Geschwister-Scholl-Weg

The Geschwister-Scholl-Weg is a 4.8 hectare area in the south of Brandenburg's Ruhland , which has been designed in a park-like manner since 1908 . It is located on a local bike and hiking trail of the same name in the west of the city that runs along the Ruhlander Schwarzwasser .

Since its inception, several monuments and memorial stones have been erected along the path that was originally named Princess-Luisen-Weg . The area characterized by alluvial forest and green spaces, which includes the Ruhlander city ​​forest and official recreational forest , has since been used as a local recreation area. The monuments located here are regularly the focus of regional public memorial events.

As part of the Schwarze-Elster cycle path and the “Niederlausitzer Kreisel” cycle path, the facility is connected to the national long-distance cycle network. Initially maintained by the Ruhland Beautification Association and later in the meantime by students from the Ruhland Geschwister-Scholl-Schule , it is currently under the care of the Ruhland Parkaktiv team .

The area should be in the era- made 1990 as "Protected Park" under protection. This was justified with the riparian forest -like vegetation and the occurrence of Red List species (such as brook lamprey , kingfisher , large two-leaf ). However, due to other urgent projects, the city council missed the narrow time window remaining for responsibility due to the changed legal situation.

description

With the exception of a meadow behind the sports field, the 4.8 hectare area is essentially characterized by a narrow strip of alluvial forest, which is bordered by allotment gardens and the Ruhlander sports field and crossed by a diked stream. The strip is around 30 to 50 m wide, narrow areas 10 m (near the sports field building and the branch south of the Geschwister-Scholl memorial stone).

The first and largest part of the path runs upstream on the west bank of the Ruhlander Schwarzwasser . There are two branches to Heinestraße and a bridge with a connection to the Straße des Aufbaus and Friedrich-Engels-Straße. From this bridge up the stream, part of the path runs on the east side in the direction of Herschensmühle and first meets the railway embankment and a parallel roadway. On the west side you come to the Geschwister-Scholl-Gedenkstein (up to here: 900 m).

Geschwister-Scholl memorial stone with information stele
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Cross in Heldenhain, view of Neugrabenweg / Birkenweg
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Birkenweg
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There the path bends towards the end of Heinestrasse and continues past a memorial (“Kreuz im Heldenhain”) for the dead of the First World War to Neugrabenweg (up to here: another 300 m). From there the Birkenweg continues to the west on the edge of the settlement.

At the beginning of the Geschwister-Scholl-Weg, Ortrander Strasse begins at the Schwarzwasserbrücke. This leads past the sports field, fire brigade and "Schützenhaus" and opens up the Schönburgsau settlement. On the other side of the street is the Matzmühle and the Hainsteg (formerly also “Kussgässchen”) begins as a short connection to Fischerstraße (towards Marktplatz) and to the Stadtmühle (and via Pflaumenweg to the “Zollhaus”). Goethestrasse (to the city center) and Hartwigstrasse meet on the other bank.

history

Creation of a city park (1908–1942)

The Beautification Association Ruhland , which was once founded by Mayor Schimmelmann in his first year in office in 1889, laid out in 1908 between the Matzmühle and the Herschenzmühle in the west of the city the Prinzess-Luisen-Weg as a promenade on the Ruhlander Schwarzwasser. It was named after Princess Luise von Schönburg-Waldenburg, daughter of the patron saint Anna zu Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Rheda and mother of the lord of the castle on Guteborn, Prince Ulrich, 6th Prince of Schönburg-Waldenburg , to whom they wanted to show their gratitude for charity and gifts. With interruptions due to times of war and emergencies, the green spaces adjacent to it were maintained and expanded.

In addition, in 1922 the gymnastics club Gut-Heil laid out the honor grove with the gymnast monument and planted oaks for every gymnast who fell in World War I. In 1922, the Heldenhain was laid out and the cross in the Heldenhain was inaugurated on March 26th as a memorial for the citizens of Ruhland who died in the First World War.

In 1938, the Moltke memorial was moved from the end of what was then Moltke-Allee (extended Fischerstraße west of the motorway) to its current location behind the sports field as part of the construction of today's federal motorway 13 .

