Bittelschießer valleys

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Bittelschießer valleys

The Bittelschießer Täle is a canyon-like , densely wooded breakthrough valley in the lower Lauchert , west of Bingen in the Baden-Württemberg district of Sigmaringen in Germany .

The canyon is only around 400 meters long, 20–60 m wide and up to 30 m high (another 24 m of river sediments to the bottom of the rock). It is a scenic piece of area alb and geologically a particularly important geotope of the Quaternary . From the Middle Ages to the 19th century , Canyon and Lauchert were also important economically and as a sovereign property. The narrow valley is just as popular for hikers and cyclists from near and far as it is for walks and local recreation for the residents of the surrounding towns.

Climate and hydrogeology: changeable Quaternary

Swabian Alb , the course of the Lauchert . The Bittelschießer Täle and the "Riss-Glacial (max)" of the Rheingletscher are shown

Up until the Mindel Ice Age (~ 1Ma) the Lauchert used its current riverbed, but flowed around five kilometers earlier at “Rückhau”, between Hitzkofen and Heudorf, into what was then the Upper Danube , which at that time followed a more northerly route from Scheer to Riedlingen .

Lauchert in the small jungle of the Bittelschießer valley

At the end of the Mindel Ice Age around 900,000 years ago (ka), an ancient Danube broke through the small pass at the “Hanfertal station” (today part of Sigmaringen-Nord). She shortened her way to Riedlingen by using the Lauchert bed to then continue her then more northerly way to Riedlingen.

Rubble compartments of the Rhine Glacier . Sealing of the Upper Danube and the Lauchert and Schmeie tributaries

In the middle Riss glaciation , around 200,000 years ago, debris from the alpine Rhine glacier in the area around Sigmaringen penetrated northwards in two cold phases across what was then the Upper Danube. The glacier subjects reached in its second cold phase its maximum thrust ( " Vilsingen booth II", place nor south of the present Danube) for "Hertenstein, Lauchert" Billafingen , Langenenslingen and Riedlingen. The glacial sediments were so thick that the Upper Danube and Lauchert were dammed. The backwater of the Upper Danube reached at least to Tuttlingen , that of the Lauchert probably to Hausen an der Lauchert .

The Lauchert valley between the “Hanfertal” station and Hitzkofen, which was used by the Upper Danube before the Riss Ice Age and deepened by it and then completely sealed by moraine debris, was again freed from the glacier debris and used by the Lauchert - with one exception: one The larger mass limestone rocks of the lying bank limestone formation standing in a straight line were not flowed around as before (as was also previously done by an ancient Danube), but freed from rubble and then cut through like a canyon. The removal of debris and the erosion of the rock will also have been enormous because the reduced karstification caused by the cold period and even temporary permafrost increased the amount of water occurring above ground. In warmer phases, however, fissures in the mass limestone rock were widened or even widened like a cave. The resulting canyon of the Lauchert is today's Bittelschießer Täle.

700 years of history around the river and valley

Lauchert and Bittelschießer cave
Above: Cross-section of W Bingen (district of Sigmaringen) (N => S): Primeval Danube of the Riss Ice Age in the old Lauchert river bed, today's Canyon-Lauchert. Below: Topography of the original Danube, the Upper Danube and Lauchert today

The name of the valley goes back to the ruins of Bittelschieß at the beginning of the valley. The local nobility of the village of Bittelschieß , which is twelve kilometers further south, built the castle as the new headquarters in the 12th century. In 1449 the gentlemen gave up the castle again.

Almost at the lower end of the valley there is an approximately two-meter-high artificial dam in the river bed, which up to a normal level led most of the water through a canal (two canals in a drawing from 1740) to three old mills , including a hammer and weapon mill , a nail forge and a grinding and sawmill (with four grinders). After a mighty flood in 1782 the mills were destroyed, after another flood in the 19th century they were not rebuilt. Details on the tenants, owners (the Hohenzollern family for over 200 years ) and rent are also documented. Symbols of the valley, the Bittelschieß castle ruins, the Lauchert and the mills can be found on three drawings from the 18th century. There is also documentary evidence that the castle was built in the 12th century.

Bittelschießer Täle today

Today, the fully forested Lauchert Canyon, which is largely still only around 20 meters wide , is filled with worm gravel , limestone tuff and other fine sediments around 30 meters to the bottom of the rock .

