Czorneboh

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Czorneboh
Čornobóh
Mountain inn with a tower

Mountain inn with a tower

height 555.7  m above sea level NHN
location Free State of Saxony , Germany
Mountains Lusatian highlands
Dominance 15.4 km →  Kottmar
Coordinates 51 ° 7 '11 "  N , 14 ° 31' 31"  E Coordinates: 51 ° 7 '11 "  N , 14 ° 31' 31"  E
Czorneboh (Saxony)
Czorneboh
rock Granodiorite
particularities Czorneboh lookout tower

The Czorneboh , in Upper Sorbian Čornobóh , is a mountain between Hochkirch and Cunewalde in Upper Lusatia . It belongs to the Czorneboh mountain range southeast of Bautzen and is 555.7  m above sea level. NHN the highest point of this foothills of the Lusatian mountains . It introduces the undulating granite landscape of the Lusatian foothills as a landscape element. The summit of the Czorneboh is in the Meschwitz district (Hochkirch municipality), but the Czornebohbaude is in the Rachlau district ( Kubschütz municipality ) in the Bautzen district .

Surname

The name Czorneboh as a name for the highest elevation of the ridge between the communities of Cunewalde and Hochkirch , formerly called Schleifberg or Praschwiza , is probably an invention of the 18th century. It begins with a mention of Helmold von Bosau in his Slav chronicle around 1168, in which he reports of the abundance of holy groves and gods among the Slavs . He wrote about belief in gods: “They believe that all happiness is guided by a good god, and all unhappiness by an evil god. That is why they also call the evil god Diabol or Zcerneboch in their language, i.e. H. the black god. ” In 1530, the Pirnaic chronicler and Dominican Johannes Lindner transferred the Czorneboh cult to the Sorbs of Lusatia. However, his chronicle is considered flawed and therefore unreliable.

Around 1690, the vice-principal of the Bautzener Gymnasium, Magister Martin Grünewald, wrote a "Brief historical description of Upper Lusatia", in which he mentioned the worship of the god Czorneboh and the remains of altars on various mountains near Bautzen, but without naming specific mountains. At the end of the 17th century, the Sorbian pastor Michał Frencel from Großpostwitz said he knew that the Sorbs worshiped the Zernebog , but at the same time he could no longer find any evidence of this.

From 1780–1806 the Saxon miles sheets , a military map series, were created. The mountain was entered with the double name "Schleifenberg / Zschernebog". Rocks on the mountain peak were labeled Hell and Devil's Stones. A log from 1804 comes from Meschwitz (94% Sorbian residents in 1885), in which the mountain is already mentioned as "Zschorna-Bogk" as the direction of a road.

In the files of the city of Bautzen, which owned the mountain, only the names Schleifberg , Exanberg or Finsterwald can be found until the 19th century . The oldest traditional Slavic name for a group of stones on the mountain top is Caczca (duck).

The north side of the Czorneboh with the village of Pielitz

As the name of an unspecified mountain "near Wuißke", the name Czernebog also appears in Karl Gottlob Anton's "First lines of an experiment over the Old Slavs, origin, customs, customs, opinions and knowledge" (Leipzig 1783). Completely independently of this, Anton mentions the Schleifberg and its Slavic name Praschwiza at another point in his work . Seven years later, the knowledge of a supposed mountain Czernebog is mentioned for the first time in the "Lausizisches Wochenblatt", also here as an unspecified mountain near Wuißke and with obvious reference to Anton's writing. In 1791, today's Czorneboh is clearly identified as such in the 6th issue of the " Lausizische monthly ". Anton's contemporary Adolf Traugott von Gersdorff referred to the mountain in his topographical drawings for the first time in 1789 as “Meschwitzer Berg or Zschernebug” and stuck to this name (later written as Tschernebog).

The south side of the mountain with Cunewalde in the foreground

Carried by the spirit of Romanticism , the name Czorneboh became the sole name for the mountain until the middle of the 19th century . Devil tales and legends about an alleged Slavic cult site on the Czorneboh are associated with the new name or possibly newly invented. Karl Benjamin Preusker mentioned in his work "Upper Lusatian Antiquities" from 1828 various legends and "various folk tales " that entwined around the rocks of the Czorneboh. For example, about an oracle of gods , devil's places , pilgrimages and victims of the “ pagan turns ”, as well as speculations about destruction and buried “ancient objects”. In his later, more extensive work from 1841, he even shows a detailed map with various legendary places, such as the devil's pulpit, the devil's window, hell and the cauldron (sacrificial cauldron). The first detailed legends appeared in Heinrich Gottlob Gräves “ Folk sagas and folk monuments of Lausitz” in 1839 . By the middle of the century there were already more than half a dozen.

