Section fortification Unterwindach
The small section fortification Unterwindach (district Unterwindach of the municipality Windach ) is about 600 m south of the chapel St. Ulrich ( Eresing ) on a wooded hill in the district of Landsberg am Lech in Upper Bavaria . The freely accessible ground monument could go back to one of the numerous early medieval ( Hungarian ) fortifications in this region.
description
From the St. Ulrich chapel near Eresing, a gently ascending forest path leads up to the "Burgleiten", a strikingly ascending mountain range north of the A 96 motorway. About 200 meters northeast of a spacious hilltop, a deeper, elongated spur becomes three to five meters long high transverse walls secured.
Towards the north, at a distance of approx. 15 meters, two section ramparts with ditches can be seen. The main wall runs about 30 meters against the edge of the slope, the pre-wall is only about 15 meters long.
About 60 meters to the south, another transverse wall is accompanied by an inner and a deep outer trench.
The eastern flank of the small fortifications seems to have been artificially separated in places. In the southwest a narrow berm runs under the edge of the slope , perhaps the remainder of a ditch, which, however, does not continue to the north. The embankment rises very steeply above the ditch. Here the south wall was evidently continued in an arc to the north, but the expansion stopped after about 20 meters.
The natural, approximately five to six meter high slope of the western flank was also stepped in terraces and was probably secured by palisades . A rim wall is not detectable here.
A more detailed examination of the ground monument is made difficult by the dense vegetation. The ramparts are cut through by a wide forest path, which probably marks the original accesses.
In the east of the castle plateau a pit can be seen, which perhaps marks the location of a wooden building, but could also be the result of modern material extraction.
The Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation lists the ground monument as an early medieval ring wall under monument number D-1-7932-0052. In fact, the Burgplatz is to be classified as a section fortification.
Time and purpose
Overall, the system makes an unfinished impression. This could indicate a Hungarian period. This is also supported by the hidden location at some distance from the next settlement. The expansion of comparable defense systems was occasionally stopped after the battle on the Lechfeld (955), when the Hungarian danger had been eliminated. A very similar section fortification is only a few kilometers northeast in the " Burgholz " near Türkenfeld . The staggered system of walls on the north side and the dimensions of the moats are further evidence that the Burgplatz dates back to the Hungarian period. Such double walls are usually interpreted as obstacles to the approach of riders, which were probably originally additionally secured by thorn hedges or tree fences.
Rather unusual is the small size of both typologically similar ramparts, which were only designed as pure village fortifications. The earthworks of a much larger early medieval castle can still be seen very well in the terrain north of Unterfinning . This ski jump would also have been suitable as a troop meeting place.
proof
- ↑ Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation: Entry ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
Coordinates: 48 ° 4 ′ 30.4 ″ N , 11 ° 1 ′ 19.6 ″ E