Karlstein - Our Basecamp
Coordinates	N 50° 02,569' E 009° 02,092' (our house)
Height	113,0 m over sea level
Location	Karlstein is located at the north west border of a natural region which is called Spessart. Our village
	is about 15 km north west of the district town Aschaffenburg. The lower frankonian village, which was
	founded in 1974 after a conclusion of the two independend villages Dettingen and Großwelzheim. The
	village has about 16.000 citizen. Because the village is located at the eastern border of one of the
	economic centers of Germany, which is called Rhein-Main-Area, the connection to Frankfurt and few other
	cities in this area are quite good. In the same way to those connections, you will find here an ideal place
	for visiting countryside places, like go cycling or hiking at Spessart or do paddling on the river Main.
	More informations, like details about the villages history, you can find here:
	- Municipal of Karlsteins (German only)
	- Homepage of Nature Park Spessart (German only)
Climate	The climate is moderate, a typical middle europe climate with oceanic based influences. Main wind direction
	is west. Because Karlstein is located in the Main valley the climate too is a bit more warm than at other parts
	in Bavaria. Because of that Aschaffenburg is called the bavarian Nice. below the climate data from the
	german weather service in Offenbach am Main (values are from the 80th):
	(1) Middle annual temperature in ° Celsius
	Mainvalley (Kahl 116 m over sea): 9,0
	Valleys at about 200 m over sea: 8,5
	Hills above of 400 m over sea: 8,0
	(2) Middle temperature movements in ° Celsius
	Mainvalley (Kahl 116 m over sea): 18,3
	Hills at about 330 m over sea: 17,7
	(3) Middle annual rain amounts in mm
	Mainvalley (Kahl 116 m over sea): 680
	Hills at 330 m over sea: 820
	(4) Mid date of the first and the last frost
	Mainvalley (Kahl 116 m over sea): 8. May, 15. October
	Hills arround 330 m over sea: End April, Mid Oktober
Current Weather	Weather at Karlstein
Geology	-- Lower Main Valley --
	In the area of the Lower Main Valley, those are the regions close to the river Main, you can find the following
	geological units:
	(a) Pleistocene aeolian sands and dune sands
	(b) Pleistocene terasse brashs
	(c) Redlying (german: Rotliegendes, Perm)
	(d) Zechstone (german: Zechstein, Perm)
	(a) Pleistocene aeolian sands and dune sands
	The aeolian sand has, specially northern and southern of the river Kahl a big extension. During Quaternary a
	lot of sands was blowing out of the terasse brashs and accumulated at the so called lower terasse (german:
	Niederterasse). Close to the town Alzenau, specially northern of the town, the sand carpet reach far until
	the higher areas and cover parts of the mid terasses (german: Mittelterasse) and of the so called Rothen-
	Berg-Terasses. Zechstone and Redlyings are enframed as well and partly covered too. At many places on
	top of that you will find dune sands.
	(b) Pleistocene terasse brashs
	Pleistocene terasse brashs you can find in the region eastwards of the river Main in large areas. But most of
	them are covered with big amounts of the aeolian sands.
	(c) Redlying
	At the northern border of the area of the town Alzenau there is a big area or Redlying located. This extension
	is a young palaeozoic sedimentation, consitent of Quarz, Quarzit and Limonit. The redlying stones are light
	red until violet colored and can be identified with that colors easyly. This colors come partly from the
	climate during sedimentation time, partly from the diagnestic transforms. The ceiling of this sediments is
	partly unclored. Such generations are called "greylyings", but can be found only in less parts. The
	redlyings are, with only few exceptions, covered with the aeolic sands.
	(d) Zechstone
	The sediments of the Zechstone you can see at some small places at the border of Spessart. It is shown as
	Zechstonedolomit or as a Zechstonepsephite. Those sources are very often covered by aeolian Sandceilings.
