Three of a kind
| Three of a kind | ||
|---|---|---|
 Three equals around 1900, (from left to right :) Wachsenburg, Burg Gleichen, Mühlburg. The camera position was the Röhnberg. |
||
| Highest peak | Wachsenburg ( 420.8 m ) | |
| location | District of Gotha and Ilm district , Thuringia | |
| Part of the | Eichenberg – Gotha – Saalfelder fault zone / West Thuringian mountain and hill country | |
| Classification according to | Geology / Handbook of the natural spatial structure of Germany | |
|
||
| Coordinates | 50 ° 52 '20 " N , 10 ° 51' 17" E | |
| rock | Härtlingskuppen on Mittlerem Keuper , Schloßleite / Mühlburg on Muschelkalk | |
Drei Gleichen (also: Gleichenschlösser ) is the name for a medieval castle ensemble in Thuringia and for the mountain ensemble on which the castles stand. The mountains stretch from nine kilometers southeast of Gotha ( district Gotha ) to five kilometers northwest of Arnstadt ( Ilm district ). They are separated into two partial mountain ranges by the right-hand Apfelstädt inflow Weidbach, not far from the river Gleichen .
In the northwest part of the mountain range lies at 369.6 m above sea level. NHN the castle Gleichen near Wandersleben , in the southeast the Mühlburg near Mühlberg ( 376.5 m above sea level ) and the fortress Wachsenburg near Holzhausen ( 420.8 m above sea level ). Each of the three castles is surrounded by a nature reserve .
The castle ensemble is easy to grasp from the Autobahn 4 between Erfurt and Gotha.
The three equals in brief
Map with all coordinates of the three equals: OSM
| Castle | Time of origin | height | local community | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castle Gleichen | 1000 to 1100 | 369.6 m above sea level NHN | Three of a kind | 50 ° 53 ' N , 10 ° 50' E |
| Muhlburg | around 700 | 376.5 m above sea level NHN | Three of a kind | 50 ° 52 ' N , 10 ° 50' E |
| Veste Wachsenburg | 930 | 420.8 m above sea level NHN | Wachsenburg Office | 50 ° 51 ' N , 10 ° 53' E |
Location and landscape
The Drei Gleichen are located in the triangle where the Apfelstädt (in the north) meets the Gera (in the east). To the left of the Weidbach , which divides the mountain region in two, is Gleichen Castle in the Gotha district , to the right of the dividing stream is the Mühlburg in the same district and the Wachsenburg in the Ilm district .
To the northwest of the Apfelstädt rise the seamounts (up to 409.2 m ), and even further to the northwest and beyond the Wilder Graben the Krahnberg (up to 431.3 m ).
All of the mountain ranges mentioned lie in the area of the Eichenberg – Gotha – Saalfelder fault zone , which points south-east from Hainich and runs parallel to the ridge of the Thuringian Forest . Together they form the eastern edge of the natural spatial main unit of West Thuringian mountain and hill country and frame a south-western side basin of the popular Thuringian basin , whose core basin is immediately northeast.
mountains
The following mountains are distributed over the two partial mountain ranges (in brackets the position and the height above sea level):
- Northwest ridge ( NSG Röhrberg )
-
Kaffberg ( 399.1 m )
- Röhnberg ( 383.1 m , west-northwest of the Kaffberg)
- Gleichen Castle ( 369.6 m , southeast of the Kaffberg)
-
Kaffberg ( 399.1 m )
- Southeast ridge
- Wachsenburg ( 420.8 m , NSG Wachsenburg )
- Roter Berg ( 361.5 m , north-northwest of the Wachsenburg in its NSG)
-
Schloßleite ( 400.4 m , west-northwest of the Wachsenburg, NSG Schloßleite )
- Mühlburg ( 376.5 m , northwest of the main Schloßleite summit)
- Northeastern shell limestone edge ridge towards Arnstadt (from there, i.e. southeast, arranged to northwest):
- Vineyard ( 337.7 m )
- Ziegenberg ( 332.6 m )
- Rückberg ( 328.9 m )
- Length ( 320.6 m )
Burg Gleichen, Wachsenburg and Roter Berg represent typical hardling cones. On the other hand, the Kaffberg and Röhnberg have a slightly more elongated, less steep flank and the Schloßleite and Mühlburg finally represent a ridge-like shell limestone ridge with attached hardlings, which is separated by a ditch southwest of the adjacent Muschelkalk plateau of the Ohrdrufer Platte .
history
The castles were built between the 8th and 11th centuries, never had the same owners and are also outwardly different. According to legend, the term Drei Gleichen came into being after the impact of a ball lightning on May 31, 1231, after which the castles are said to have burned like three identical torches. This event is the basis for the "Dreinschlag", a fireworks spectacle that took place in 2002, 2003, 2011, 2014 and 2017.
While the Mühlburg and Gleichen Castle are only well-preserved ruins , the Wachsenburg is now used as a hotel and restaurant.
About a hundred years ago there was a large lake where the motorway now runs between the Mühlburg and Gleichen Castle. The hiking trail that connects the three castles is named after the writer Gustav Freytag .
On October 11, 2012, Deutsche Post issued a 55-cent stamp with the motif “Three Equals”.
Landscape protection area and nature reserves
The area of the Drei Gleichen was designated as a landscape protection area with an area of 857 hectares as early as 1960 due to its scenic beauty . Today it is around 1700 hectares, of which around 1200 hectares belong to the district of Gotha. The nature reserves Röhnberg , Schloßleite and Wachsenburg, which are laid out around the three main castles, are part of the total of four nature reserves located in the nature reserve. Because of its special importance for the protection of species and biotopes , the area of the Three Equals was registered by the Free State of Thuringia for the Europe-wide nature reserve system Natura 2000.
