Alfter-Roisdorf Peace Trail
The Friedensweg is a facility created by Wilhelm Maucher as a peace memorial on the border between Alfter and the neighboring town of Roisdorf not far from Bonn.
Origin and location
For decades, Wilhelm Maucher, a blackberry wine producer from Alfter, designed the Friedensweg as an expression of peace and against violence and injustice.
Located on the foothills in the midst of tree gardens and blackberry plantations, the path that climbs steeply up the slope connects the Alfter Jewish cemetery and the former “Heimatblick” restaurant.
The command stones
In 1978, Maucher had natural stone slabs with inscriptions laid on the ground next to the path.
10 command stones, according to which all politicians and rulers of this earth should act!
announces a first stone, a second:
These stones speak for everyone who is too cowardly or indolent.
A litany-like request is carved on each of the following stone slabs:
1. Liberated us from atomic and neutron bombs 2. Saved us
from chemical poisons, rays and napalm 3. Delivered us
from arms
races 4. Liberated us from militarists and Nazis 5. Saved us
from unemployment and lockouts
6. Saved us from dumbing down the people through mass media saves us
7. Deliveries us from injustice laws and unjust justice
8. Instead of punishments we only get re-education, reform and reparation
9. Keeps us from wasting billions in taxes 10. Protects us from
dictatorships and harassment
Other stones bear the dedication
In honor of the first
Nobel Peace Prize winner
Bertha von Suttner * 1843 + 1914
Nobel Prize 1905
She wanted a world of peace
without weapons and without war
Just like Christ and all
who are of good will.
as well as another appeal
Help to secure the peace through disarmament and refusal to do military service, otherwise the annihilation will come / 1978 Wilhelm Maucher.
This is completed by a stone with the inscription:
Only absolute pacifists and conscientious objectors and deserters are real and true heroes for peace and martyrs against all wars on earth.
The "Blessing Christ"
A stone statue of the "Blessing Christ", who spreads his arms from an exposed position over Alfter and the plain to Bonn, forms the end and destination of the Friedensweg. Maucher had it set up as the first element of the facility immediately after the end of the war, on the property belonging to his family.
On a notice board, Maucher himself described the circumstances and motivation for the construction:
This statue of Christ was erected in 1945 to thank for salvation from the great war needs. It was presented on the first Sunday in October 1945 by the Reverend Dr. Daniels from the seminary in Bonn in the presence of 50 to 60 friends and acquaintances of our family was solemnly blessed and inaugurated. The words of initiation were that when Christian signs appear again in public life, instead of pagan ungodly propaganda, there will be a better future for all peoples and races. The unfortunate times we experienced are the result of the people's apostasy from Christ and his commandments. In this sense, this statue of Christ is intended to admonish and teach all visitors.
For the execution of the statue, which is reminiscent of the famous statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro , Maucher was able to win over the sculptor Jakobus Linden (1886–1950), who worked in Bonn and with whom he was friendly.
Maucher later added two inscription stones to the Christ statue:
The real law judges quite differently from all people. Therefore do not judge!
and
Because the judgment of all people is erroneous or evil.
There is also an explanatory table for this:
These words are intended to bring people who love to judge and judge their fellow human beings to reflect that they have already caused so much suffering, injustice and strife to mankind ...
The "Holy Grave"
Maucher also explains the choice of the location of the Christ statue:
It was built on this site because, according to a legend, this place is said to be "At the holy grave" ...
The “Holy Grave”, however, was the name given to a large Bronze Age burial mound, which, although leveled by clearing and plowing, was marked by Maucher's father with pine trees .
The legend associated with him tells of a Roisdorf man who was imposed as a penance to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem , but failed to do so. As a substitute, his confessor obliged him to dig a grave in the forest behind the village and to offer daily prayers there - a custom that is said to have been cultivated by the residents of Roisdorf for centuries as a penance to the “Holy Sepulcher”.
Threat and rescue
The Friedensweg was acutely threatened in autumn 2009: the new owners of the former “Heimatblick” restaurant intended to remove it. On the initiative of the motorcycle club “Kuhle Wampe”, which maintains the Friedensweg, clubs and local politicians successfully committed themselves to its preservation.
literature
- Wilhelm Maucher: The rebellious spirit from the foothills. 1978/1988, (PDF; 14.6 MB, autobiography)
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 44 ′ 35.6 " N , 6 ° 59 ′ 56.7" E