Rock climbing in Felsenmeer is one good adrenalin booster. This Geo-Nature Park just about a 5 to 10-minute drive away from where I live. If you are going to translate its name to English, it literally means “sea of rocks”. It was not much a surprise for me why the place has such a name – in reality, it really does look like a sea of rocks. I must say it was quite interesting to know that its beauty came from an interplay between geology and nature. Although, a much more interesting story behind it, is the Legend of fighting giants that created it.
Yes, you read it correctly. A legend of GIANTS. I was also astonished the first time I read the story about it. It was a story about two giants living in Lautertal. The one lived in Hohenstein and the other one in Felsberg. The giants got into a fight and started throwing stones at each other. The giant from Hohenstein had the advantage because he had more stones to throw, so in the end the giant from Felsberg was hit by one of the stones and got buried into the sea of stones.
It is quite a story but, NO, the creation of this piece of beauty did not come from fighting giants but a product of geological process that began 340 Million years ago. A lot more detailed explanation of this can be found on the brochure “GEOTOP 2002” which is available in the Felsenmeer Information Center.
The big boulders of rocks in Felsberg also played an important role in cultural as well the economic development in Lautertal. The Romans had worked on these stones for about 200 years. Some of the Roman Stonemason’s works are in fact left behind on the site and free for everyone to visit.
I personally find the stories behind Felsenmeer very interesting. However, the most that caught my interest is the most fun I had climbing through the sea of stones. It is best to do this during dry climates, especially during the summer. Not only that Felsenmeer challenges the adrenalin within us, it gives breath-taking views from the top. The Felsenmeer is a natural reserve. Although a lot of people comes to visit every year, it is important to follow rules in order to continue preserve its nature.
One rule is to stay within the marked trails to help major damage caused by erosion. Another remarkable info is that there are NO rubbish bins in the area. Just like in Geo-Nature Parks in Germany, all nature-loving visitors should be responsible of their own garbage, take their garbage and dispose of it at home. This is the visitor’s contribution to nature conservation.
Dogs are allowed to bring in the area as long as they are kept on a leash. On the opposite side of the information center there is a bucket for the disposal of dog waste bag, from which the bags are free. The visitors are expected to dispose the legacy of their dogs on this bucket and NOT on the forest.
An important thing to note upon climbing the through stones is to wear the right shoes. Expensive leather shoes are ill-advised as it could be slippery and dangerous. Wearing shoes that are fit for climbing or wandering or even training shoes will be optimal.
Visiting the Felsenmeer is absolutely free, but there is however a charge for parking. A private car is charged 4 €/day, for motorcycles 3 €/day, for buses 15 €/day and for camping wagons 8 €/day. The fees contribute to the maintenance of the infrastructure of the Felsenmeer. Also there is a small museum for Rocks and an Information Center that features permanent exhibition are free for all visitors.