Druid Stone (Mäbenberg Forest)

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The druid stone in the Mäbenberg forest

The Druidenstein in the Mäbenberg Forest near Abenberg in the Central Franconian district of Roth is a castle sandstone boulder about one kilometer southwest of the village of Mäbenberg in a forest . A number of sagas and legends are entwined around the stone .

Description and geology

The druid stone came to its present place during the ice ages , it is made of castle sandstone. The monolith is approximately 4.5 meters long, 3 meters wide and 1.8 meters high. As a result of weathering , the rock shows grooves and erosions, and there are also some recently created depressions and scratches that can be traced back to human activity.

history

"Zehntgrafensitz" on the southeast side of the boulder, the holes for fastening the former memorial plaque are clearly visible
Alleged blood channels on the top of the stone

The druid stone was first mentioned in 1465 as a "hollow sign" (probably because of the conspicuous hollowing of the stone on the north side), further mentions can be found around 1530 in the Salbuch Statt und Amt Schwabach or in 1722 in the Hudbrief of the community of Mäbenberg .

The name “Druid Stone” was first found in the 19th century, when the stone began to attract the interest of local researchers and journalists . The view that the foundling would be a prehistoric place of worship also prevailed due to deliberately launched press articles. In 1910 a Nuremberg excursion newspaper reported that a niche carved into the rock had served as the seat of Germanic judges , whereupon it was referred to as the “Zehntgrafensitz”. There is no basis for this, as the niche in question was only created around 1880, when the Rittersbach forest warden from Weyern had a memorial plaque installed there, which, however, was removed again after a short time. In addition, grooves that occurred naturally and that can be traced back to weathering processes were simply reinterpreted as “blood gutters” in pagan sacrificial rituals, without any evidence of this being available. In 1958 an article appeared in the popular scientific journal Orion , in which the claim was made, referring to bumps and hills in the immediate vicinity of the boulder, that the druid stone was once part of a larger “cultic complex” that possibly served “ astronomical purposes” have.

Targeted excavations were also carried out several times on the Druid's Stone , but these did not reveal any evidence of a prehistoric use of the site.

Say

Laura Schott, wife of the chamber singer Anton Schott and then mistress of Abenberg Castle , published a brochure in 1908 with the "retelling" of an alleged legend that is related to the druid stone. Ola, the son of the Celtic chief Odilo vom Heidenberg , and Hilmgard, the daughter of Chief Walkmar von Abenberg, were lovers despite the enmity of their fathers. When Ola was captured by Walkmar, Hilmgard killed Ola's guards and tried to free him, but failed. Ola was sentenced to death the following day, on the druid stone his throat was cut by a druid . The escaping blood, which flowed through the blood channels of the stone, was collected in Ola's severed cranium and Hilmgard was given a drink as a punishment. Hilmgard is said to have lost her mind.

According to another legend, a fight between the Counts of Abenberg and the Lords of Stein is said to have taken place here.

In issue 10 of July 8, 1932, the Heimat-Blatt Roth reported an alleged custom of the inhabitants of the Mäbenberg area to leave the area around the "Druid Stone" untouched while collecting berries, as "a mighty chief of the pagan era" would rest here.

Tourism and reception

The Druidenstein is a popular destination in the Roth district. It is often visited by local school classes, and it is part of the hiking trails recommended for tourists by the Roth District Office.

The artist and local historian Georg Hetzelein, who comes from the district of Roth, dedicated a mocking poem to the Druidenstein. In it, he jokes about the tourists visiting the stone who would “rather hear horror stories” than “complain with scientific theories”.

  • Druid Stone

  • Southeast view

  • South view

  • North elevation

  • West view

  • Top

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Legendary rock - Bloody stories about the druid stone. In: Roth-Hilpoltsteiner Volkszeitung September 10, 2007 ( nordbayern.de ).
  2. ↑ a b c d Franz Kornbacher: The Druidenstein in the Abenberger Forest. In: Habewind News - Our Franconian home. 172/2012, p. 35.
  3. ↑ a b Kerstin Söder: 111 places in the Franconian Lake District that you have to see. Cologne 2015.
  4. ↑ a b Entry on the Druidenstein on the website of the Georgensgmünd community.
  5. ↑ Friedrich Trapp: Enigmatic Chalcedony Finds. In: Orion - magazine for nature and technology. Anthology, 13th year 1958, pp. 566-567.
  6. ^ SPM Verlag eK (ed.): Information brochure for the city of Abenberg. Schwabach 2014. p. 25.
  7. ^ Franz Kornbacher: The legendary druid stone. In: Legends from the district of Roth. Compiled by Robert Unterburger. Büchenbach 2008, pp. 75-77.
  8. ↑ Emmi Böck: Legends from Middle Franconia. Nuremberg 1995. p. 181.
  9. ↑ Abenberg - hiking trail no.2 - Frühmessweiher - Bierweg - Druidenstein - Blaue Tanne on the website of the district of Roth (no longer available), archived link ( memento from July 9, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  10. ↑ Georg Hetzelein: Poem from the Druidenstein. In: Legends from the district of Roth. Compiled by Robert Unterburger. Büchenbach 2008, pp. 78-79.

Coordinates: 49 ° 13 ′ 3.9 "  N , 10 ° 59 ′ 33.4"  E