Gana
The main castle of the Slavic tribe of the Daleminzier is referred to as Burg Gana . The castle was first mentioned around 960 in the Saxon history of the Saxon monk Widukind von Corvey in 929, the year in which it was destroyed by King Henry I during his Slav campaign. Accordingly, the castle is said to have been held for 20 days during its siege. "Heinrich I left the booty from the castle to the warriors, all adults were killed, the boys and girls kept their lives for captivity."
The old castle complexes were searched intensively in the entire region for many years. On the basis of extensive geophysical investigations in 2003, the geographical location near Stauchitz near the Pappmühle on the small river Jahna in today's district of Meißen is assumed, where the first excavations and measurements took place in the 1920s and 1970s. The name of the river also suggests a place called Gana.
The outlines of the former castle can be seen in aerial photographs of the presumed location. In the center of a ring wall that was extended outwards in several sections over a long period of time, previously possibly up to 12 meters high , which was fixed with a solid wooden box structure and a wooden palisade , there was an approximately square 75 × 75 m courtyard with traces of numerous pit houses , which was surrounded by a ditch. There are clear signs of fire from the 10th century, which indicate violent destruction. A Neolithic stool grave was found nearby .
In the last few decades the hill, which was still clearly visible in the 19th century, has already been severely plowed and leveled. A new soil survey in 2013/14 should provide information as to whether and how the facility can be preserved.
Already in 1929 the millennial anniversary was celebrated in the nearby village of Jahna . At the oak in the immediate vicinity of the village church (with a remarkable painted box ceiling) a rock was placed with the date 929 - 1930 carved into it.
Not far away was also the main sanctuary of the Daleminzians : the sacred spring Glomuci .
literature
- Johannes Leipoldt: A thousand years of history of Jahna and its surroundings. In: Mitteilungen des Landesverein Sächsischer Heimatschutz, Volume XXI, Issue 1–3 / 1932, pp. 9–35
- Judith Oexle, Michael Strobel: On the trail of the "urbs, quae dicitur Gana", the main castle of the Daleminzians. First archaeological investigations in the Slavic fortifications of Hof / Stauchitz. In: Work and research reports on the preservation of monuments in Saxony. Volume 46, 2004, pp. 253-263.
- Reiner Groß: History of Saxony. 4th edition, Leipzig 2007, p. 15
- Werner Ziegner: The fight for the Sorbs fortress Gana and the Daleminzierland in the year 929. Ed .: Heimatverein Jahna eV, Jahna 2009.
- Karl August Espe: About the fortress Grona in the Slavic Zupanie Hlomazi. Leipzig 1834 ( digitized version )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Testimony of military submission , in: www.spektrum.de, January 2, 2006.
Coordinates: 51 ° 15 ' N , 13 ° 12' E