The park becomes the Geschwister-Scholl-Weg

During and after the Second World War , bushes and trees grew, causing the area to be partially forested. In 1947 the site between Geschwister-Scholl-Weg, Ortrander Strasse and Heinrich-Heine-Strasse was chosen as the location for the new sports field for the Ruhland football club “Free Sports Community Blau-Weiß Ruhland”, which from 1950 became “BSG Einheit Ruhland” "Was renamed and now plays its games as" SV Germania Ruhland ".

In the city council meeting on May 24, 1949, at the request of the school's young pioneers, the paths and facilities in the Ehrenhain, Prinzess-Luisen-Weg and Heldenhain were renamed Geschwister-Scholl-Weg. The German Democratic Republic (GDR) was founded on October 7, 1949 . On 1 September in the same year Ruhlander was Kaiser Wilhelm School by awarding the name of the Second World War in the resistance group " White Rose active" sibling pair Hans and Sophie Scholl , known as " Scholls " to the " sibling Scholl School ”. This was later expressed in a care sponsorship. From 1966 to 1978 pupils looked after the facilities under the direction of the committed teacher Horst Bormann.

Since 1984 there has been an annual Geschwister-Scholl-Memorial Run, which the Geschwister-Scholl-Schule organizes with the inclusion of the path.

Focus on nature conservation (1985–1992)

In 1985, on the initiative of Dieter Lehmann, a local group of the Society for Nature and the Environment (GNU) was established at the Kulturbund of the GDR . As part of this local group, Parkaktiv Ruhland was founded in 1988 . With the support of Parkaktiv, park designers created a first maintenance concept for the city park on behalf of the city . The local nature conservation officer and the Parkaktiv applied for a protection status as a "protected park" (still under the nature conservation law of the GDR ) in 1989/90 . The city council passed a corresponding declaration of intent as council resolution 31/90, however, due to the changes in the legal situation at the time of the fall of the river, the municipal authority expired before the resolution was implemented.

To confirm the sponsorship, a hornbeam was dug up from the Geschwister-Scholl-Weg in 1990 and planted in front of the school as a “standard hornbeam” on October 3rd.

Maintenance by ABM after 1992

In 1993/94, in the course of job creation measures (ABM), a hiking trail concept was created in the administrative area and in the district. On 18./19. In May 1994 the hiking trail signs were put up on the Geschwister-Scholl-Weg. At the same time, the city ​​park and the hiking trail were incorporated into the land use plan of the city of Ruhland.

Parkaktiv revised the care concept in 1996/97, as some ideas and options had changed since 1989. Inadequate measures against driving motor vehicles and poor coordination of maintenance measures were criticized by the administration.

In April 2009, an application by the Heimatverein to rename the path back to “Prinzess-Luisen-Weg” failed with a large majority (11: 2 votes, with 3 abstentions) in the city council.

Improvements after 2015

Blackboard conifers and deciduous trees

Blackboard habitat forest

Chalkboard native songbirds

In 2015, part of the Geschwister-Scholl-Weg was classified as a recreational forest, the rest remains commercial forest. The watercourse and banks are the property of the state of Brandenburg, with priority flood protection. In 2015, the Heimatverein had the “Cross in the Heldenhain” restored and the planned Prinzess-Luisen-memorial stone placed. In the same year, Parkaktiv planted the "Eiben-Eck" at Schwarzwasser / beginning of Heldenhain as a background for a Geschwister-Scholl memorial stone. This was set up in June 2016 and inaugurated on July 15. Next to the memorial stone there is an information stele with a note of the foundation and a QR code , which can be used to access further information on the Scholl siblings in the German-language Wikipedia on the mobile Internet (see also: QRpedia ).

Parkaktiv also agreed to update the maintenance concept again in 2016. Furthermore, the Ruhland administration closed the driveways with bollards that could be lowered in order to prevent the previously common inadmissible entry of motor vehicles into the facility.

According to the care plan, the Association for Home Care had three display boards set up along the way in 2018.

