Discover the secrets of Donnersberg on our geo tour!

Discover the secrets of Donnersberg on our geo tour!

On Sunday, July 27, 2025, the Donnersberg Tourism Association invites you to an exciting geo-tour to the highest elevation in the Palatinate, the Donnersberg. The event with the theme “Geology and landscape development of the Earth” offers participants the opportunity to learn more about the geoscientifically important Lorraine-Saar-Nahe depression, the volcanism around the Donnersberg and the geology of the neighboring regions. The meeting point for the tour, which lasts around 3 to 3.5 hours, is at 2 p.m. at the parking lot on Donnersberg. The tour will be led by tour guide Christoph Breitenbach, who will give participants deeper insights into the exciting settlement history of Donnersberg, including the history of the Celtic Oppidum, one of the largest Celtic cities north of the Alps.

The participation fee is 6.00 euros for adults and 2.00 euros for children aged 7 to 16 years. Registration is required to take part in the geo tour. Anyone interested can contact the Donnersberg Tourism Association directly on 06352-1712 or by email at touristik@donnersberg.de. Further information is available on the website Donnersberg tourism available.

Geological background of the Donnersberg

The Donnersberg is not only the highest peak in the Palatinate with a height of 687 meters, it also has a fascinating geological history. Its origins go back around 290 million years, when the mountain was formed from rhyolite as a volcanic massif in a lowland. The Donnersberg originally had a height of up to 1,000 meters and consists of 15 to 16 different volcanic mountains that were formed at the same time. These individual mountains together form a large massif.

Over the course of millions of years, the Donnersberg was temporarily covered by younger rock deposits due to subsidence in the earth's crust. The landscape of the Donnersberg has changed again and again due to weathering and erosion. About 20 million years ago, this part of the Palatinate was an island in a warm, shallow sea that penetrated from the south through the Rhine Graben into the Donnersberg area. It is assumed that the Donnersberg was covered with ice during the ice ages, although there is no direct evidence of this yet. These geological features make the Donnersberg an important national geotope that is explored during the geo-tour.

For more information about the geologically significant features and the magnificent landscape of the Donnersberg, those interested can visit the website Donnersberg tourism visit.