Golden path

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Goldener Steig , also Guldene Straß or Goldenerpfad ( Czech : Zlatá stezka ) refers to one or more trade routes formed from mule tracks that connected Bohemia with the Danube in the Middle Ages . The low mountain range of the Bohemian Forest or Bavarian Forest had to be crossed on the way to Passau and the low mountain range of the Bohemian Forest on the way to Linz .

history

An indirect first mention can be found in a document from 1010. A falsified document from the Vyšehrad monastery near Prague , dated 1088, mentions a trade route from Prachatice to Passau, which is known today as the "Goldener Steig".

On the Gold Trail were first by so-called mule trains with their pack animals later by horse and cart, salt (from Reichenhall , from about 1200 from Hallein in Salzburg and Schellenberg in Berchtesgaden ) and other merchandise from the ports of the Danube in Linz, Passau or Vilshofen brought north into Bohemian. The return freight consisted mainly of grain from Bohemia.

In the early Middle Ages , the salt works in Reichenhall were the most efficient in the Eastern Alps. It is assumed that the Reichenhaller salt destined for Bohemia was originally transported by water via Salzach and Inn to Passau and further down the Danube to Linz. From there it went over the old trade route to Krumau and Budweis . After the warlike incursions of the Hungarians into what was then the east of the Duchy of Baiern (old spelling; "Bavaria" with Y was only used in the 19th century) in the 10th century, a less dangerous route was sought directly from Passau to Prachatitz in Bohemia. This was indirectly mentioned in a document in 1010 and later called "Goldener Steig" from the 16th century. In the later Middle Ages from around 1198, the Hallein saltworks took over the market leadership in salt production. The most important sales channels to Bohemia were via the Goldener Steig and the Linz – Freistadt –Budweis trade route . In 1312, the Winterberger Weg , which branched off from the Steig to Prachatitz before Waldkirchen , was first mentioned in a document. Before 1356 a junction was made to Bergreichenstein , where a rich gold mine was located, so that from then on the Goldene Steig consisted of three strands. The golden path experienced its heyday in the 16th century after it had become an international trade route at the end of the 14th century.

In 1526 the rule of the Habsburgs began in Bohemia . With the drastic increase in import duties , they tried to force Hallein salt out of the Bohemian market. Bohemia was to be supplied with salt from the Habsburg saltworks in the Salzkammergut alone. This was transported over the Traun to Linz and further over the Freistädter route to Budweis. The 1706 ban on the import of salt from Passau and Bavaria from the rule of the Wittelsbach rulers and the sovereignty of the Salzburg archbishops meant the end of the Goldener Steig. It lost more and more importance, only the way to Winterberg was expanded into a driveway in the 18th century.

Routes

Linz

The later most important route of the Goldener Steig with the fewest inclines was the Linzer Steig from Linz ( Upper Austria ) via Freistadt or to the Vltava knee near Vyšší Brod (Hohenfurth). Starting in 1827, the first railway line on the European continent, the horse-drawn railway Linz – Budweis, was built along the route via Freistadt from Linz to České Budějovice (Budweis) . From 1873, large parts of the railway line had to be re-routed to switch to steam operation . There has been a hiking trail since the 1990s that uses parts of the original railway line and also passes historic bridges and other legacies of the horse-drawn railway elsewhere.

Passau

Goldener Steig - trade routes from Passau to Bohemia

From the former bishopric of Passau , three paths led into Bohemian, and over the centuries there were also connecting paths between the individual paths.

Prachatitzer Steig

The lower Goldene Steig or the Prachatitzer Weg is the oldest route and leads from the Bruckmühle near Röhrnbach via Waldkirchen , Schiefweg , Böhmzwiesel , Fürholz , Grainet and Bischofsreut to the state border. On the Czech side, it continues as the yellow-marked Golden Salt Trail via the Bohemian Tubes (České Žleby), Säumerbrücke and Wallern (Volary) to Prachatitz (Prachatice). Waldkirchen was a day's journey from Passau and the salt had to be deposited there, that is, the muleers had to spend the night there. Because of the importance of Waldkirchen, the place was provided with a ring wall by the Passau prince-bishop. Parts of it can still be seen today.

