Wasserkuppe - Berg der Flieger

At 950 m above sea level, the Wasserkuppe towers over the Rhön Biosphere Reserve. Yet it is not only the highest mountain in the Rhön, but also the highest mountain in Hesse!

It lies in the district of Fulda near the towns of Gersfeld, Poppenhausen and Wüstensachsen. From here, numerous hiking trails wind their way up the Wasserkuppe past more than 30 springs that spring up around the mountain, including the Fuldaquelle. From the summit of the Wasserkuppe, the view extends far beyond the Rhön landscape in good weather.

Fun for the whole family

The highest mountain in the Rhön is a great destination for an excursion in any weather. In summer and when the weather is fine, the summer toboggan run and the climbing park invite you to have lots of fun. If the wind is too strong for that, a visit to the German Aviation Museum is recommended. In winter, the Wasserkuppe is a great place for tobogganing, skiing and snowboarding.

The mountain of aviators

It‘s windy on the Wasserkuppe. Also known as the "mountain of aviators", it is considered the cradle of gliding. In 1911, students from Darmstadt made their first flight attempts here. One of the landmarks of the Wasserkuppe, the Fliegerdenkmal, commemorates all those who lost their lives while flying and is just as much a part of the Wasserkuppe as the first German Sailing School, which was opened on the mountain in 1925. With around 20,000 take-offs, the Wasserkuppe is number one on the German pilots‘ popularity scale.