Free cross
The Freikreuz (also equestrian cross ) is a stone cross on the market square of the city of Kroppenstedt in Saxony-Anhalt . The cross opposite the Kroppenstedt town hall served as a place of jurisdiction and is a symbol of urban freedom.
history
A first wooden cross is documented for the year 1248. The cross judgment was held. The Office on the cross exercised Count Siegfried von Blankenburg. The city of Kroppenstedt only had the lower jurisdiction .
For the year 1322 it is known that the district court was held on the cross by the noble Gardun von Hadmersleben. The wooden cross had to be renewed regularly. The last one dates back to 1567. In 1617 jurisdiction was exercised by the governor of Gröningen .
After Kroppenstedt fell to Brandenburg and a renewal of the cross was necessary, Elector Friedrich Wilhelm was asked for a new cross made of stone. The wish was granted in 1651. Although the jurisdiction had expired, the cross was now understood as a symbol of city freedom.
It was the still existing, richly decorated Baroque cross made of sandstone . The free-standing, 4.40 m high, decorated with a coat of arms cross was originally painted and gilded. There are two smaller crosses on the cross beam.
Since 1991, the Freikreuzfest has been taking place around the cross on October 3rd , at which a court hearing on the cross is shown again.
literature
- Ute Bednarz in Dehio, Handbook of German Art Monuments , Saxony-Anhalt I, Magdeburg District , Deutscher Kunstverlag Munich Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-422-03069-7 , page 500
Individual evidence
- ^ Dehio, Handbook, page 500
Coordinates: 51 ° 56 ′ 29.1 ″ N , 11 ° 18 ′ 30.3 ″ E