Monuments and memorial stones

The Ruhlander Heimatverein is mainly responsible for the monuments.

image	designation	location	description
	(1.) Turner monument	Ortrander Strasse at the gym	The first gymnast monument was erected in 1922 by the gymnastics club “Gut-Heil 1864” in the “Ehrenhain” and is now located in Ortrander Strasse by the gymnasium
	(2.) Turner monument	Geschwister-Scholl-Weg, "Ehrenhain"	The first Turner monument was replaced by a granite stele at the original location. Both are memorials to the club's gymnasts who fell in World War I.
	Moltke monument	Geschwister-Scholl-Weg, behind the sports field	The Moltkedenkmal was erected in 1893 at the end of what was then Moltke-Allee (extended Fischerstraße) and in 1938, when the motorway was being built, it was moved to a stepped platform behind the sports field. In 1945 the plaque with the portrait and the ball disappeared. The sphere was found again and a newly cast plaque was attached (2019).
	Princess Luisen memorial stone	Geschwister-Scholl-Weg, sports field meadow	The Prinzess-Luisen-Gedenkstein was erected by the Heimatverein in 2015 to commemorate the first namesake of the promenade, Princess Luise von Schönburg-Waldenburg. The naming was an expression of the citizens' gratitude towards the charity of Prince Ulrich's mother and the economy of their manor. Execution: Steinmetz Menzel, design: Barbara Seidl-Lampa, Wilhelm Zimmerling (Parkaktiv)
more pictures	Geschwister-Scholl memorial stone	Geschwister-Scholl-Weg, in front of the “Heldenhain” on the Schwarzwasser	The Geschwister-Scholl memorial stone was commissioned by Parkaktiv in 2015 and erected in 2016 to commemorate the namesake of the path and their struggle for tolerance. Execution: Steinmetz Jens-Peter Stoyan, (rose made of marble Barbara Seidl-Lampa) Design: Parkaktiv, mainly Barbara Seidl-Lampa
more pictures	Cross in the "Hero's Grove"	Geschwister-Scholl-Weg, "Heldenhain"	The cross in the "Heldenhain" was erected in 1922 and consecrated on March 26th. It is a memorial to the citizens of Ruhland who fell in World War I and who are named on the base after the year of their death. The base and cross have since been repaired several times. In 2015, on behalf of the Heimatverein, the font was restored, metal cladding and a new border attached.

Trees

The tree population was developed from existing vegetation on the banks of the stream, from meadow ("Ehrenhain") and forest ("Heldenhain") in several planting actions (see story). This included rows of trees (robinia, partly birch) and cut hedges (mulberry, hawthorn) along the path, as well as rows of trees (oak, hornbeam) on the east bank. The stock includes over 25 tree species (as of 1998), including

• Black poplar , height 20 m, circumference 3.8 m (most powerful tree, felled in 2016)
• English oak , height 20 m, circumference 3.6 m (oldest tree, over 200 years)
• Marsh oak , height 20 m, circumference 3.1 m (about 100 years)
• Ancient sequoia , height 3 m, circumference 0.30 m

Ground vegetation and seasonal aspects

Except for the meadow at the sports field, the vegetation is typical of the forest and the edge of the forest. Atypical are the places such as mostly high bank walls on the course of the stream, where leaves do not remain due to care, wind and frequent walking and so the soil becomes impoverished and eroded or additionally compacted .

Plants that cover larger areas are usually noticed for a short time due to flowers. But also shrubs at the edge of the forest or trees with striking blooming, here mostly locust, set accents during the flowering time, with autumn leaves or fruits (eu hats). The evergreen ivy also covers larger areas of soil.

Some of the plants mentioned in the table occur naturally (wood anemone, celandine), others have survived from the earlier park or from later plantings (crocuses); some have also been introduced into the area (squill) or have spread from the wayside there (evergreen). Other flowering, but not aspect- forming plants such as violets (e.g. grove violets , forest violets ), peach-leaved bellflower and common vine are not included in the list.

