Broad stone (Schwagstorf)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Breite Stein in Schwagstorf

The Breite Stein or Breitenstein is a large boulder in the Schwagstorf district of Fürstenau . The original boulder was used in 1909 for a Bismarck monument in Badbergen . A boulder of similar size has been located at the original location since 2000.

location

The Breite Stein is located on a hilltop near the federal highway 214 between the Fürstenau district of Schwagstorf and the municipality of Ankum . In the past, large areas of heath spread here, which have now given way to coniferous forests and arable farming.

history

The old width stone as a Bismarck monument in Badbergen

In the past it was assumed that the Breite Stein had ritual significance in prehistoric times due to its exposed location on a hilltop. In the days of Holland goers , the Breite Stein was a meeting place for people to move to work in the nearby Netherlands. In 1909 the landowner donated the Breite Stein to the Badberg Monument Committee "for a patriotic purpose". In November 1909 the stone was excavated and brought to Badbergen with great difficulty. Ten horses and 20 men are said to have been necessary to move the team. In Badbergen the boulder was erected next to the Protestant church and given a memorial plaque. The Bismarck monument is still there today.

The local researcher Dr. Adolf Graef from Fürstenau lamented the removal of the stone as "cultural barbarism", "a temple robbery of the homeland and its history" as well as the "vile rape of a Germanic sanctuary". A protest note from citizens of Schwagstorf and a petition to the Reichstag member Ernst von Hammerstein-Loxten were unsuccessful, so the Breite Stein remained in Badbergen.

For the 1000th anniversary of Schwagstorf in 2000, a boulder 50 meters away, which was largely covered with sand and had similar dimensions, was excavated and placed in the place of the old wide stone. This new width stone is again laid out as a meeting place and gathering place. The former heathland around the Breiten Stein has meanwhile given way to a pine forest, so that the stone is now in a clearing.

Web links

Commons : Breiter Stein  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ A boulder becomes a stumbling block. Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung, April 3, 2010, accessed on August 26, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Display board on the Breiten Stein

Coordinates: 52 ° 31 '37.97 "  N , 7 ° 47' 1.45"  E