The pastor, historian and chronicler Dr. Erwin Wienecke criticized in 1927: “In front of the public, people were more interested in a fruitless 'will to prove' than in consistent, final killing”. He initiated the renaming of the Czorneboh in the German documented in 1571 and thus in his view the only real name Schleifberg. His emphatic insistence was met with open ears by the National Socialist decision-makers and was made binding in the course of the Germanization of place names . In the area of ​​tension surrounding the renaming, Wl. Schütze, Friedrich Sieber and Paul Nedo in a study of older Sorbs in the area around the Czorneboh, which they kept secret. It turned out that some of the respondents said “Na Čornyboh” and meant “on the black god”, but sometimes they also said “Na Čornyboku” and meant “on the black side” of the mountain in the sense of the shadow side or north side . Perhaps the similarity of the words led to confusion. The term Schleifberg was completely unknown to all of the Sorbs questioned. The name change to Schleifberg was withdrawn after 1945.

Lookout tower and restaurant

Lookout tower on the Czorneboh

On the mountain there is a 23 m high observation tower from the 19th century and a restaurant with a beer garden. The construction was applied for in 1850 by the forester Walde from Wuischke to the city council of Bautzen. First, the tower was built by the master painter Karl Traugott Eichler from Lauba according to the design of the architect Traugott Hobjan from Bautzen . This was completed on May 17, 1851 and opened in 1852 together with the inn. In 1856 a well was completed. The stone tower is the oldest of its kind in Upper Lusatia. In 1928 the tower was given a wooden structure, which burned down on December 19, 1944. Due to its proximity to Bautzen and the good infrastructure on the mountain, the summit of the Czorneboh is a popular destination.

The restaurant was temporarily closed since October 1, 2013 and was then extensively renovated by the city of Bautzen. This included the roof, walls, floors, heating, ventilation and the sanitary facilities. In addition, the kitchen has been completely refurbished. Since April 16, 2016, the Czornebohbaude has been open to tourists and hikers again.

Religious place of worship

Even before the Czorneboh received this mythologically charged name, the stone group on its summit was associated with ideas of a Slavic cult site on the mountain. In 1712, the Sorbian pastor, historian and linguist Abraham Frencel named the north side of the mountain “Prašwica”. He derived it from the Upper Sorbian prašeć ("to ask") and translated it as "question place" or "question mountain". For a long time, this interpretation was considered to be evidence of a former cult site with an oracle on the mountain top, which is typical of the Slavic religion . In 1910, the Sorbian folklorist Jan Awgust Jenč contradicted Frencel's interpretation by assuming a derivation from the Upper Sorbian prašiwy , which is seldom used , which means mangy, itchy, bad, degenerate or miserable. Today this interpretation is favored and believes that the arduous ascent of the mountain or the stones that are unusable for stone processing could have been meant. Konrad Botho indirectly mentions in his Saxon Chronicle in 1492 that stones played a role in the worship of the Slavs in Lusatia by reporting about the destruction of the idol "Flyns" who stood on "a Flyns stone" in 1116 . Archaeologically, no evidence of any supposed function of the naturally formed stone group on the Czorneboh could be found. For a long time, the Czorneboh was seen in the same context of pre-Christian religiosity as the Bieleboh , the Keulenberg near Oberlichtenau and the Sibyllenstein near Elstra. An oracle site was also suspected to be in the Sibyllenstein.

An easterly elevation of the Czornebohbergzug carries the rock group of the Hochstein with a prehistoric rampart. In 1841 Karl Benjamin Preusker suspected a pagan sacrificial place in it . Archaeological investigations around 1900 revealed a Slavic or medieval use. The question of the function of the system could not be clarified. Around 1350, the rocks are said to have served a band of robbers as a hiding place, which is why the place was also called a robbery castle on old maps.

In the Lusatian region there are the remains of about 30 Slavic ramparts of which at least 10 can be reached with about an hour's walk from the foot of the Czorneboh ( Blösa , Zschorna , Kirschau , Niethen , Lauske , Doberschau , Schöps 2 ×, Nechen , Belgians ).

From the discovery of a stone ax and Slavic shards in Halbendorf , Bronze Age finds in Köblitz and numerous Sorbian field names in the Cunewalder Valley, it can be concluded that the south of the Czorneboh was also settled in prehistoric times.

On the Schmoritz , a western branch of the Czornebohbergzug, the remains of a ring wall have also been preserved. It probably served as an iron smelter in Slavic times. The Czornebohbergzug also forms the southern border of the settlement area of ​​the Bronze Age " Lusatian Culture ".

The high density of prehistoric evidence on and around the mountain range make the mountain's religious significance seem at least possible.