plant	Type	Remarks	image
- (without) soil degradation	all year round	in places at the wayside, also areas of the bank walls	more pictures countermeasures
Squill (Scilla sibirica)	Spring aspect	in places area-wide, spread out by single plants and sowing, stable to growing	more pictures
White wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa)	Spring aspect	in places area-wide, spread out by single plants and sowing, stable to growing	more pictures
Golden dead nettle (Lamium galeobdolon)	Spring aspect	in the “Heldenhain” area-wide in places, survived from the former park or spread out by individual plants, stable to growing	more pictures
Spring crocus (Crocus vernus) albiflorus	Spring, spots along the way	in places on the wayside, planted, stable for years	more pictures
Small periwinkle (Vinca minor)	Spring aspect	Covering small areas in places, spread out by single plants and sowing, stable to growing	more pictures
Fingered Larkspur (Corydalis solida, Syn.Corydalis bulbosa) Hollow Larkspur (Corydalis cava)	Spring aspect	in places area-wide, spread out by single plants and sowing, stable to growing	more pictures
Common Oregon grape (Mahonia aquifolium)	Spring aspect	in the “Heldenhain” area-wide in places, survived from the former park and spread out, stable to growing; the fruits are not so striking in color, but birds (such as blackbirds) like to eat them and are edible, most other parts of the plant are poisonous	more pictures
Lunar viole (Lunaria annua)	Spring aspect	covering small areas in places, spread out from gardens, stable to growing	more pictures
Lesser celandine (Ficaria verna)	Spring aspect	Covering small areas in places, spread out by single plants and sowing, stable to growing	more pictures
(various) other types	different	in places, depending on the type, also covering areas	additional pictures autumn aspects mushrooms

Art by the wayside

The Ruhland orthopedic shoemaker Rudolf Schulze created various wood carvings, which are also exhibited in the manor and other places. Some of the larger figures stand between the "Ehrenhain" and the sports field building on the east bank of the Schwarzwasser.

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  View of a group of figures

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  "Eagle"

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  Tree trolls

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  "Tree Spirit"

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  "The Angler" and "Giraffe"

Web links

Commons : Geschwister-Scholl-Weg Ruhland  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Commons : Geschwister-Scholl-Gedenkstein in Ruhland  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Sources and individual references

1. ↑ Niederlausitzer Kreisel (cycle path in the district of OSL) ( Memento from August 11, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
2. ↑ Mapping results of the local group of the Society for Nature and Environment
3. ^ Klepper: Chronik der Stadt Ruhland ("Klepper-Chronik" (790-1914, written by the acting mayor Klepper), Verlag CG Grubann Ruhland 1922)
4. ↑ Online project fallen memorials: first execution of the gymnast memorial in sandstone later replaced by a granite stele (sandstone block now at the gymnasium Ortrander Straße)
5. ↑ Online project fallen memorials: Cross made of sandstone information from 2006
6. ↑ The history of "SV Germania Ruhland" on the club's website, accessed on August 9, 2016
7. ↑ Data from 1966 onwards by the chairman of the park active's own oral research - in internal park active records, later transferred to the homepage and in the maintenance concept : revision 1996/97 contained this information, is lost in the official archives according to the mayor
8. ^ School chronicle of the "Geschwister-Scholl-Schule" Ruhland, chronicle article 1984
9. ↑ Andrea Budich: Clear-cut in the Ruhlander Stadtwald - Parkaktiv criticizes the scythe action on a wide aisle / Office director defends impact in: Lausitzer Rundschau , April 4, 2013 ; accessed on July 30, 2016.
10. ^ Catrin Würz: “Geschwister-Scholl-Weg keeps its name” in Lausitzer Rundschau, April 15, 2009 ; accessed on July 30, 2016.
11. ↑ Bernd Naumann: “Stele inaugurated - Parkaktiv Ruhland invites you with a festive invitation” in Wochenkurier , Senftenberg issue, July 29, 2016, p. 3
12. ↑ see picture for more pictures
13. ↑ ^{a b c} Chronicle of the city of Ruhland 1317–1997 (created in the context of ABM 1995–1997)
14. ^ Care concept: 1989 and revision 1996/97
15. ^ Observations by Parkaktivs Ruhland eV, also in the Bachufer project of the maintenance plan
16. ↑ Observations and surveys by Parkaktivs Ruhland eV, incorporated into the maintenance plan
17. ↑ Torsten Richter-Zippack: Growing up with a pocket knife in: Lausitzer Rundschau , December 19, 2018 ; accessed on December 19, 2018.

Coordinates: 51 ° 27 '12.5 "  N , 13 ° 51' 20.3"  E