Bonifatiusweg (Hochheim – Fulda)
The Bonifatiusweg is a medieval pilgrimage route that led from Hochheim over the foothills of the Vortaunus, through the Wetterau and the Vogelsberg to Fulda .
history
Saint Boniface decided during his lifetime that he wanted to find his final resting place in the Fulda monastery . After he was murdered on June 5, 754 near Dokkum in Friesland , his body was transferred to Mainz . On July 5, 754, his body was prepared in St. John's Church for further transfer. Presumably the entrails were removed, burned and buried. The abbot Sturmius and the Mainz bishop Lullus led the seven-day funeral procession to its destination. On July 9, 754, the remains were first brought to Hochheim by ship. From here it was about 130 km long to Fulda. Fulda was reached on July 16, 754 and the body was buried in the Fulda monastery. For a long time, believers made a pilgrimage in the footsteps of the saint from Hochheim to Fulda. When the pilgrimages ended, the course of the Bonifatiusweg was forgotten.
On July 10th, 2004, for the 1250th anniversary of the transfer of the saint's body, the so-called Boniface Route was opened. This is a modern pilgrimage route, the course of which is based on the Bonifatiusweg.
course
The exact course of the Bonifatiusweg has not been handed down. Rather, only the start and end point and the station in Glauburg , which was about halfway, are known. It is also recorded that crosses and churches were erected at the respective stage destinations. On the basis of these clues, the course of Roman roads and the reconstruction of medieval roads ( old roads ), the path could largely be reconstructed. The route was divided into twelve stages of around 10 km each.
| stage | route | begin | target | Rest | annotation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | - | Mainz | Hochheim | Night camp (July 9-10) | Transport by ship |
| 2. | 12.4 km | Hochheim | Kriftel | Night camp (July 10-11) | Bonifatiuskapelle and Bonifatiuskreuz in Kriftel |
| 3. | 9.4 km | Kriftel | Eschborn | Lunch camp | The route runs for about 7 km on Elisabethenstraße , Bonifatiuskreuz between Eschborn and Frankfurt-Sossenheim |
| 4th | 7.6 km | Eschborn | Frankfurt-Riedberg | Night camp (July 11-12) | Bonifatiusbrunnen and Crutzenkirche in Riedberg |
| 5. | 10.2 km | Frankfurt-Riedberg | Kloppenheim | Lunch camp | The route runs from Frankfurt-Bonames on the Römerstraße "Steinstraße", rest probably on the "Schäferköppel" |
| 6th | 11.4 km | Kloppenheim | Heroes Mountains | Night camp (July 12-13) | Bonifatiuskreuz west of Heldenbergen, rest on the Ohlenberg (east of Heldenbergen) |
| 7th | 13 km | Heroes Mountains | Glauburg | Night camp (July 13-14) | Limes crossing |
| 8th. | 11.4 km | Glauburg | Lißberg | Lunch camp | Rest at the sheep church |
| 9. | 11.2 km | Lißberg | Burkhards | Night camp (July 14th - 15th) | Take a break at the Stump Church |
| 10. | 8.9 km | Burkhards | Grebenhain | Lunch camp | Rest at the Meyerbruchquelle |
| 11. | 14.8 km | Grebenhain | Blankenau | Night camp (July 15-16) | Rest at the Kreppelstein (old cross) |
| 12. | 16 km | Blankenau | Fulda | - | The path runs through the pilgrimage church of Kleinheiligkreuz |
literature
- Charlotte Halink, Wolfgang Hartwich: Thoughts and impressions on pilgrimages in Germany Escritor / Hölling, Meppen 2012, p. 33ff, ISBN 978-3-934708-52-5 .
- Christian Vogel: Via antiqua, Bonifatius' last way. The Bonifatius overpasses from Mainz to Fulda and their route . Self-published, Niddatal 2004, ISBN 3-9809805-0-2 .