Spitzestein, Mountain peak in Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis, Germany

Spitzenstein is a 417-metre hill in the Hunsrück where the range drops steeply into the Upper Middle Rhine Valley near St. Goar, rising east of Urbar and north of Niederburg. Its summit holds the remains of a late 18th-century telegraph station and a 15.75-metre steel viewing tower, temporarily dismantled in August 2025 for safety checks.

The summit holds the remains of a telegraph station built in the late 18th century. It was one of 61 stations on a 700 km optical telegraph line between Berlin and Trier. The station relayed signals across the Hunsrück ridge.

The summit lies above the wine villages of Urbar and Niederburg, whose slopes face the Upper Middle Rhine Valley. The 2003 wooden tower was replaced in 2020 by a 15.75-metre steel tower carrying a replica of a Prussian wing telegraph, a nod to the optical signal station that once stood on the ridge.

The steel tower completed in 2020 stands 15.75 m tall, but it was temporarily dismantled in August 2025 after optical irregularities were found in its construction, so check before setting out whether it has been re-erected. The summit lies at 417 m east of Urbar and north of Niederburg, above the steep drop into the Upper Middle Rhine Valley. Paths are unlit and exposed to wind and rain; sturdy footwear and weatherproof clothing are useful.

The steel tower completed in 2020 carries a replica of a wing telegraph at its top, recalling the 61-station line between Berlin and Trier that ran some 700 km across this ridge. The tower itself stands 15.75 m tall and cost 135,000 euros; in August 2025 it was temporarily dismantled after optical irregularities were found in a check.