000 m, in the east drops the tendency steeply to the ice-age cirque Biberkessel with the landing Blindsee lake. The summit changes to the Katzenkopf mountain in the southwest at 1123 m, into the southeast drops the burr toward Seibelseckle. The Katzenkopf mountain and the southeast burr of the Hornisgrinde form the cirque of the Mummelsee.

The Grinden - treeless wet heathlands on the highest areas, were created following forest clearance and the subsequent use of the land as grazing in the 15th century. By contrast the raised bog, up to five metres thick, in the southeastern area of the summit plateau is naturally treeless. It is reckoned to be at least 6,000 years old.

Parts of the plateau with the raised bog and the Karwand to the Biberkessel were designated as the Hornisgrinde-Biberkessel Nature Reserve (Naturschutzgebiet Hornisgrinde–Biberkessel, 95 ha.) in 1992.

The Hornisgrinde belongs to the precipitation-richest places in Germany. The average yearly precipitation amounts to 1931 mm. Over 99% of the measuring points of the German weather service indicate lower values. The driest month is February; at most it rains in June. There's 1.4 times more precipitation in the precipitation-richest month than in the driest one. The seasonal precipitation fluctuations lie in the upper third. In over 81% of all places the monthly precipitation varies less.

The Dreifürstenstein is a sandstone plate, which is located at the southeast edge of the plateau. It originates from the year 1722 and marked the border between the Margraviate of Baden, the duchy Württemberg and the Diocese of Strasbourg. Today the point represents the boundary border between Baden's municipalities Sasbach, Seebach and Württemberg's municipality Baiersbronn. With a height of 1,151 m above sea level the Dreifürstenstein is the highest point of Württemberg.