Ipf, Mountain summit in Bopfingen, Germany
Ipf is a mountain with a flattened summit in Bopfingen surrounded by stone walls, ditches, and defensive ramparts that spread across roughly 180 meters. The fortified complex shows multiple structures that reveal how extensively people settled and protected this location.
People lived on Ipf from around 1200 BC until about 300 BC, spanning the Bronze Age through the early La Tène period. This long occupation shows how the site remained important across several centuries and cultural periods.
The mountain was a key gathering place during the early Iron Age when people traded goods across distant regions. Walking around the fortifications today gives a sense of how important this hilltop was for connecting different communities.
Several hiking trails lead to the summit from different directions, making it easy to explore the fortifications up close. The routes offer views across the surrounding landscape of the Ostalbkreis district as you climb.
The northern slopes contain three distinctive geological formations called Der Kessel, Die Pfanne, and Der Löffel that are tied to the defensive system. These unusual names reveal how early inhabitants perceived and made use of the natural landscape features.
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