Birxgraben

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Birxgraben
Data
location Thuringia , Hessen , Germany
River system Weser
Drain over Ulster (Werra)  → Werra  → Weser  → North Sea
source in the Rhön between Birx and Schwarzer Moor
Source height approx.  780  m above sea level NHN
muzzle at Seiferts in the Ulster coordinates: 50 ° 31 '33 "  N , 10 ° 0' 43"  E 50 ° 31 '33 "  N , 10 ° 0' 43"  E
Mouth height 512  m above sea level NHN
Height difference approx. 268 m
Bottom slope approx. 64 ‰
length 4.2 km
Catchment area 6.3 km²

The Birxgraben is a brook, which at 780  m above sea level. NHN rises between Birx and Schwarzer Moor and the Ulster flows to the right. The ditch is considered a biotope connection element between Ulstertal and Hochrhön and has therefore been protected as a natural monument since 1987.

geography

The Birxgraben rises in the Long Rhön and was shaped by several extreme weather events. So it has sunk massively into the underground. A downpour on July 26, 1834 and a sudden thaw in connection with heavy rain on February 9, 1897 are reported to have moved earth and rock. In Seiferts the brook crossed the Götzenhof – Wüstensachsen railway on a concrete bridge . The cut into the site has now been filled. After crossing the village of Seiferts, the stream flows into the Ulster.

flora

The flora is characterized by a grove-alder-alluvial forest with black alder, ash, sycamore maple and wild cherry as well as hazelnut, black elder, sloe and hawthorn.

Nature trail

In 1979/80 the district of Fulda created a nature trail along the lower part of the Birxgraben, which ends at the resting place on the Oberländer Hute. Four bridges between eight and 17 meters in length cross the water. A hiking car park is located above Seiferts in the direction of Fladungen . The bridges were renewed in 2003 at a cost of 15,000 euros.

Birxmühle

The Birxmühle was one of the oldest and the highest of the mills in the Rhön. It was 700 meters above sea level on the border between Thuringia and Hesse . Therefore the mill became a transshipment point for smuggling. The property also included a house and a barn. Due to the proximity to the border, the owner was expropriated on October 3, 1961 . At 8:20 a.m., customs and the Federal Border Guard noticed truck trains. Furniture was loaded under strong guard and the Leutbecher family, the old miller with his wife, the young miller with his wife and two children, were forcibly relocated to the Gotha district. In the following year the building was razed. Only remnants of the foundation walls, the mill ditch, the millstone and remnants of the water wheel indicate the location. Opposite the mill, on the Hessian side of the border, a stone cross reminds of a murder committed there centuries ago.

literature

  • Gerhard Schätzlein: hiking guide Friedensweg . Ed .: Association of citizens for gentle tourism in Hermannsfeld eV Hermannsfeld 2001. Information on the Birxmühle
  • HH Hadanczick: The Birxmühle, a victim of the border fortifications . In: Rhönklub (Ed.): Rhönwacht . 1994, ISSN  0936-1723 , pp. 40 . Contribution to the mill in the Rhönwacht

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Thuringian State Institute for the Environment (ed.): Area and water code index and map. Jena 1998; 26 pp.
  2. ↑ Length by measuring the geopath (kmz, 76 kB)
  3. ↑ a b c d http://osthessen-news.de/n6668/rh-n-vier-br-cken-im-bereich-des-naturpfads-birxgraben-erneuert.html Osthessen-News from November 13, 2003
  4. ↑ Forgotten Railways , accessed on June 4, 2019
  5. ↑ Schätzlein, Gerhard, 2001, pp. 152–155
  6. ↑ HH Hadanczick, 1994, p. 40

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