Winterberger Steig

The middle Goldene Steig or the Winterberger Steig; the former byway, which left the Prachatitzer Weg between Deching and Ernsting before Röhrnbach, runs via Hauzenberg , Wotzmannsreut , Reut , Promau , Winkelbrunn , Hinterschmiding and Herzogsreut to Philippsreut to the state border. Hinterschmiding was a toll station, a smithy and the last stop in Passau, the next stop in Bohemia was Obermoldau as the last stop before the destination, the medieval town of Winterberg (Czech: Vimperk).

Bergreichsteiner Steig

The upper Goldene Steig or the Bergreichensteiner Weg ; the former byway, which left the Prachatitzer Weg at Vendelsberg and Salzgattern and led via Bruckmühl , Röhrnbach , Rumpenstadl , Harsdorf , Solla , Freyung , Kreuzberg and Mauth to the border crossing between Finsterau and Buchwald (Bučina). Via the fields ( Aussergefild (Kvilda) and Innergefild (Horská Kvilda)) we went on to Bergreichstein, which is important for gold mining .

Gulden Stras

Well in Grafenau, as a reminder of the importance of long-distance trade

From the Duchy of Baiern, the former competitive route, the Gulden Stras (sometimes also called Butterstraß), led from the Bavarian Schärding , where the ships unloaded from the Bavarian salt pans, or from Vilshofen to Bergreichenstein (Czech Kašperské Hory) since the 14th century . This led from Vilshofen, where the Danube was crossed, via Albersdorf , Reitern , Garham to Eging am See , from there via Kneisting, Schlinding, Gingharting and Entschenreuth to Hals, not far from the Saldenburg , which protects the road . From there, the route continued via Gumpenreit, Eberhardsreuth and Gehmannsberg to the town of Grafenau , which owed its town charter acquired in 1376 to the location on this trade route. From there it went to Draxlschlag not far from the St. Oswald Monastery. Here the ascent to Lusen began, past Guglöd to Waldhäuser , where the border to Bohemia was crossed below the summit at the blue columns. There was a high court here. For this purpose, a gallows was erected here on both the Bavarian and the Bohemian side to carry out death sentences. From there it went via Mader ( Modrava ) and Innergefild ( Horská Kvilda ) to Bergreichenstein. At the beginning of the modern era , the path seems to be deserted and dilapidated, probably due to the drastic decline in traffic due to border disputes and Hussite storms . Around 1560, the mayors of Vilshofen and Grafenau then made a request to Duke Albrecht V of Baiern to restore the old street. The negotiations were tough. And it wasn't until 1591 that Vilshofen received its first bridge over the Danube. When, in the middle of the 16th century, the salt transport was increasingly diverted from the main paths of the Goldener Steige to the side paths and in 1568 the Duke of Baiern built his own salt barn near the old Augustinian monastery of St. Nikola at the gates of Passau in order to bypass the Hochstift Passau , conflicts arose with Passau. Through a secret contract with the Archbishop of Salzburg, Duke Wilhelm V von Baiern received the trade monopoly for salt from Hallein in 1594 and then gradually doubled the price of salt, which he transported in large quantities on the Gulden Straß to Bohemia. The Passau residents tried to defend themselves against this before the Reich Chamber of Commerce and also took the Bavarian salt and horses from all mules who passed through the compartment. Ultimately, on October 27, 1608, an agreement was reached with the Munich Treaty that Bavaria would now deliver the salt to Passau at a fixed price, while Passau guaranteed that it would only buy from Bavaria. The Gulden Straß had to be given up and became a "forbidden street" for salt merchants.

Säumer nowadays

Säumerfest

In the town of Grafenau and in the municipality of Grainet , annual mule festivals are a reminder of earlier trade. In Grafenau, mule trains are partially simulated all the way to the partner cities of Schärding in Austria and Kašperské Hory (Bergreichenstein) in the Czech Republic . The Graineter and Prachatitz Säumer (Säumerverein Grainet) also run haulage trains from Passau to Prachatitz every year.