The Lauchert, which has become smaller, only has significant sediment load during extreme floods. Because of this, it has cut into the sediments again about two meters deep. The Bittelschießer Cave , with its huge, open portal, is the largest, with a height and width of around 15 meters and a depth of up to 64 meters, which is impressive.

Protected landscape

The landscape element, the mass limestone hill and the canyon are a valuable geotope (NSG-protected as a two-dimensional monument). The river lies - like almost the entire Laucherttal from the upper reaches near Stetten unter Holstein to the lower reaches near Laucherthal - in the landscape protection area No. 4.37.001 Laucherttal with side valleys . The area has a size of 1,204 hectares and has been under protection since September 13, 1955.

The valley is overgrown with undergrowth and tall trees along the mostly narrow bank sediments up to the water's edge. Only the high sun reaches the valley floor. The spacious Bittelschießer cave portal and a square in front of it are the only free areas in the valley. On the heights of the hill, to the left of the Lauchert, there is a chapel, the castle ruins and a small forest with footpaths.

In 2001 an adventure trail with a change of bank was created on a very narrow wooden pedestrian walkway. Today the valley is a popular place for walks and recreation for the residents of the surrounding areas. But those who explore the Lauchert Valley by bike or on foot also like to come through here. The path leading through the valley is mostly narrow and uneven - bicycles can only be pushed (with difficulty) here.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Minde Ice Age in southern Germany according to table in Villinger (2003), p. 195.
  2. ↑ The Upper Danube flowed from south to north through the "Scheerer Rinne". This is about one kilometer east of the river bed of today's Untere Lauchert. At the mouth of the Lauchert at that time, it turned to Heudorf (Scheer) in the east and from there to Wilflingen and on to Riedlingen . Erl.GeoMap 7821, Veringenstadt , 1978, p. 93.
  3. ↑ Erl. GeoK 7821, Veringenstadt, 1978, p. 93f; Riss complex in southern Germany according to table in Villinger (2003), p. 195.
  4. ^ Riss complex in southern Germany according to the table in Villinger (2003), p. 195.
  5. ↑ Erl. GeoK 7821, Veringenstadt, 1978, p. 93f.
  6. ↑ The Lauchert side valleys, which had already fallen dry, drained again at least temporarily above ground, Villinger (1986).
  7. ↑ Uhl (1997), p. 20. Castle names "Büttelshies", "püttelshüs" in three drawings: StASigm KI Sig / 6 and Sig / 7 as well as Dep. 39 K 37.
  8. ↑ Uhl (1997), Mühlen und Bäumen, pp. 91, 124, 152, 298.
  9. ↑ Text and graphics in Erl.GeoKarte 7821, Veringenstadt, 1978, p. 58, p. 94.

literature

  • GeoK BW: "Geological map 1: 25000 from BW, State Office for Geology, Raw Materials and Mining, Freiburg, (LGRB) on sheet" No., sheet name, year
  • Erl. GeoK: "Explanations to: Geological map 1: 25000 from BW, 1: 25000, State Office for Geology, Raw Materials and Mining, Freiburg, (LGRB) on sheet" No., sheet name, year
  • Geyer & Gwinner (1986): Geyer, OF, Gwinner, MS, Geology of Baden-Württemberg, 3rd edition, Stuttgart 1986
  • Villinger (1986): Villinger, Eckkart, investigations into the history of the river Aare-Danube / Alpine Rhine and the development of the Malm Karst in southwest Germany, in: Jh Geol LA, BW, 1986, pp 295–365
  • Uhl (1997): Uhl, Stefan, Weber, EE (Hrgb), Hornstein - Contributions to the history of castle, family and rule, Sigmaringen, 1997
  • Villinger (2003): Villinger, E., On the paleogeography of the Alpine Rhine and Upper Danube, in: Ztschr. Dt. Geol. Ges., 154, pp. 193-253 Stuttgart 2003
  • Geotopes Südwürtt. (2007): Geotopes in the administrative district of Tübingen, profile, publisher: State Institute for the Environment, Measurements and Nature Conservation Baden-Württemberg (LUBW), Karlsruhe 2007
  • Villinger (2008): Villinger, E., The Swabian Alb - a geological picture book landscape, in: Rosendahl (2008)
  • Rosendahl (2008): Rosendahl, W., et al, (Hrgb), Wanderings in der Erdgeschichte (18), Schwäbische Alb, Munich 2008

See also

Web links

Commons artwork

Commons : Lauchert  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 48 ° 6 ′ 25.5 ″  N , 9 ° 15 ′ 31 ″  E