Rund um den Rodderberg

ON THE NATURE PARK RHINELAND FIRE ROUTE

The Rodderberg is the youngest volcano in the Drachenfelser Ländchen. The neighboring volcanoes were formed 25 million years ago and have already been heavily eroded. At around 330,000 to 400,000 years old, however, the Rodderberg is still “in good shape”. A ring of tuff and slag surrounds the circular crater with a diameter of 800 meters. As the tuff soil stores the sun's heat very well, the Rodderberg forms a so-called heat island. The crater rim in particular is home to heat-loving rare animal and plant species that are usually found in southern Europe. When the increasing extraction of tuff threatened this natural paradise, the area was placed under nature protection in 1927.

EXPERIENCE NATURE AROUND THE CRATER

The 3.2-kilometre, easy-to-walk circular trail along the crater rim of the Rodderberg offers wonderful impressions of the landscape, and the extinct volcano is a special habitat for thermophilic plants and animals. Many butterfly species, for example, feel at home here. In May and June, the bright yellow flowering gorse, which colonizes the dry grasslands on the sunny, warm slopes, is particularly striking.to keep the areas open, they are traditionally grazed by sheep and goats.on the eastern edge of the crater, the bizarre tree shapes of the pollarded beeches bear witness to an old form of forest use. To the north, the Heinrichsblick offers a magnificent view of the Rhine Valley and Siebengebirge mountains. The circular route is not signposted, but is easy to find.