Öchsenberg
Öchsenberg
The Öchsenberg, often just called Oechsen, is a basalt mountain and is one of the northernmost mountains in the Rhön. It is located around 3 kilometers south of the town of Vacha above the Werra Valley and is around 627 meters high.
Since 1990, the Öchsenberg has been protected as part of the UNESCO Rhön Biosphere Reserve.
Today, most of the wooded slopes are extensive toothwort-beech forests, where the protected Turk's cap lily can be found.
A wooden Celtic cross has been added to the summit. There is an information and hiking hut on the Rhönklub's property on the Öchsen directly below the summit. To the east and north, the mountain is surrounded by the small river Oechse, which has its source on the slopes of the Baier.
The first confirmed documentary mention of the mountain was in a deed of gift from Charlemagne in 786, where the mountain was called Uhsineberga.
The mountain is the remains of an extinct stratovolcano that was formed during the Miocene volcanic period around 25 - 11 million years ago.