Dieler Schanze
The Dieler Schanze is a late medieval ski jump near the village of Diele in the East Frisian Rheiderland . The fortification was of outstanding importance for East Frisian history . Presumably, the construction of the defenses began in the 14th century. Their importance increased when Ostfriesland became a county and the place was on the southern border of the county and the later principality.
location
The Dieler Schanze is located on a strategically favorable ridge between the river Ems on one side and extensive moorland on the other. In the immediate vicinity of the ski jump, in the Middle Ages at the latest, a trade route led from the Münsterland to East Frisia over the high, dry Geestrücke near Diele, which may be of older origin. Up until the early modern era, this route was the only way to get from the Emsland to East Frisia.
history
Presumably, the construction of the first defenses began in the 14th century. During this time, East Frisia faced the threat of attack from the diocese of Münster .
When Dutch troops repeatedly moved to East Friesland during the Eighty Years' War in the 16th century , the hill acquired a special strategic importance. Since an incursion by Spanish troops was feared, the defenses were greatly expanded. After all, they consisted of a main hill and several smaller facilities that stretched from the Emsufer to the moor near the village of Dielerheide over a distance of 2.5 km. The most important parts of the facility were the two large jumps at Jemgumer Zwinger and Hakelwerk. The redoubts Kiek in de Ems , Kiek in de Bosch , Bratpan , Watch out as well as the Small Dieler Schanze completed the installation. The facilities were connected with walls and ditches.
The main hill, the so-called Jemgumer Zwinger , was surrounded by a double earth wall about three to four meters high and two ring-shaped in front of it, about 16 meters wide moats. It had four corner bastions with guns on them and was accessible via two bascule bridges from the east side. The inner part of the jump was also surrounded by a wall, which was bordered by towers at four corners. The defense concept also included two locks with which the surrounding land could be deliberately flooded.
A total of up to 400 soldiers are said to have been stationed in the fortification. In the 17th century, however, the hill was temporarily only manned by 7 men. During the Thirty Years War, residents of the Oberrheiderland and the residents of the village of Diele were brought in to maintain the fortifications . In 1633, for example, they had to bear the cost of building a guard house and deliver candles and peat from 1642 to 1645.
In the following years the hill was occupied several times by foreign troops. In 1637 Hessian troops, which occupied East Friesland during the Thirty Years' War , were quartered in the Dieler Schanze. Ten years later, imperial troops conquered the hill and expanded it by tearing down houses in the village and strengthening the hill with the building material obtained in this way.
After the Thirty Years' War the hill became the scene of the campaigns of the Prince-Bishop of Münster, Christoph Bernhard von Galen , against the Republic of the Seven United Provinces and the Principality of East Friesland, allied with the Netherlands. On the night of December 18-19, 1663, troops from Münster took the Schanze without bloodshed. The Münster troops were supposed to collect 300,000 Reichstaler debts, which the House of Liechtenstein, as legal successors of the Counts of Rietberg, was entitled to for renouncing the Harlingerland . This sum could not be paid by Prince Georg Christian , as the money intended for it had been stolen by troops of the Protestant military leader Ernst von Mansfeld during the Thirty Years' War . Only with the help of the Dutch States General and Duke Eberhard von Württemberg could the Münster troops be expelled, a compromise found and the sum raised by another 200,000 thalers raised. Prince Georg Christian had to borrow this money from the Dutch. As a pledge, Dutch troops took possession of the Schanze and the village of Diele in 1664. Eight years later the entrenchments were destroyed by the Munster troops in another conflict between the Bishop of Munster and the States General, namely during the Dutch War , and have not been rebuilt since then.
Current condition
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The area of the former ski jump later became the property of a few Dieler farmers. Today it is used for agriculture and is overgrown with grass and bushes. A good five-meter-wide hollows have been preserved from the former moats, whereas the ramparts that were once three to four meters high to protect the complex have now been completely leveled. The remains of the main hill, the so-called Jemgumer Zwinger, can still be seen in the area as a ground monument and can be easily recognized from the air. In particular, the main hill with its double wall and ditch can still be seen clearly in the landscape. In the area there are still trenches and elevations of former ramparts. The plan is to develop the site, which is currently barely accessible, to a greater extent for tourism. Since 2015, the history of the defense system has been documented on two steles made by Dutch artist Frouke Roukema at the nearby fire station (at the entrance to Schanzenweg). The larger of the two steles bears the name "Bomben-Bernd" and is reminiscent of the Münster prince-bishop Christoph Bernhard von Galen, who took the hill and had it razed. The second stele is titled Piekenier. A text board is attached to it which explains the "Jemgumer Zwinger", the main hill at that time.
Archaeological investigation
As part of a research project running until the end of 2013 to record early modern fortresses and jumps in the Leer district, the East Frisian landscape examined the Dieler Schanze between 2010 and 2012. A total of 28,000 finds were recovered. As part of a geophysical survey , a 65 m × 65 m large building complex with four wings was identified, the four wings of which were grouped around an open inner courtyard. In addition, the archaeologists were able to prove that a 16 meter wide moat and three to four meter high walls once protected the complex. In the center of the ski jump, they identified several construction phases in the remains of the building discovered there, as well as a brick well in the area of the former inner courtyard. In the entire area of the former ski jump, they exposed several paths "paved" with broken roof tiles. On one of the bastions, they also discovered a battle position made of sod or a magazine pit for ammunition. In an area with high quality finds, they suspect the former commandant's office. Numerous weapons finds such as sword fragments, lead bullets as ammunition for muskets and pistols, but also cannon balls as well as two completely preserved mortar bombs weighing up to 80 kg "underline the military character of the facility and testify to the sometimes brutal fighting that the hill was involved in before it was demolished in 1672 was ".
Web links
- Description of the history and excavation with aerial photo
- Brief information on Dieler Schanze in the special exhibition "Land of Discoveries - Archeology of the Frisian Coastal Area"
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Paul Weßels (local chronicle of the East Frisian landscape): Diele, city of Weener, district of Leer (PDF; 429 kB).
- ↑ a b Ostfriesland.de: Dieler Schanze , viewed on February 2, 2010.
- ^ Wilhelm Kohl : Christoph Bernhard von Galen. Political history of the Principality of Münster 1650–1678 . Regensberg, Münster 1964. In it the 21st chapter: Turkish War and Dieler Schanze , pp. 171–180, especially pp. 176–177.
- ^ Wilhelm Kohl: Christoph Bernhard von Galen. Political history of the Principality of Münster 1650–1678 , p. 175.
- ^ Project description Grenzland - Schanzenland ( Memento from September 13, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Leer city portal: Two steles for the Dieler Schanzen | Leer city portal. Retrieved on August 12, 2019 (German).
- ↑ Andreas Hüser: "Grenzland Festungsland" Archaeological research of two early modern fortifications in East Friesland ( Memento of the original from November 1, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 3.8 MB). In: News of the Marschenrat to promote research in the coastal area of the North Sea . Issue 50/2013. P. 45ff. Accessed October 30, 2013.
Coordinates: 53 ° 6 ′ 41.9 ″ N , 7 ° 18 ′ 24.5 ″ E