In the Westerwald dialect Köppel is the general name for a hill or mountain, possibly related to the Alemannic word Kapf meaning a mountain or hill with a good view. It probably goes back to the original Frankish term for high points in the terrain and means "small head".[2]
Geography
Location
The Köppel is located within the Nassau Nature Park. Its summit is on the boundary between the parish of Dernbach, whose village is 4 km to the northeast, and the borough of Montabaur, whose town is 5.7 km to the east. The majority of the summit region is on the Dernbach side. To the west-southwest, the terrain transitions to the hill of Alarmstange, 1.5 km away.
On the north flank of the hill rises the Masselbach; on the northeast side, the Schabebornbach and Waldbach. The Biebrichsbach, a headstream of the Stadtbach which rises on the Alarmstange, flows past to the south. The headstreams of the Brexbach, the Vorderste Bach and Hinterste Bach, rise to the west-northwest and northwest of the summit.
On the summit region of the Köppel in the parish of Dernbach is the Köppel viewing tower which was built from 1964 to 1966[4] from reinforced concrete and which is 37.48 m[4] high. It has a covered viewing platform 28.8 metres above the ground[5] offering views over the Westerwald and the volcanoes in the Pellenz and as far as the Eifel, Taunus and Hunsrück. It has transmitters for the D2 mobile network. In the vicinity of the tower is a restaurant.
