Kyffhäuser

Kyffhäuser
View from Tilleda of the hills and the Kyffhäuser Monument
Highest point
Peak	Kulpenberg
Elevation	1,553 ft (473 m)
Geography
Country	Germany
States/Provinces	Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt
Geology
Orogeny	Variscan
Type of rock	Sandstone, Conglomerate Carboniferous sedimentary, metamorphic rocks

The Kyffhäuser (German pronunciation: [ˈkɪfˌhɔʏzɐ]), sometimes also referred to as Kyffhäusergebirge, is a hill range in Central Germany, located on the border of the state of Thuringia with Saxony-Anhalt, southeast of the Harz mountains. It reaches its highest point at the Kulpenberg with an elevation of 473.4 metres (1,553 ft). The range is the site of medieval Kyffhausen Castle (Reichsburg Kyffhausen) and the 19th century Kyffhäuser Monument; it has significance in German traditional mythology as the legendary resting place of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.

The origin of the name has not been conclusively established. Kyffhäuser (formerly also Kiffhäuser) probably stems from the Low German word cuf, meaning "head" or "peak", and huse, "house". Other explanations refer to kiff, "quarrel" and the historic castles at the site.

The Kyffhäuser is a small Mittelgebirge located in the Kyffhäuserkreis district of Thuringia and the Mansfeld-Südharz district of Saxony-Anhalt, not far from the larger Harz range to the northwest. The range has a length of 19 kilometres (12 mi), from west to east, and a width of 7 kilometres (4.3 mi). The highest point at the Kulpenberg, with the Kulpenburg TV tower, is located near the village of Steinthaleben in Thuringia. The range borders on the Hainleite hill chain and the fertile Goldene Aue basin in the south. Large portions are protected as a nature park.