	The informations above I took during my job training at the formarly Forest Office Aschaffenburg from the
	so called "Standortoperat" of the City Alzenau in Lower Franconia and was expanded by informations of the
	geological Map, Map 5920, with descriptions
	-- Spessart - Odenwald --
	Spessart and Odenwald are part of, on the border of the so called lifting region of the Rhein Valley, the
	northern saxonian-thuringaen Hillzone (Paleozoikum). The area is, because of that, from a geolocial
	perspective, one of the oldest regions in bavaria. The shown part of the surface is, like the name shows,
	the cristal, metamorphic basic stone underground and will be separated to the following stone zones by
	authors like BÜCKING (1892):
	(a) Quarzit - Glimmerslade - Series
	(b) Zone of staurolith containing Paragneis
	(c) Zone of corny - fibered Muscovit - Biotit - Gneis
	(d) Glimmerslade - Biotitgneis - Complex
	(e) Corny - striped Paragneisseries
	(f) Diorit (Quarzdiorit) - Granodiorit - Complex
	(g) Gneises at the Northwest - Prespessart
	In the closer surrounding of Karlstein you will find just the following stone zones, which will be explained
	more in Detail now. (The declarations are from the geological Map, Page 5920 Alzenau i. Ufr from
	OKRUSCH, STREIT und WEINELT):
	(b) Zone of staurolith containing Paragneis
	(c) Zone of corny - fibred Muscovit - Biotit - Gneis
	(b) Zone of staurolith containing Paragneis
	All metamorph stones in the discussed area are sorted in to the varistic Orogenesis. After its composition
	the Staurolithgneis consists of Plagioklas, Silicium, Biotit and Muscovit as main parts, Staurolith and
	Granat as characteristic side parts. It is a common thesis that the stone before metamorphosis was a
	chalkpoor, pelitical (loose stones of poor and plotter's clay fraction) Sediment, like plotters clay.
	The metamorphosis of the discussed Gneis has mainly the character of a kinetic Recristallisation
	Metamorphosis (isochemical run, means without chemical changes).
	The geographical deviation of this zone in the area includes the area from the border of the city forest
	Alzenau-Hörstein in the northwest, so the village forests of Karlstein, Rückersbach and Kleinostheim
	until Steinbachvalley in the south.
	(c) Zone of corny - fibered Muscovit - Biotit - Gneis
	By timeline of the discussed area it must ranked prevaristic. The naming Gneis and most found one too is a
	middle corny fibred Gneis with Kalifeldspat, Plagioklas, Silicium, Biotit and Muscovit as Mainparts.
	Because there are still rests of the Granit fabric are shown, this Gneis is nearly save a mesozonic minted,
	passive formed Granit.
	Geographical the zone comes after the area we described before at its southern borderline. This means it is
	the area surround a bit southern from the village Glattbach and parallel to the Steinbachvalley. Local it can
	be found at the area surround of the hill Plattenberg (Karlstein) and eastwards of the so called Heißer Ackerhof.
	Further there are at the so called Spessartborderbreak, the change over of the both growing areas (those are
	vegatational and geolocial parted regions) in small parts, often just as a relict, the following geological units
	we want describe only because of getting a complete overview, but not because they are important for the
	area.
	(a) Sedimentations of the Palaeozoikum
	(b) Sedimentations of the Kaenozoikum
	(a) Sedimentations of the Palaeozoikum
	The whole Perm sedimentations who are described or shown in the map, so Redlying and Zechstone, are
	shown very seldom only as alteration relict. Because of that it must not be described more in detail.
	(b) Sedimentations of the Kaenozoikums (here loam)
	Loam is only shown in few parts who reach in the Spessartborderbreak like fingers.
Soils and their types	Because the author had no other data, than the ones he took during his forest job training,
	this describtions are based on the so called Location description (Standortsoperat) of the city
	Alzenau i. Ufr. and few soil samples he took to that time at the forest of the village Karlstein am Main.
	-- Lower Main Valley --
	The soils you can see in this area are most time podsolbased Brown Soils until really Podsols with a
	oecological wet level from try until moderate try until moderate fresh. As trophic level oligotroph until
	mesotroph will be reached. At the few locations which reach to the lower Main Valley you can find too
	Pseudogley-Brown Soils or Gleys with a oecolocial wet level of changing wet over fresh up to wet are
	from the trophic level "only" mesotroph.
	-- Basement Rock Spessart --
	In this area you will find nearly invariably Brown Soils consisting of more or less sandy mud with an
	oecological wet level of moderate fresh. Because they are rich of minerals from the alteration process of
	the based stones I classify this Soils to a mesotroph (+) trophic level. At the tops of the hills there are
	partly Ranker, where the wet level might be a bit more bad and the trophic level might be a bit more bad too,
	what is shown with bad growing of the beeches there.
