Archaeological hiking trail on the Eisenberg

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The archaeological hiking trail on Eisenberg is a circular route on a southern plateau on Eisenberg in Knüll near Neuenstein in Hesse .

history

The hiking trail was laid out in 1992 by the Neuenstein community with financial support from the EU , the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district , the Kirchheim community and the Neuenstein Forestry Office in Hesse.

Directions

The parking lot belonging to the hiking trail can be reached by car from the federal motorway 7 , exit Neuenstein towards Obergeis and then towards Raboldshausen on the country road. The parking lot is on a curve ( ⊙ ). The valley station of the ski lift can also be reached on foot from the car park.

Basic data

The 5750 meter long, wooded panorama hiking trail has heights of 450 to 540  m (difference: 90 m). It leads from the slopes of the Eisenberg to its neighboring mountain, the Holnsteinkopf , and back again.

The trail leads through mixed forests and undisturbed wildlife zone of the districts of Obergeis and Raboldshausen in the town of Neuenstein.

The circular route is marked with the hiking sign "Lintel with disc cross" from the church ruins of the medieval deserted Holnstein .

The circular route takes about one to one and a half hours to walk.

Archaeological cultural monuments

The hiking trail leads past six archaeological cultural monuments that document the early settlement and early industrial use of the area. If you follow the hiking trails, you can reach them in the following order.

Barrows

The barrows date from the Bronze Age (1600 to 1200 BC). They are close to the Obergeis-Raboldshausen road.

Meilerplatz

The remains of a charcoal pile date from the 17th to 18th centuries. The Meilerplatz is also the starting point of the hiking trail.

Mining

Iron mine

The iron mines were owned by the Hersfeld Imperial Abbey . The iron ore occurs as pebble ore , lies just below the surface of the earth and was mined on the Eisenberg between 1361 and 1362. The first documentary mention comes from the year 1459 and names this as the dismantling on the Isenburg and Kredenberge . The late medieval iron mine dates from the 15th century. Furthermore, iron mining is mentioned in old writings in 1467 and 1497. Pings , irregular heaps and traces of mining shafts are still visible from the operating time . The floor ore obtained was melted in so-called forest smithies in the valleys. The water power from the Kisselbach , Erzebach and Geisbach streams was used for the necessary blow molding. In 1459 the forest smithy Obergeis was mentioned as Waldsmydde zcu Geyse . Slag remains on the smelting site are a reminder of this use. Iron mining was finally stopped around 1530.

Alum mine

In 1595 an alum plant was set up in the area of ​​the former iron mine , which lasted until 1705 with an interruption in the Thirty Years War . Alum was used as a raw material for tanneries , dye works and paper making . The richly decorated tombstone of the alum master Johann Nolden from 1688 in Obergeis reminds of this time. The alum located under the basalt was removed in shafts. The conveyance was done manually by reel workers . The pit water was seeped into mining fields. The chemical processing of the alum took place at the alum mine. The alum earth was roasted and then prepared for boiling in the caustic basin with the addition of urine . After processing in the clarifier, the lye came to evaporate in copper or lead pans that were heated by boiling ovens. Eventually the alum salt crystallized out. By-products were pebbles and iron vitriol .

In the 19th century, attempts were made to extract brown coal at the same location. However, the attempts were unsuccessful. Only the traces of test shafts of brown coal mining have survived.

Tumulus on the forest meadow

The prehistoric Neolithic barrow dates from between 1600 and 1200 BC. It is a uniform, round mound of earth twelve meters in diameter. In the middle there is a depression caused by an earlier robbery excavation. The barrow is located immediately to the west of the so-called "Long Meadow", a large grazing area for game.

Stone cross

The late medieval stone cross found in 1936 during road works is from the 14th to 15th centuries.

Holnstein desert

The field terraces and oven hills in the area of ​​the "Long Meadow" are remnants of the Holnstein village, which was abandoned around 1400 .

Church ruin

In the forest a little east of the former location - immediately to the north next to a forest management path that crosses the "Lange Wiese" and comes up to the west from Eisenbergstrasse (Kreisstrasse 34) - are the foundations of a chapel, which were uncovered during excavations in 1936 and re-mortared in 1999, the so-called " Holstein Chapel ”( ⊙ ).

Sports facilities

  • hike
  • To run
  • Walking
  • Mountain biking
  • Classic cross-country skiing on groomed trails

literature

  • Klaus Sippel: Mine relics and the deserted Holnstein in the eastern Knüllvorland . Booklet accompanying the archaeological hiking trail on Eisenberg in the community of Neuenstein, Archaeological Monuments in Hesse, No. 110. Ed .: Office for Monument Preservation in Hesse, Wiesbaden, 1993, ISBN 3-89822-110-5