Let me take you on a photo trip where we shoot the sunrise at the Sühnekreuz (2), with a view of the Hambach Castle (1).

To the east, the Palatinate Forest ends with the Haardt. It’s a 30 km long low mountain range running in a north-south direction. As the Haardt descends towards the Rhine valley, you have a beautiful and wide view from above. And since the viewing direction is to the east, it is ideal for photos of the sunrise. One of the mountains that make up the Haardt is the Rittersberg (531m). On its south-eastern slope, there’s a huge cross called Sühnekreuz. There you have a fantastic view of the Hambach Castle.

Sühnekreuz

The 11.5 m high wooden cross was built in 1947 as a sign of “atonement for our guilt in front of God”, after the Second World War. The nearest town is Neustadt an der Weinstraße, from where it is only five km to the Hambach Castle. The castle itself has a far-reaching historical significance since it was in 1832 that the largest political event of that time was held here. About 30,000 people from different social classes met to demand national unity, freedom, and democracy.

Highlights of the surroundings

The area around the Sühnekreuz offers further sights, such as the Hambacher Bergstein, the restaurant Hohe Loog Haus and of course the Hambach Castle itself, which houses an exhibition on the history of German democracy.

Shooting Sunrise at the Sühnekreuz

The best season for photos at the Sühnekreuz is winter, because in December the sun rises exactly on a line above the castle. If the Rhine plain is foggy, the pictures are even more atmospheric. But also to any other time of the year you will be able to capture impressive images here.

If this post inspired you to own photographs, please leave a comment down below.

• Information about Hambach Castle: Wikipedia

Here you can download a detailed PDF description of this photo spot for printing. It contains a description of the location and tips on how to get there. The file contains both an English and a German version.