Say

Although the Czorneboh as a prehistoric cult site has not yet been archaeologically proven and is therefore controversial, it was already a projection surface for diverse mythological ideas in the early modern era . Their main object was formed by the rock group on the top of the mountain. It was believed to be seen in them piled up altars with sacrificial basins, torch holders and “question holes”. Because of the name, one saw an old Slavic meeting place on the nearby " Hromadnik ". Combined with the revival of regional historical interest and the reception of medieval and early modern historiographers, it was then obvious to also cultivate the black god ( čorny bóh ), Czorneboh , or at least one of the night and death goddesses Čornybóh-Pya in the Finsterwald ( ćěmny or čorny lěs ) to locate. In addition, there are also classic Christian topoi, such as the “devil's foot”, a stone with an impression in the shape of a hoof, or the “devil's window” (also the said “question hole”) with the associated legend of the “ devil's window on the Czorneboh ”. The counterpart to the black god - Czorneboh is the white god - Bieleboh . Helmold von Bosau indirectly mentioned this god as the "god of happiness". It is possible that he is identical to the Slavic sun god " Svantovit ". This “white god” also received a mountain in Upper Lusatia. It is located opposite the Czorneboh on the outermost edge of the previously known settlement area of ​​the Milzener . In the Saxon miles sheets from 1780-1806 it was entered at the same time as the "Zschernebog" as " The Pilobogg or Beyersdorferberg ". In 1841 Karl Benjamin Preusker drew a legendary stone formation on the mountain summit, which he called the “Bielybog Altar”. To what extent the sanctity of the place is mere speculation or actual tradition is debatable.

Czorneboh legends are for example: "The goblin chamber on the Czornebog", "The devil's window on the Czorneboh", "The violet from Czorneboh", "The devil's basin on the Czorneboh", "The gold cellar on thefrage mountain", "Tschernebog and Bielbog".

  • The "devil's window" or "question hole"

  • The "devil's foot"

  • The "sacrificial pool"

  • Detail of a postcard from around 1900 with a fantasy representation of the Czorneboh cult and a Czorneboh saga in the form of a poem by Eduard Dietrich

Solar phenomenon

Since 2008, the “Bruno-H.-Bürgel” public and school observatory in Sohland / Spree , department of archaeoastronomy , has been examining various rocks in Upper Lusatia for their suitability for calendar solar observations. On the Czorneboh summit, the stone formations "Ente" and "Teufelskanzel von Rachlau" (today the Teufelstisch) were found to be suitable for calendar solar observations and human influence when setting up the calendar viewing openings was considered possible. The archaeoastronomical research project was given the name “Project Gods Hand ” and the rock objects that show the calendar solar observation phenomenon are referred to as the “ Sun Sanctuaries of Upper Lusatia ”.

  • "Duck", observation station of the solstice, sunrise and sunset

  • "Teufelskanzel von Rachlau", drawing by Karl Benjamin Preusker 1841

  • "Teufelskanzel von Rachlau", sun passage winter solstice around noon 2007

literature

  • Erwin Wienecke: Czorneboh and Bieleboh. A source-critical study from the field of Slavic religious history. In: Bautzener Geschichtshefte 4.6 (1927), pp. 205–240.
  • Between Strohmberg, Czorneboh and Kottmar (= values ​​of our homeland . Volume 24). 1st edition. Akademie Verlag, Berlin 1974.
  • Cornelius Gurlitt : Czorneboh. In:  Descriptive representation of the older architectural and art monuments of the Kingdom of Saxony. 31. Booklet: Bautzen Official Authority (Part I) . CC Meinhold, Dresden 1908, p. 52.
  • Karl Preusker : Glimpses into the patriotic prehistory , Leipzig 1841
  • Ralf Herold: The track of light - project of the gods - sun sanctuaries of Upper Lusatia. Sohland / Spree observatory, Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2020, ISBN 978-3-7519-5892-9