The area is also designated as FFH area No. 062 with an area of 888 hectares.
Röhnberg
In 1997, in the district of Gotha, mostly in the district of Wandersleben , the NSG Röhnberg was created around the north-western part of the ridge of the Drei Gleichen, to which the Gleichen Castle also belongs; to the west is the Wechmar reservoir . The 222.7 hectare area was placed under protection in 1996. It includes the ridges of the Röhn, Kaff and Kallenbergs as well as the Gleichen Castle. The landscape is characterized by near-natural mixed oak and dry oak forests, dry and semi-dry lawns, dry bushes and orchards, old quarries and vegetation-free outcrops ("badlands"). Numerous protected and endangered animal and plant species live in the area, which are rarely found in the whole of Thuringia. These include the stag beetle and the blue-winged wasteland insect, the eagle owl and the spring adonis .
Castle management
In 1997 , the area of the wooded ridge of the Schlossleite with the ruins of Mühlburg and the former peat cuttings in the Mühlberger Senke were placed under protection as a nature reserve with 120.3 hectares within the boundaries of Mühlberg , also in the Gotha district . A special attraction in spring are the Märzenbecher ( spring knot flower ) , which cover almost the entire forest floor . In addition to the animals also living in the Röhnberg NSG, the water-filled peat cuttings with their typical wetland flora are of particular importance. Rare and endangered birds, insects, fish, amphibians and reptiles live here.
Wachsenburg
Also in 1997, the 80.5 hectare nature reserve of the same name was secured in the area of Holzhausen in the Ilm district around the steep and craggy slopes of the Wachsenburg hill, which also includes the Red Mountain . Here you will find many representatives of the diverse flora and fauna that are worthy of protection in the characteristic forests, the semi-arid and dry grasslands, warmth-loving bushes and arable herb meadows. Particularly noteworthy are: the blue-winged wasteland snake, smooth snake and Lorraine flax as well as the sand lizard.
Apfelstädter Ried
On the left bank of the Weidbach floodplain, immediately southwest of Sülzenbrucken, is the 18.5 hectare Apfelstädter Ried, designated in 1996, at an altitude of a good 250 m above sea level. NHN in the north of the area of the Drei Gleichen, in the extreme east of the district of Gotha and in the extreme south of the community of Apfelstädt .
geology
The Drei Gleichen area is the type region of the Arnstadt Formation , a lithostratigraphic unit of the Middle Keuper in geological history.
On the southern mountain slopes, especially at Gleichen Castle and the Wachsenburg (can also be seen in the nearby Seebergen ), the middle Keuper with its colorful clayey marls forms deep erosion furrows of a peculiar charm that are visible from afar . These extensive and vegetation-free outcrops are typical of the area. The solid sandstone of the Upper Keuper ( Rhät ), which also served as building material for the castles, still lies on some hilltops . Shell limestone forms an approx. 1.5 km long and 130 m wide band on the northern slope of the Schloßleite. The area is characterized by poor rainfall. Extremely dry south-facing slopes and shady, cool north-facing slopes can be found here in a very small space. The small-area changing geological layers and subcontinental climatic conditions form the natural basis for a unique flora and fauna.
Events
The three (n) stroke
In the years 2002, 2003, 2011, 2014 and 2017 the legend of the simultaneous fire of the castles in 1231, through which the castles got their name "Drei Gleichen", was tried to recreate by equipping the castles with pyrotechnic means and this ignited at the same time. Due to existing problems with traffic safety on Autobahn 4 and to protect nature, this spectacle was stopped in 2003 and only held again on August 20, 2011 after a long break. For security reasons, Autobahn 4 was temporarily closed. The most recent Dreinschlag was carried out on August 19, 2017, for this purpose, Autobahn 4 was temporarily closed in both directions and traffic was diverted.
Individual evidence
- ^ E. Meynen and J. Schmithüsen : Handbook of the natural spatial structure of Germany (6th delivery 1959) - Federal Institute for Regional Studies, Remagen / Bad Godesberg 1953–1962 (9 deliveries in 8 books, updated map 1: 1,000,000 with main units 1960)
- ↑ a b c d e f g Map services of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation ( information )
- ↑ https://philatelie.deutschepost.de/Briefmarken/Weiter-Briefmarken/nach-Ausgabetag/4-Quartal-2012/Drei-Gleichen.html
- ↑ Official Gazette of the district of Gotha from May 23, 2013
- ↑ Dreinschlag website (municipalities Drei Gleichen and Wachsenburg office)
- ↑ http://www.eisenachonline.de/polizeiberichte/dreinschlag-verkehrsinformation-der-verkehrspolizei-gotha-32458
literature
- Henricus: The realm of the three equals. Berlin, Guido von List, undated [1923].
- Udo Hopf, Gerd Strickhausen & Elmar Altwasser: The Three Equals. Schnell und Steiner publishing house, Regensburg, 2nd edition 2009. ISBN 978-3-7954-1389-7 .
- Carl Polack: Wachsenburg, Mühlberg and Gleichen, the Thuringian three equals in their relationships with one another . Verlag Müller, Gotha 1859 ( digitized version )
Web links
- Website of the administrative association Drei Gleichen with a description of the individual castles
- Dreinschlag website
- Website about the Drei Gleichen and Dreinschlag 2011
- Nature reserve project area 10 "Three Equals"