You don’t have to fly all the way to the Canary Islands or Sicily to find these unique geological structures. There are already two beautiful – and safer – volcanic areas in Baden-Württemberg.
Most of us have certainly read or heard about the volcanoes in the Canary Islands, Sicily or Iceland at least once in our lives. Most recently, it was the eruption on the island of La Palma that made the news with spectacular images. However, if you are either a geology fan or simply someone who appreciates nature in all its glory, you don’t have to travel that far to see these natural creations.
Here in Baden-Württemberg, there are two volcanic regions with more than a dozen inactive volcanoes, which may not be as impressive as Mount Etna or Mount Teide, but are certainly safer and no less beautiful.
Hegauer Kegelbergland
To the northwest of Lake Constance lies what the poet Ludwig Finckh called “Des Herrgotts Kegelspiel”: a region known for its unique volcanic cone mountains. These dozen 643 to 867 m high vents of extinct volcanoes were active around 14 million years ago. They ejected large quantities of tephra and basalt, forming a 100 m thick layer of tuff that sealed them over time.
But the distant past was not the only activity these mountains experienced: castles were built on top of all of them in the Middle Ages, and the ruins of some of them can still be seen.
The Kaiserstuhl
Although technically a mountain range, the Kaiserstuhl probably has the coolest name ever given to a former (and current) volcano. It is located in the southern Black Forest, in the districts of Emmendingen and Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, and was formed around 19 to 16 million years ago by numerous volcanic eruptions. There were so many that it was not just one volcano, but several, with many volcanic vents that have since been deeply eroded.
In fact, the volcanic activity was so high that the place is still famous today for its many rare minerals. The high density of nature reserves in the mountains, which are home to the flora and fauna of the Mediterranean climate, is also well-known.