Groß Raden archaeological open-air museum
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| place | Kastanienallee, 19406 Sternberg 
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| opening | May 13, 1987 |
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| ISIL | DE-MUS-833612 |
The Archaeological Open-Air Museum Groß Raden is located a few kilometers north of the small town of Sternberg and about one kilometer northeast of the village of Groß Raden in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in a lowland area that borders directly on Lake Groß Raden . The circular castle wall with a diameter of 50 meters, which can be seen from afar, lies on an offshore peninsula . From 1973 to 1980 extensive excavations took place here under the direction of Ewald Schuldt , in the course of which the remains of a Slavic settlement from the 9th and 10th centuries were uncovered. The castle complex was reconstructed on the basis of the excavations and set up as an archaeological open-air museum . Findings from the Slavic castle Behren-Lübchin were also used.
history
Ewald Schuldt had carried out extensive investigations in the old Slavic settlement chamber on Lake Sternberg with the castles Groß Raden, Groß Görnow and the Sternberger Burg since 1973 . After the excavations were completed, he began to build an archaeological open-air museum in Groß Raden, which should be based on the excavations there. Ewald Schuldt obtained the templates for the construction of the museum building, commissioned the models and created the concept for the exhibition as well as the documents for the buildings to be built in the open-air section; he procured by his good relations with the district council and the council of the district , many of the necessary materials. In 1984 the foundation stone for the museum house was laid.
The opening of the “Old Slavonic Temple Place Groß Raden” museum took place on May 13, 1987 in the presence of the Deputy Minister for Higher and Technical Education, Gerhard Engel . It should be a teaching example for the Slavic culture in the Mecklenburg area. Ewald Schuldt saw the inauguration of the museum, but a few days later he died after a long-term, incurable illness on June 1, 1987 at the age of 73.
After Schuldt's death, Horst Keiling took over the management of the museum. After the reunification in the GDR , the museum was wound up and initially supported by a sponsoring association. The museum is now run by the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania State Office for Culture and Monument Preservation . The permanent exhibition was revised in 2015 by the archaeologist Fred Ruchhöft and updated to reflect the latest research.
Previous buildings in the immediate vicinity
As early as the 7th century, about three kilometers west of the reconstructed complex, there was an early Slavic castle complex in the area of the nature reserve breakthrough valley of the Warnow and Mildenitz . This Sternberg castle was located between the Mildenitz and Warnow rivers in the area of their confluence. The builders are likely to have been the supporters of the so-called Sukow-Szeligi group , who were among the first Slavic immigrants in what is now Germany.
On a ridge north of this castle, the castle of Groß Görnow was built a little later by new, also Slavic immigrants. These new immigrants are attributed to the Feldberger group based on ceramic finds. In the 9th century, the Slavic castle Groß Raden finally followed on an island in the Sternberger See .
The Wallburg Groß Raden
Schuldt divided the findings into two construction phases: a fortified older settlement, which was built around the second half of the 9th century and destroyed only a few decades later, and a second settlement built shortly afterwards. With an area of 7000 m², almost half of the populated area was excavated. The archaeologists expected well-preserved findings, as the settlement area had been used exclusively as pasture for centuries. In addition, due to the extremely high groundwater level, organic materials were very well preserved, so that a large part of the wooden construction elements was found in situ .
The excavations also showed that the topographical conditions had changed decisively as a result of continuous silting processes since the Slavic settlement. So today's peninsula did not exist 1000 years ago. Rather, the ramparts lay on an offshore island that was only connected to the settlement on the then much smaller peninsula by a bridge. The populated peninsula was protected both by a 4.5 meter wide ditch and by a single-row palisade with battlements . The only access was a tunnel gate with bridge, reconstructed in 2009 . In the first decades the main settlement probably consisted of about 40 houses standing close together. With a floor space of 4 × 5 meters, a simple sand floor and a hearth, these were almost identical in construction.
Isolated in the south-eastern part of the peninsula is an approximately 7 × 11 meter building made of wide oak planks. It is unclear whether this building was covered or open at the top. According to the traces of sacrifice, the human head-like stelae, the so-called head planks , and the special location of the complex, it must have been a temple or a sanctuary for the Slavic population of the Warnow tribe who lived here . Markets and meetings presumably took place regularly in the open spaces between the buildings and the palisade.
Fall of the Wallburg
Around the year 900 the settlement was completely destroyed. This is indicated by clear signs of fire, especially in the area of the palisade and the entrance gate. The sanctuary was not spared either. The settlement was then quickly rebuilt, but this time the houses were built using block construction . With areas of up to 45 m², they were also significantly larger than the older wattle-walled houses . The location of the destroyed temple remained untouched, the sanctuary itself was relocated to the island in a completely different construction. A circular, 10-meter-high rampart with an inner diameter of 25 meters was built to protect it. As an additional safeguard, a control post in the form of a gate building was set up on the bridge halfway to the temple castle.
At the end of the 10th century the settlement was finally abandoned after it was probably destroyed again. The reasons for the destruction are not clear, but there appears to be a connection with a campaign of Otto III, which was historically handed down in 995 . against the Slavs resident in Mecklenburg.
Impressions
Gatehouse with bridge, rampart and moat
Reconstructed temple (facade)
Log house with thatched roof
House with wattle walls covered with clay and a thatched roof
Settlement in 2008
Ring wall (interior view)
A tree
Reconstruction of a medieval Slavic boat
Slav armor from the Middle Ages
Showroom
literature
- Ewald Schuldt , Groß Raden. The pottery of a Slavic settlement of the 9th / 10th century. in: Contributions to the prehistory and early history of the districts of Rostock, Schwerin and Neubrandenburg. Vol. 14, Berlin 1981
- Ewald Schuldt , Manfred year old : Groß Raden: a Slavic temple of the 9./10. Century in Mecklenburg. in: Writings on Prehistory and Early History 39. Central Institute for Ancient History and Archeology, Berlin 1985
- Otto Gehl, Groß Raden. Domestic animals and game animals of the Slavic settlers in: Contributions to the prehistory and early history of the districts of Rostock, Schwerin and Neubrandenburg. Vol. 13, Berlin 1981
- Horst Keiling : Archaeological Open-Air Museum Gross Raden - Archaeological finds and monuments from the north of the GDR 7. Museum for Ur- u. Early history, Schwerin 1988
- Ewald Schuldt: The thousand-year-old temple town of Gross Raden: his research into how it came about and what should become of it; the excavator's report. in: Image catalogs of the Museum for Prehistory and Early History Schwerin 24. Museum for Prehistory and Early History, Schwerin 1989
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Rolf Seiffert: The man who excavated Mecklenburg: Prof. Dr. Ewald Schuldt (January 3, 1914 - June 1, 1987). In: Mecklenburg-Magazin. No. 14, 1990, pp. 1-2.
- ↑ Horst Keiling: Ewald Schuldt in memory. In: Schweriner Blätter. Vol. 8, 1988, pp. 95-97
- ^ Joachim Herrmann: The Slavs in Germany. History and culture of the Slavic tribes west of Oder and Neisse from the 6th to 12th centuries. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin, 1985.
- ↑ Reconstruction of the tunnel gates in 2009