The Totenkopf is a hill 502.6 m above sea level (NHN),[1] on the Brilon Heights in the counties of Hochsauerlandkreis and Paderborn, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The northern boundary of the Diemelsee Nature Park runs over the densely wooded summit of the Totenkopf.

On its northern hillside, and thus on the side on which Bleiwäsche lies a few kilometres away, is the highest point (498 m) in the region of Ostwestfalen-Lippe and the county of Paderborn.

[2] The highest hills in the vicinity of the Totenkopf, which are actually its spurs, are the Klettenberg (484.0 m; to the northeast), the Brülingskopf (437.0 m; to the southeast), the Brautlicht (498.7 m; to the southwest) and the Liebfrauenberg (ca.

So while the waters of the Großen Aa and Kleine Aa, which are impounded a few kilometers north of the hill by the Aabach Dam to form the Aabach Reservoir, drain via the Aabach, Afte, Alme and Lippe in a predominantly northwesterly direction into the Rhine, the shorter streams that rise south of the Totenkopf drain via the Hoppecke and Diemel, or from the Momeke and Dütlingsbach straight into the Diemel, in a mainly northeasterly direction into the Weser.