Gripping stones

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gripping stones
Panoramic view of the Greifensteine ​​nature theater
Aerial view of the Greifensteine

The Greifensteine , until around 1900 the Greifenstein , are a rock formation in the Ore Mountains in the Geyerschen Forest between the villages of Ehrenfriedersdorf , Geyer , Jahnsbach and Thum in the area of ​​the town of Ehrenfriedersdorf in the Saxon Ore Mountains District . The highest of the seven granite rocks reaches a height of 731.7  m above sea level. NHN . Another six rocks were removed by quarrying work that ended in 1923.

geology

Geologically, the Greifensteine ​​represent the tip of a pluton . During the Variski mountain formation , magma rose in the faults that had arisen, but cooled already below the surface of the earth. In the course of the uplift of the Erzgebirge clod , the resulting granite block also rose further. The rock layers above eroded until the harder granite was exposed . The further chemical and thermal weathering gave the rocks their current appearance with their typical " wool sacks ".

Leaching and subsequent recrystallization in the surrounding rock resulted in abundant ore deposits . After the 13th century tin - mining has been operated and 1990, the last mines had been closed for reasons of profitability, were the deposits , which were among the most productive in Europe, still not exhausted. Another example of the centuries-old mining tradition in the region is the Geyersche Binge .

Mineral finds

Greifensteinite from the type locality Greifenstein (image width: 3 mm)
Natrodufrénit vom Greifenstein (image width: 3 mm)

Due to the productivity of the ore deposits, the Greifensteine ​​are also a well-known location for many different minerals and their varieties . So far (as of 2014) around 50 minerals and 10 varieties have been discovered here, including the well-known minerals andalusite , beryl , gypsum , hematite , muscovite , sphalerite , pyrite , topaz , wavellite and zircon as well as various garnets , tourmalines (dravite, elbaite , Schörl) and Wolframite . In addition, rare minerals such as childrenite and natrodufrénite as well as the radioactive minerals autunite and torbernite can be found here .

For the minerals fluorapatite , greifensteinite , lacroixite and roscherite , the Greifensteine ​​are also considered a type locality .

tourism

Greifenstein castle ruins

The area around the Greifensteine ​​is a popular excursion destination today and a protected landscape area because of the diverse flora and fauna . The viewing rock, the local museum, the Stülpner cave and the Greifensteine ​​nature theater are all worth seeing . The Greifenbachstauweiher , the Röhrgraben and the Hormersdorfer Hochmoor are in the vicinity .

literature

  • Reinhart Heppner , Jörg Brückner , Helmut Schmidt: Saxon-Bohemian panoramic mountains of the western Ore Mountains in words and pictures with tourist information , Horb am Neckar, 2001, pp. 73-75
  • Günter Schubert: Greifenstein - castle, residents and mining of the 14th and 15th centuries . in: Sächsische Heimatblätter 36 (1990) No. 3, pp. 108-114
  • Dietmar Werner: The Greifensteine ​​and their legends In: Erzgebirgische Heimatblätter 1/1979 , P. 27–31, ISSN  0232-6078

Web links

Commons : Greifensteine  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Map services of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation ( information )
  2. ↑ Type locality Greifensteine ​​(Kopper quarry) , Mineralienatlas, accessed on December 30, 2015.
  3. ↑ Type locality Greifenstein Rocks, Ehrenfriedersdorf, Erzgebirge, Saxony, Germany , Mindat


Coordinates: 50 ° 38 ′ 56 "  N , 12 ° 55 ′ 49"  E