Eselssteig

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In the beginning there was no fountain at Hornberg Castle either. That is why a donkey path led from a small portal on the east side directly to the Steinbach, which is located in a deep and steep gorge and, since this does not always have water, from there to the Neckar.
Donkey path in Aachen (Beverau)

Eselssteig (from donkey , pack animal ), often also Eselsweg , occasionally also Narrensteig (after Piper possibly because only fools use it, partly also traced back to the Hebrew term for brook "nahar"), is the name for a path that is often in the surroundings of earlier hilltop castles .

Donkey paths led, mostly hidden, to side entrances to a castle. They were often characterized by a very narrow and steep route to make it difficult for (armored) enemies to use them. If the castle did not have a reliable well , they were used to supply the castle, especially with water that was transported on donkeys in barrels. The donkey paths led directly to one or more water sources or watercourses. Donkey paths were also used to transport firewood. An example of this is the Eselsweg in Aachen (Beverau) , which connected Frankenberg Castle with the former Kammerforst (today: Nellessenpark as part of the Aachen Forest ) in order to use donkeys to bring wood from the forest. This forest is several hundred meters higher, so that the Eselsweg in Aachen served as a supply path for a lower castle.

literature

  • Otto Piper: Castle studies . Reprint of the edition of 1912. Weltbild, Augsburg 1994, ISBN 3-89350-554-7 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Heinrich von Schwartzenberg: Between Beverbach and Gillesbach , in: Society Burtscheid for history and present, writings, volume 2, 2nd edition, 1987, p. 84, with reference to Christian Quix, Historisch-topographische Beschreibung der Stadt Burtscheid , Aachen , 1832, p. 16, available in the library of the Burtscheid Society for Past and Present (Aachen).