Köterberg, Mountain peak between North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony, Germany

Köterberg is the highest point in the Lippe Uplands located along the border of two German states. The summit features a restaurant and a communications tower built in the 1970s.

The mountain gained a surveying tower in the early 1800s that became essential for regional mapping work. Later it served as a relay point in an optical telegraph network connecting distant cities.

The Brothers Grimm called the hill Götzenberg in their German Legends (Nos. 9, 20), saying heathen gods were worshipped there, and set their tale The Three Little Birds on it. Locals joke that it is Monte Wauwau, since both Köter and Wauwau are vernacular words for a dog. At weekends bikers and cyclists meet in the summit car park.

The summit plateau is reached by a cul-de-sac road from the village of Köterberg, with a maximum gradient of 14%. The road ends at a car park that fills with motorbikes at summer weekends. The summit is only wooded to the north, so the all-round view is open.

From 1832, light signals were transmitted from here between Berlin and other cities, making it an early long-distance communication system. This method was crucial before electric telegraphy became widespread.