Sternberg, Mountain summit in Gomadingen, Germany.
Sternberg is a summit of the Swabian Alb above Gomadingen and Offenhausen in the Reutlingen district. It is a hardened volcanic remnant, one of the highest peaks of the Münsingen Alb, rising almost 200 metres above the Große Lauter. Its summit carries a 32-metre observation tower and a transmission mast.
The Sternberg is a volcano that went extinct in the Miocene, 17–11 million years ago, part of the Swabian Volcano group of over 350 diatremes. In 2009 geophysical surveys confirmed the volcano and its basalt vent. A first lookout tower was built on the summit in 1905 and abandoned in the 1940s; the present 32 m Sternbergturm was erected 100 m east in 1953.
The Sternbergturm has been run by the Schwäbische Albverein since 1953, and the same club maintains the Wanderheim Sternberg built between 1980 and 1982 on the site of the first tower. The Schwarzwald-Schwäbische-Alb-Allgäu-Weg, the club's main trail 5, crosses the summit.
The shortest routes start in the village centres of Gomadingen and Offenhausen and are about 1.5 km long. The summit lies almost 200 m above the Große Lauter. The long-distance hiking trail Schwarzwald-Schwäbische-Alb-Allgäu-Weg (main trail 5) of the Schwäbische Albverein crosses the mountain.
The basalt chimney of this extinct volcano was only confirmed in 2009 using modern geophysical surveying; the volcano itself died out in the Miocene, between 17 and 11 million years ago. It belongs to the Swabian Volcano group of more than 350 former diatremes. The summit also carries a transmission mast beside the tower.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,383 contributors worldwide.