	At the few loam locations on the break you will find few Parabrown Soils with wet and trophic levels like the
	locations with Brown Soils.
Flora	-- Lower Main Valley --
	1. Natural Forest Communities
	On the poor sand soils of the lower Main Valley, would, depending on the water household and geology, grow
	beech-/oakforests (mostly with mountain oak), beech forests, birch-/oakforests, beech-/oakforests (mostly
	with common oaks), common oak-/hornbeam forests and beech-/birch-/common oak forests.
	Parts at the so called Stift Striet and at the private forest Emmerichshofen let you see that formarly forests.
	2. Current Forest Communities
	Today at lover Main valley pine trees are the leading trees. Often you will find pure pine tree forest. Mixed
	forests with pine tree and beech (pine trees are the upper part of those forests and beech grow just beside)
	you can find as well.
	3. Forest historical reasons of this Communities
	The forests in region lower Main valley was owned in the 17th century by the so called Freigerichter villages.
	The citizens owned Woodrights and rights for pasture lands (written down in Forest regulations).
	Those historical forests consist nearly complete of oak- and beech forests.
	Because of to much lumber and pasture, because of the 30 year war, those forests was fully destroyed and
	partly transfered to fields.
	By removing and destroying of the humid surface of the forest soil, the sands was blown away and the fields
	beside was destroyed too.
	With raising complaints about the situation of the forest, begin of the 19th century first plants was set to
	recultivate the destroyed forests. At the begin additional to the pine trees Acacias, Willows and Poplars was
	planted. Because this hardwood was used to feed animals of the ones who had pasture rights more and
	more crops of pine trees was brought out.
	Result are the pine trees you see at lower Main region. But meanwhile the forest officers do and did a good
	job, so slowly you see much more hardwood in that forests.
	-- Basement Rock Spessart --
	1. Natural Forest Communities
	On the Silicium and Gneissoils, and on the loam covered soils of the Hahnenkamm region as well, would
	grow, depending on the water household and geology, mountain oak tree-/beech forests, pure beech forests,
	beech-/oakforests (mainly with common oak) with pass over to common oak tree/hornbeam forests, beech-/
	hardwood forests (with ash trees and maple trees) and ash tree/elder tree forests.
	2. Current Forest Community
	The current Forest Community is more or less like the natural one. Only in the parts which was reachable
	very good for humans (in the river valleys, lower parts with less declination) you will find forests with Larch,
	Pine trees (often with beech) and common spuces and douglas fin mixtures.
	3. Forest historical reasons of this Communities
	The forests at the Hahnenkamm region was partly owned by the Freigerichter villages too. Because they was
	more far away from the villages and because of there strong declinations they was not so intersting for
	human use.
	But you will see here forest destroying as well. After the 30 year war and the intensive growing of the people
	more and more wood was needed and beeches and oaks cannot recover that fast, so more pine trees and
	common spuces was planted.
	On some parts you can see the using of leaves for bring to the staples of the people to this time.
Fauna	Sorry, but our region has from a faunistic perspective nothing special. The animals here are typical
	for middle european areas. Biggest mammels are the wild pig and the red buck with all the typical problems
	of cultivated landscapes. But there are some projects, like in other parts of germany too, who take care
	that gone animals can come back to the regions they live before. A good example for that is the repatriation
	of the european wild cat. At the deeper Spessart regions you can find meanwhile hints that the cat comes
	back. A further animal which was not seen in our region, but for sure which will be a part of our nature
	soon again, will be the wolve.
	Finally you will find in our region some animals which came from other countries, like the Racoon. As you
	can see, best is, walk a little bit through our fields and forests and look for the animals.
Other interesting places	What should I tell you more about our really intersting landscape,
surround Karlstein	villages and towns. Maybe you will discover more by yourself. Examples are the Pompejanum in our district
	capitol Aschaffenburg, the Stiftbasilica, one of the prettiest castles of the Renaissance, the castle
	Johannisburg. For the ones who are not so interested with villages and towns maybe hike a bit through
	our grape hills and enjoy a glas of wine.
	But below we will post here some guides for cayaking, hiking, roller blading and so on. Have fun and enjoy.
Some pics from our house and the changes, which happened
	Link to the pictures