Münzfels

Overview

Münzfels south and west faces

Apart from Trifels, Münzfels (also Has) is the largest sandstone cliff on the ridge which connects Trifels Castle with Scharfenberg Castle. It is separated from neighbouring Jungturm to the north by a narrow gap, a veritable chimney, especially at the base. Together with Jungturm it is the most important climbing crag on the ridge and the routes of the two cliffs are often mixed up with each other. Jungturm is the higher one of the two, Münzfels the larger one, reflected in the number of routes and variations which lead to the top. The routes on both cliffs are similar in difficulty - IV- or IV+ for the normal route, 10- for the most difficult ones.

Münzfels is one of the more popular climbing destinations. The Trifels - Scharfenberg ridge is easily accessible, being located at the north-easternmost of the Südpfalz climbing region, only 15 minutes away from the closest motorway exit at Landau. This ensures heavy traffic, not only on the climbing routes but also on the hiking paths which run close by on both sides of the crag. Like the other crags on the ridge, Münzfels is overshadowed by big pines and beeches, offering good conditions, even on hot summer days. The west face (actually a south-west face), which is lower than the eastern one, is exposed to the sun and thus makes for good climbing on sunny autmn and winter days.

Like all other climbing crags on the ridge Münzturm at one point in time was part of the Trifels / Anebos / Scharfenberg castle complex. There are indications that part of the rock has been used as some kind of "forecastle" with ladders and staircases leading to fortifications on the top. Today, only minor indications - like holes for wooden beams - remain.

Climbing Routes on Münzfels

Münzfels, along with Trifels, Jungturm and Asselstein is one of the most popular climbing destinations in the Wasgau area. There are no easy routes up the tower, the easiest one being the normal route at IV-. The following information is linked from the site of the Vereinigung Pfälzer Kletterer I link to their routes database directly with some summary info. Here is the link to the complete database.

For more information see the book by U. Daigger and H.-J. Cron (see below)

Region	Routes link	Summary
Münzfels	Münzfels	24routes with variations ranging from 4- - 10-

Getting There

Münzfels is located south of Annweiler on the ridge which connects Trifels with Schafenberg. It is the southernmost cliff on that ridge. The closest parking lot is south of Scharfenberg Castle, right beside the road from Annweiler to Trifels. The closest airports are the ones in Frankfurt and Stuttgart with the following itineraries:

From Frankfurt

There are two possible routes which both take equally long

1. Via Ludwigshafen
   • From Frankfurt take motorway A5 southward to Darmstadt.
   • There change to A67 south.
   • At Viernheimer Dreieck turn onto A6 west.
   • Leave it at Frankenthaler Kreuz for A61 south.
   • At Mutterstädter Kreuz take A65 south until you reach Landau.
   • At Landau turn on B10 west.
   • Take the exit Annweiler North after you have passed the second tunnel on the road.
   • Take B48 south but after 200m leave to the left, driving into the outskirts of Annweiler.
   • After another 300m turn right (sign Trifels) and follow the side road towards the castle. You'll pass Asselstein and Kletterhütte (parking lot), then head on for anothe 1.5km. Where the road turns into a one way road there is a small parking lot.
2. Via Kaiserslautern
   • From Frankfurt take motorway A3 west
   • At Mönchhofdreieck turn onto A67 south
   • At Rüsselsheimer Dreieck take A60 west
   • At Kreuz Mainz Süd take A63 south
   • At Kreuz Kaiserslautern turn onto A6 west
   • At Kreuz Landstuhl turn onto A62 south
   • At Pirmasens turn onto B10 east
   • Take the exit Annweiler North and follow the instructions above (sign Trifels)

From Stuttgart

• Take motorway A8 to Karlsruhe
• At Karlsruher Dreieck turn north onto A5
• Take the next exit to head for A65
• At Landau turn on B10 west.
• Take the exit Annweiler North after you have passed the second tunnel on the road.
• Follow the signs "Trifels" until the road turns into a one way road. Use the parking lot there.

Red Tape

Yes, there is red tape and lots of it. The sandstone of Südpfalz forms lots of caves and overhangs. Though this makes it most interesting for climbers, two species of birds of prey compete for this habitat: the peregrine falcons and the eagle owls. Both are endangered and wherever there is a eagle owl pair found nesting in the sandstone the crag will immediately be closed. Generally this closure lasts from the beginning of each year through Aug. 1st. If breeding is not successful the closures will be cancelled even before that date. For a list of closures see the Closure List of PK.

The use of magnesia is not allowed in the whole Südpfalz region. This is rather a directive or an arrangement than an outright law. Thus you probably will get away with using it but do so only when absolutely necessary. Magnesia closes the pores which you find in the sandstone and together they form a smooth surface which will get very slippery or soapy in wet conditions. The rule of thumb is to use magnesia in the highest difficulty sections and only extremely sparingly.

Fees

There is a parking lot at the base of Trifels which costs € 1.50. Better use the parking lot where the road turns into a one way road, south of Scharfenberg Castle.

Accommodation

There are quite a number of hotels, inns, apartments to be found in the area around Annweiler and Trifels. A good link (German, however) can be found here:

• Trifelsland Accommodation

Weather Conditions

Maps & Books

Maps

As for maps there is a good overview map (1:50000) by Kompass Verlag but the best ones are the official topographic maps by the state government of Rheinland Pfalz, scaled 1:50000, 1:25000 and 1:5000. All official maps can be found on the web page of Landesvermessungsamt Rheinland Pfalz

1:50000

• Naturpark Pfälzer Wald
  Kompass Map WK766
  ISBN: 3-85491-523-3
  
• Annweiler am Trifels
  LVA RLP Map L6712
  ISBN: 3-89637-191-6

1:25000

• Annweiler am Trifels
  LVA RLP Map 6713
  ISBN: 3-89637-141-X

Books

There are a number of climbing guidebooks on the region of Südpfalz. The best ones, however, have been published privately and are sold only in selected bookshops of the region.

Hiking
• Pfälzerwald
  B. & J.-Th. Titz
  Rother Verlag
  ISBN: 3-7633-4268-0



Climbing Guidebook


Climbing
• Klettern im Buntsandstein
  U. Daigger, H.-J. Cron
  Westpfälzische Verlagsdruckerei St. Ingbert
  ISBN: 3-00-0155457-4
  
• Pfalz ++, Klettern im Buntsandstein
  R. Burkard, P. Weinrich
  Published privately
  
• Klettern im Naturpark Pfälzerwald
  Naturfreunde Lambrecht
  Published privately


• Pfalz & Nordvogesen en bloc
  A. Wenner, Y. Corby, I. Bald
  Panico Verlag
  ISBN: 3-936740-19-4

Images

View Münzfels Image Gallery - 10 Images