Ith - Sport and Tourism

Sport and Tourism

The Ith is a popular destination especially for hikers, climbers and glider pilots. The ridgeway draws many walkers especially in the springtime, when trees and flowers are blossoming, due to the distinctive stands of Wood Anemone and Bulbous Corydalis. There are several well-signed footpaths on the Ith heights. The section from Bisperode to Holzen of European walking route E11 runs along the crest of the Ith.

There are a large number of striking rock formations (Klippen) along the Ith ridge, some of which may be used for climbing. These include the Lüerdissener Klippen that are up to 30 m high. As a result, the Ith is the busiest climbing area in the state of Lower Saxony. Almost all the rocks are named; examples include the Adam und Eva, the Kamel, the Teufelsküche ("Devil's Kitchen"), the Mönchstein ("Monk's Rock"), the Krötenkopf ("Frog's Head"), and the Garwindelstein.

At the southern end of the ridge, north of the parish of Holzen – reached over the Holzen Pass (B 240) – lies below the 395 m high Rothenstein the Ithwiesen Glider Airfield used by the aviation sports club of Ithwiesen. There has been an airfield on the crest of the Ith since the early 1930s. In 1942 the Nazi leadership established the Ith Reichs Glider School in Holzen-Ith. Many pilots received their basic flying training there until the end of the war. After the war ended British occupation forces used the terrain as a "Rest Centre", a type of recreation centre. In 1949 the AHQ Gliding Club, to which up to 30 active pilots in the RAF belonged, took over training on the site. In 1971 the first community service school in Germany was established here, the Zivildienstschule I. The present glider airfield is located somewhat south east of the original one and no longer uses the old buildings. On 8 June 1979 a Bundeswehr helicopter of the Alouette II type crashed on landing on the Ith airfield. The pilot from the 12th Army Aviation Squadron (Heeresfliegerstaffel 12) and two accompanying soldiers of the 352nd Panzergrenadier Battalion (Panzergrenadierbataillon 352) were killed. Since 8 June 1987 there has been a monument on the Ith in their memory.

On the Ith, but not at the top, there are two other glider airfields: Hellenhagen Airfield in Halle-Bremke and Ith-West Airfield in Bisperode.