Hohlestein, Archaeological site and mountain peak in Ahnatal, Germany.

Hohlestein is a 476.6 m basalt outcrop in the Habichtswald nature park between Ahnatal-Weimar and Habichtswald-Dörnberg. The rock measures about 40 m north-south and 30 m east-west, with a near-vertical 25 m wall on its southeast side. Beech trees cover the small summit plateau, where a survey point stands; a shelter hut sits at the southern foot.

A ring wall of collapsed stone masonry surrounds the foot of the rock; pottery sherds found there date it to the Middle Iron Age. Finds from the 12th or 13th century point to use in the High Middle Ages, and a 1745 report mentions a castle on the site. A square basalt pit on the summit, 2 m by 2 m and 1 m deep, is read as a cistern or well, though some suggest later iron-ore prospecting.

The name Hohlestein refers to the hollowed rock: a square basin about 2 m by 2 m and 1 m deep is cut into the summit plateau and collects rainwater. Below the crag, a ring wall of collapsed stone, dated by pottery sherds to the Middle Iron Age, encircles the foot of the rock.

Access is via the B 251 from Kassel towards Habichtswald, which reaches 393.8 m at a bend by a gravel works at the Dörnberg pass. Leave the car at the Ahnetal inn or at the Triffelsbühl car park just before the pass and continue uphill on foot along the F or M (Märchenlandweg) waymarks. A shelter hut stands at the forest edge below the summit.

The 2 by 2 metre, 1 metre deep square basin cut into the summit basalt is usually read as a cistern for a fort, though some suggest a later iron-ore mining attempt. Rainwater collects in it depending on the season. The rock walls below are now used as a climbing area, and the top can be reached without aids only from the north.