Hornisgrinde

The Hornisgrinde, 1,164 m, is the highest mountain in the Northern Black Forest of Germany. The Hornisgrinde lies in northern Ortenaukreis district.Origin of the nameThe 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.GeographyThe summit of the Hornisgrinde is framed of the Muhrkopf near Unterstmatt in the north and the Mummelsee in the south. In the west the slope is cut through by the Schwarzwaldhochstraße 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.Grinden and raised bogsThe 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.