Kermeter


The Kermeter is an upland region, up to, which is part of the Rureifel within the North Eifel in the districts of Aachen, Düren and Euskirchen in the southwestern part of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany.
The Kermeter ridge is covered by a forest, some 33 km² in area, that is one of the largest contiguous, deciduous forests in the Rhineland. Since 1 January 2004 it has formed the core zone of the Eifel National Park.

Location

The Kermeter lies on the territory of the three Eifel parishes of Heimbach, Simmerath and Schleiden. It is bordered to the north and west by the Rur Reservoir and thus by the Rur valley near Heimbach, to the southwest by the Obersee, and in the south by the Urft Reservoir and thus the Urft valley. In the southwest the Kermeter transitions into Wolfgarten and Gemünd in the direction of the upper reaches of the Rotbach.
The highest point in the Kermeter is an unnamed rounded summit near Wolfgarten, on which the fire service and observation tower, the Wolfgarten Fire Watchtower, stands.

Landscape and nature

The Kermeter covers an area of 3,592 hectares, of which about 3,300 hectares is a single forested area. Beech woods dominate the shaded, damp northern slopes, in places with trees that are over 200 years old. Oak woods hold sway on the drier, southern slopes, interrupted by rocky outcrops. At the start of the 21st century almost half the forest area still consisted of spruce trees, a consequence of reforestation measures after the Second World War. However it is planned that in the long term the spruce stock will be reduced in favour of deciduous woods.

Hills

Amongst the hills and high points of the Kermeter are the following, according to the Deutsche Grundkarte and sorted by height in metres above sea level: