Pfannenstiel Hochwacht, Mountain restaurant and tourism office at Pfannenstiel ridge, Meilen, Switzerland
Pfannenstiel Hochwacht is a mountain restaurant and tourism office located on the Pfannenstiel ridge in Meilen. It stands next to a 33-meter observation tower that offers views across Lake Zurich, the Greifensee, and the Zurich Oberland region.
The site served as a signal station in the 17th century, where watchmen used fire and smoke signals to alert neighboring posts to danger. This role shows how the ridge was used for regional communication and oversight for centuries.
The place takes its name from naturalist Lorenz Oken, who visited and eventually owned the area during the 1800s. Today, visitors can sense the connection to nature that captivated him.
The restaurant and tourism office sit at about 850 meters altitude with direct connections to multiple hiking trails across the region. Visitors should expect variable conditions as the site is exposed to weather and seasonal changes.
The 17th-century signal station used fire and smoke to transmit messages faster than couriers could travel on foot or horseback. This system was an early form of long-distance communication technology in Switzerland.
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