Town twinning

After the fall of the Iron Curtain , new town partnerships developed between many of the towns connected by these trade routes , such as Freyung with Vimperk, Waldkirchen and Grainet with Prachatice, Waldkirchen with Volary, Grafenau with Kašperské Hory, Freistadt with Kaplice or Passau with České Budějovice.

Road courses

The old trade routes made a major contribution to the development of this rural area and can still be seen today on individual streets. The most important remaining connection is today's German B 12 and the adjacent Czech Silnice I / 4 , which arose from the route from Passau to Winterberg.

Hiking trails

The various paths of the Golden Steige are signposted as hiking trails. The historical course was not always taken into account. The Gulden Strass is signposted as a hiking trail between Grafenau and Waldhäuser . It is not possible to cross the border at the former "An den Blaue Säulen" border crossing below the Lusens for nature conservation reasons. The communities on both sides of the border are trying to reopen this path. With a few exceptions, this did not come about in 2006 because of the feared impact on the local grouse population.

Three themed hiking trails in former Passau territory, designated since 1982, all start at the Bruckmühle near Röhrnbach. Originally, the two sidewalks branched off at other locations near the main path. In 2010, the markings on the themed hiking trails were renewed as part of the 1000th anniversary of the Goldener Steig. On the Czech side, the themed hiking trails continue to the respective destinations with yellow markings.

Museum "Goldener Steig"

The “Goldener Steig” museum in Waldkirchen shows the importance of this trade route as an economic and cultural link between the two regions in five areas.

See also

literature

  • Rupert Berndl: Goldener Steig lifeline - a medieval trade route celebrates its anniversary. SüdOst Verlag, Waldkirchen 2010, ISBN 978-3-89682-191-1 .
  • Paul Praxl : The Golden Steig. Morsak-Verlag, Grafenau 1993, ISBN 978-3-87553-420-7 .
  • Paul Praxl: The Prachatitz estate in Wyschehrad. In: East Bavarian border marks. Passauer Jahrbuch für Geschichte, Kunst und Volkskunde 15, Passau 1973.
  • Paul Praxl: On the history of the Golden Steige. A research report. In: Negotiations of the Historical Association for Lower Bavaria. 97, Landshut 1971.
  • Paul Praxl: Salt trade and mule traffic. 2nd edition, Waldkirchen 1989.
  • Paul Praxl: Goldener Steig. From the mule track to the region. In: Goldener Steig cultural region. Munich 1995, ISBN 3-926303-45-X .
  • Heinz Dopsch (arrangement): Salt. Catalog for the Salzburg State Exhibition. Hallein, Pernerinsel, Celtic Museum, April 30 to October 30, 1994, Salzburg 1994.
  • Salt makes history. Catalog for the Bavarian State Exhibition 1995. House of Bavarian History.
  • Ways of salt. Cultural-historical hiking guide. House of Bavarian History, 1995.
  • Frantisek Kubu, Petr Zavrel: "The Golden Path". Historical and archaeological research on an important trade route. Volume 1: The route from Prachatitz to the state border, Association for East Bavarian Homeland Research, Passau 2001.
  • Andreas Hirsch: Reichenhaller Salt for Bohemia. The "Goldene Steig" was mentioned for the first time 1000 years ago. In: Heimatblätter. Supplement from “Reichenhaller Tagblatt” and “Freilassinger Anzeiger”. Volume 78, No. 2, February 13, 2010 ( PDF; 3.3 MB ).

Movie

  • Salt. The way of the white gold. 1000 years of the golden path. Documentary, Germany, 2010, 60 min., Camera: Josef Sinzinger, editor: Günther Rauch, production: Heimat-Fernsehen 1, Sinzinger Film, film data from ARD .

Web links

Commons : Zlatá stezka (Bohemian Forest)  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hirsch 2010, p. 3.