George Island

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George Island
The Georgsinsel in Kempten
The Georgsinsel in Kempten
Waters Iller ( middle course )
Geographical location 47 ° 42 '22.1 "  N , 10 ° 19' 16.5"  E Coordinates: 47 ° 42 '22.1 "  N , 10 ° 19' 16.5"  E
length 35 m
width 15 m
surface 0.034 ha
Picture postcard of the Georgsinsel, around 1925 with the small hydropower plant Drahtzug, in the background left
Postcard of the Georgsinsel, around 1925
with the small hydropower station Drahtzug , in the background on the left

The Georgen island on the historic corridor map

The Georgsinsel (sometimes also St. Georgsinsel , on the old field map GeorgenInsel ) is a legendary rocky island in the middle reaches of the Iller in Kempten (Allgäu) below the Church of the Assumption of Mary . The island is registered as a natural monument. The island was painted by the Allgäu artist Joseph Buck before the northern section was partially blown up for the weir of the Drahtzug small hydropower plant .

Geography and geology

The tree-lined island lies in the so-called Iller breakthrough in Kempten at river kilometer 105.62. It is 35 meters long and up to 15 meters wide, with an area of ​​340 square meters. It belongs to Eich in the 8th district of Kempten ( southern city center, Eich ), while the Drahtzug power plant with its weir, a little downstream, already belongs to Sankt Mang (7th district).

The island overgrown with pines is made up of clastic deposits of the Tertiary lower freshwater molasses ("leaf molasses").

Legends

Drawing by Joseph Buck : The shape of the allegedly petrified dragon is recognizable

Legend has it that the island was created as a result of the battle between Saint George and an evil, man-eating dragon: When the saint had defeated the dragon, he hurled it into the river and turned it into stone so that it could no longer come back to life could wake up.

According to another legend, St. Magnus met a giant named Boas on the island . Magnus is said to have liked the island as a place for a monk's cell , but the giant wanted to take the saint's life. Magnus is said to have taken a club to teach the giant gentler manners. According to legend, Magnus found his first safe accommodation in Kempten on the Georgsinsel. According to historical research, this giant ("Boas") is a further development of the " Boa ", a snake that Magnus fought against after the Magnus Vita .

There was also a chapel dedicated to St. George on the small island in the 15th century, in which a hermit allegedly lived.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Historical land map
  2. ↑ Bayer. State Ministry of the Interior - Supreme Building Authority (Ed.): Planning Kempten / Allgäu. Cityscape and urban planning. no J. [1977].
  3. ↑ Land use plan of the city of Kempten, Justification, 2009 , p. 259
  4. ^ Heinrich Uhlig: Sankt Mang. History of an Allgäu community. Verlag des Heimatpflegers von Schwaben, Kempten (Allgäu) 1955, p. 370.
  5. ↑ measured in the BayernAtlas
  6. ^ Information from the City of Kempten (Allgäu), Office for Economy and Urban Development, January 17, 2013
  7. ↑ Kosmos, Gesellschaft d. Friends of Nature, Volume 74, Stuttgart 1978, p. 499.
  8. ^ Dieter Richter: Allgäu Alps. In: Collection of geological guides. Volume 77, Gebr. Borntraeger, 1984, ISBN 3443150381
  9. ^ A b Heinrich Uhlig: Sankt Mang. History of an Allgäu community. Verlag des Heimatpflegers von Schwaben, Kempten (Allgäu) 1955, p. 33.
  10. ↑ Birgit Kata: Celebrations for the history of the Prince Abbey of Kempten. In: “More than 1000 years…” The Kempten Abbey between founding and closing in 752–1802. Allgäu research on archeology and history (AFAG), No. 1, Likias, Friedberg 2006, p. 146.
  11. ↑ Birgit Kata: Sisters' houses in late medieval Kempten. Allgäuer Geschichtsfreund, No. 102, Kempten 2002, p. 119.

literature

  • Joseph Buck: The Georgs Island in the Iller near Kempten. In: Allgäuer Geschichtsfreund (AGF) , No. 1, Kempten 1888, p. 61.
  • Karl August Reiser : Legends, customs and proverbs of the Allgäu , edited by Hulda Eggart, Kempten and Munich 1914, No. 141, p. 143.
  • Alfred Weitnauer , Hermann Endrös: Allgäu legends. Kempten 1978 (5th edition), p. 536.
  • Renate Lübenau-Nestle: Mosses on Georgsinsel in the Iller near Kempten. In: Announcements of the natural science working group of the Volkshochschule Kempten (Allgäu); 39 (2004), 2, pp. 27-30

Web links

Commons : George Island  - collection of images
  • Karl August Reiser: Legends, customs and proverbs of the Allgäu , J. Kösel, Kempten 1895 ( audio file of the Georgssage , accessed on November 4, 2012)