THUEINGIA AND THE HAEZ. 



253 



miles. There are no very elevated summits, for the loftiest among them, the Gross 

 Beerberg, attains only a height of 3,228 feet.* On the other hand, there are no 

 deep depressions, and the contour presented by the top of the range is feebly 

 undulating. The sedimentary strata, however, which form the slopes of the 

 range, are traversed by deep gorges, and present bold cliffs towards the plain. 



It is less difficult to walk along the crest of the Thuringian Forest than over its 

 foot-hills, and nothing would have been easier than to construct a carriage 

 road along it. Indeed, a rude road of mysterious origin, now known as tlie Renn- 

 steig,t runs over the top of the mountains, forming in many instances a political 

 boundary. This Eennsteig is the true line of separation between Franconia 



Fig. 145. — The Eennsteig. 

 Scale 1 : 420,000. 



5 Miles. 



and Thuringia properly so called — between Southern and Northern Germany. 

 Everything differs on the two slopes of the range — dialects and customs, no less 

 than national dishes, clothing, and the style of the houses. This ancient boundary 

 is probably referred to in a letter which Pope Gregory III. addressed to the 

 princes of Germany in 738, "Walking along it, we occasionally obtain a glimpse 

 into the valleys which lead down to the plain, and a sight of the ancient castles 

 crowning the promontories jutting out towards it. Carriage roads now facilitate 



* Other summits are, the Schneekopf, 3,208 feet, and the Insclbcrg, 2,998 feet. The mean height 

 of the chain is 2,520 feet; that of the plateau at its base is 1,150 feet 

 t A corruption, probably, of Eainsteg ; that is, boundary path. 



