Spitzberg - Ödenburg

Spitzberg - Ödenburg is a nature reserve in Germany, a hill of steep southern slopes. Look up, and lines of stone step across the hillside in neat rows. People cut those terraces for vines, a trade that reaches back to the Middle Ages.

When winegrowing faded, forest and scrub crept back over the terraces. Semi-dry grassland fills the gaps, home to rare plants that love warmth and sun. Wild garlic pushes wiry stems through the grass, feral vines climb the walls, and gooseberries linger. Stands of black locust shade stretches of the slope between the open patches. Iris germanica lifts purple flowers into the light.

Old fruit trees still line the woodland edge. People keep them as meadow orchards, and endangered species find shelter among the branches. Higher up, the hill guards its quietest story: the vanished Ödenburg castle. It marked the border between powerful territories until its abandonment in the early 14th century. All that remains is a shrub-covered mound with a weathered memorial stone, easy to miss among the trees.