The Taunus is a mountain chain in Hesse, Germany. It is bounded by the river valleys of Rhine, Main and Lahn. On the opposite side of the Rhine the mountains are continued by the Hunsrück.
The highest peak is the Großer Feldberg (880 m above sea level), followed by the Kleiner Feldberg and the Altkönig (798 m) with the remains of a late Iron Age hill fort (La-Tène A, ca. 400 BC) near the summit.
The Roman Limes was built across the Taunus. The Saalburg , a restored Roman castellum, now houses a museum. After the fall of the Limes 259/260 AD the Alamanni settled here. For this reason there are some Alemannic cemeteries in the southern foothills of the Taunus (Eschborn). The area became Frankish after the Battle of Tolbiac.
For the Taunus automobile, see Ford Taunus.