Web links

Commons : Czorneboh  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Map services of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation ( information )
  2. ↑ Chronicle of the Slavs by Helmoldus (Bosoviensis) after Johann Christian Moritz Laurent. Pp. 109-110.
  3. ↑ Peter Albinus : Meisznische country and mountain-Chronica. 1589, p. 150.
  4. ↑ Joh. Christian Gotthelf Budaeus, singularia histor.-lit. Lusatica or… peculiarities of those… Upper and Lower Lusatia, vol. 1 (= 1.-12. Collection), 1736, Martin Grünewald's description. 9, pp. 228-269 and 11, pp. 697-730.
  5. ↑ Meilen Blätter von Sachsen 1: 12000, Freiberg copy; F 358, F345.
  6. ^ Lětopis. Annual journal of the Institute for Sorbian Folk Research, Series C, Folklore No. 6/7, 1963/64, Paul Nedo: Czorneboh and Bielebon - two alleged Slavic places of worship in Upper Lusatia. P. 12.
  7. ^ Karl Benjamin Preusker: Upper Lusatian antiquities. 1928, pp. 40-41.
  8. ↑ Karl Benjamin Preusker: Views into the patriotic prehistory. Volume 1 from 1841, p. 198.
  9. ↑ Heinrich Gottlob Gräve : Folk sagas and popular monuments of Lausitz. Bautzen 1839, p. 57 digitized
  10. ^ Johann Georg Theodor Grasse u. a .: The legends of the Kingdom of Saxony. Dresden 1855, p. 486 ff. Digitized
  11. ↑ Erwin Wienecke: Czorneboh and Bieleboh - A source-critical study from the area of ​​Slavic religious history. 1927, p. 206.
  12. ^ Erwin Wienecke: Studies on the religion of the Western Slavs. 1940, foreword.
  13. ↑ LĔTOPIS. Annual journal of the Institute for Sorbian Folk Research, Festschrift for Friedrich Sieber, Series C - Folklore, No. 6/7, 1963/64, Paul Nedo: Czorneboh and Bieleboh two alleged Slavic places of worship in Upper Lusatia. Pp. 13-14.
  14. ↑ Lookout tower on the Czorneboh ( memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) on the website of the Zittau Mountains Nature Park
  15. ↑ Katja Schäfer: Welcome to the Czorneboh . In: Saxon newspaper . April 13, 2016 ( online [accessed April 18, 2016]).
  16. ^ Lětopis annual of the Institute for Sorbian Folk Research, Series C, Folklore No. 6/7, 1963/64, Paul Nedo: Czorneboh and Bielebon - two alleged Slavic places of worship in Upper Lusatia. Pp. 5-18.
  17. ↑ Konrad Botho: Cronecken der Sassen. 1492, fol. 245.
  18. ↑ Peter Donat, Joachim Herrmann (ed.): Corpus of archaeological sources on early history in the area of ​​the German Democratic Republic (7th to 12th centuries). 4th volume Districts Cottbus, Dresden, Karl-Marx-Stadt and Leipzig. Berlin 1985.
  19. ↑ Friedrich Bernhard Störzner : What the home tells. Part 1, 1904, pp. 238-244.
  20. ↑ Karl Benjamin Preusker: Views into the patriotic prehistory. Volume 1 from 1841, p. 188.
  21. ^ Annual notebooks of the Society for Anthropology and Prehistory of Upper Lusatia. Volume II. 1903-1913, pp. 219-222.
  22. ^ Municipal administration Cunewalde (ed.): My Cunewalde - From the history of the Cunewalder valley home. 1999, p. 4; Klaus Richter: The village book - history from the community of Crostau and its districts. 1999, p. 61; Theodor Schütze: Values ​​of the German homeland - Around Bautzen and Schirgiswald. Volume 12, 1967, p. 188.
  23. ^ Annual notebooks of the Society for Anthropology and Prehistory of Upper Lusatia. Volume II. 1903-1913, pp. 125-130.
  24. ^ Johann Georg Theodor Grasse: The treasure trove of the Kingdom of Saxony. Dresden 1855, p. 488. Digitized .
  25. ↑ Values ​​of the German homeland. Volume 12: Around Bautzen and Schirgiswalde. 1967, p. 187, (medium-Slavic finds in Halbendorf near Cunewalde).
  26. ^ Miles sheets from Saxony "Berliner Exemplar". 1804, sheet 347 and Political Science in the Light of Our Time. No. 115, p. 917, Geographical Meridian Determination of Saxon Places. Leipzig 1827, (referred to as "Pilobogg or Beyersdorferberg").
  27. ↑ Karl Benjamin Preusker: Views into the patriotic prehistory. 1841, p. 189 and Plate I, No. 6.
  28. ^ Heinrich-Gottlob Gräve: Folk sagas and popular monuments of Lausitz. 1839, p. 57
  29. ^ Johann Georg Theodor Grasse: The treasure trove of the Kingdom of Saxony. 1855, No. 648/649, p. 488.
  30. ^ Frank Nürnberger: Large Upper Lusatian saga book. 2002, p. 113.
  31. ^ Karl Haupt: Lusatia saga. 1862, p. 228 and p. 7/17.
  32. ↑ Infopack 2011, Sun Sanctuaries of Upper Lusatia. “Bruno-H.-Bürgel” observatory Sohland / Spree; Ralf Herold: Sun Shrines of Upper Lusatia - The money cellar on the Löbauer Berg and its real treasure. Oberlausitzer Verlag, 2012.