Ernstberg

Ernstberg / Erresberg
Ernstberg, seen from the foot of the Mäuseberg by Weinfelder Maar
Highest point
Elevation	698.8 m above sea level (NN) (2,293 ft)
Coordinates	50°13′49″N 6°46′09″E / 50.2304°N 6.7691°E / 50.2304; 6.7691
Geography
Ernstberg / Erresberg Naturschutzgebiet
Location	Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Parent range	Eifel

The Ernstberg (also Erresberg) southeast of Hinterweiler is, at 698.8 m, the highest of the west Eifel volcanoes and, after the Hohe Acht, the second highest mountain in the Eifel overall. Its summit consists of pyroclastic rocks (Schweißschlacken) that form a volcanic crater that is open towards the east. This is where the basalt masses flowed out, forming a semicircle on the eastern slope of the mountain. It lies within the Waldeifel region.

In winter there are excellent winter sports conditions on the Ernstberg due to its height. Cut langlauf tracks, a toboggan slope and ski hire hut are available.

Somewhat below the summit is a cave that runs through to the other side of the mountain and which is a natural monument. The cave entrances are barred to prevent access.^[1]

On 20 September 1978, the Ernstberg was designated by the district council at Trier as a nature reserve.^{[citation needed]} Its conservation aim is the preservation of the Early Pleistocene stratovolcano with its distinctive ring-shaped arrangement of its pyroclastic rock and basalt layers (Einlagerungen) (nepheline-leutzitite). In addition the aim is to preserve the colony of Perennial Honesty (Lunaria rediviva).^{[citation needed]}

• Act concerning the Ernstberg Nature Reserve dated 20 September 1978^{[permanent dead link]}
• Map at the landscape information system of the Rhineland-Palatinate Conservation Authority^{[permanent dead link]}