Helmstedter Landwehr
The Helmstedter Landwehr was a Landwehr built in the late Middle Ages , which ran for almost 8 km through the Lappwald east of Helmstedt . As a border fortification, it cordoned off the town of Helmstedt, which belongs to the Duchy of Braunschweig, to the east from the ore monastery of Magdeburg .
course
The Landwehr runs 7.9 km south of Helmstedt in a north-south direction and then bends at an angle to the north-east in the direction of Walbeck . Sections with ditches and ramparts are completely preserved over a total of 3.8 km and partially over 1.6 km. The course can still be seen at 0.7 km. Back then, as now, the Landwehr is almost always in the forest or on the edge of the forest. It runs in Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt as well as along the border between the two federal states.
construction
Waiting towers
The Landwehr had three waiting towers that have been preserved in the Lappwald. These include the First Walbeck Observatory and the Second Walbeck Observatory. Both control rooms are almost identical in construction as round towers and consist of quarry stone masonry . In the upper area there is an opening that was the door inlet. The towers are likely to have been considerably higher earlier and are dated to 1377. The first Walbecker Warte is today about 7 meters high and has a diameter of about 4 meters with a wall thickness of one meter. The second Walbecker Warte is today about 6 meters high and has a diameter of about 3.5 meters with a wall thickness of one meter. Both towers stand on a slight artificial hill.
The third and most powerful tower is the Magdeburger Warte. This is a square rectangular tower with a side length of almost 5 meters. The sandstone masonry is 1.1 meters thick. It is believed that the watchtower dates from the middle of the 13th century. It was rebuilt in 1855 using the old stones to a height of around 10 meters on the remains of the building. Today it serves as a lookout tower . The tower stands on the southern edge of the Lappwaldes southeast of Helmstedt near the junction of the road from Magdeburg gate from the direction of Magdeburg leading Bundesstraße 1 .
First Walbeck control room with door opening
Second Walbeck control room with door opening
Magdeburg observation point on Bundesstrasse 1
Moat and wall
The Helmstedter Landwehr is essentially a trench system in which the trench excavation was used to fill the ramparts. The wall-ditch system is different and has been adapted to the terrain with slopes, streams and swampy lowlands. In some parts there is a simple wall-ditch system with two walls and a ditch in between and a hedge at the foot of the wall. In other sections there is a multi-tiered system through an upstream side trench. In some places, the Landwehr expands to a width of up to 50 meters through a staggered system of up to five ramparts and four trenches.
During excavations in 1996, a section was examined, which consists of two walls and a ditch between them. The ditch originally had a depth of almost 4 meters and from wall crest to wall crest the Landwehr ditch was 6.5 meters wide. Today it is still up to 2.3 meters deep.
history
The Landwehr was first mentioned in writing in a decree by Abbot Gerhard von Werden and Helmstedt from 1252, when it was still under construction. The ordinance shows that he was the initiator of the Landwehr construction. It is believed that he wanted to protect his St. Ludgeri monastery, which is located outside the Helmstedt city fortifications . The Brunswick Duke Otto the child was involved in building the Landwehr as sovereign. The ordinance names the maintenance of order and the protection of the country as the task and purpose of the Landwehr. This means the usual functions of a Landwehr with the maintenance of the peace and the protection of the borders in the event of war. According to the ordinance of Abbot Gerhard, the citizens of Helmstedt had to take care of the maintenance of the Landwehr by clearing the ditch and bending the hedge. The Landwehr found another documentary mention in 1377, when the balance of power in Helmstedt had changed in favor of the council. The Landwehr is mentioned again later in 1401 and 1416. When it was mentioned for the last time in 1491, it is established that the citizens of Helmstedt did not comply with the maintenance of the Landwehr, so that at this point in time the condition of the facility can be assumed to be neglected. Since the Helmstedter Landwehr is no longer mentioned in the 16th century and since the turn of the 16th century, the Landwehr was generally out of use, it may have been abandoned during this time. A restoration of the plant in the Thirty Years War is considered possible.
The Landwehr could also have served other purposes that are not mentioned in the historical sources. This is the protection of the water supply of Helmstedt with its springs and ponds between the city and the Lappwald. Furthermore, the Landwehr can be considered as a customs collection facility due to its road closures.
In 1984 the Landwehr was included in the Lower Saxony monument index as a directory of cultural monuments as an archaeological monument that is particularly worth preserving.
excavation
When the Federal Motorway 2 was expanded to six lanes in 1996, an excavation was carried out in an area in which the Landwehr was destroyed by road construction work over a length of around 200 meters. Several profile cuts were made through the Landwehr and a pathway to reconstruct the structure.
literature
- Michael Geschwinde : The Helmstedter Landwehr . In: The Braunschweiger Land . Guide to archaeological monuments in Germany 34 , 1997, pp. 255-256.
- Thomas Budde: The Helmstedter Landwehr in the series of workbooks on monument conservation in Lower Saxony 16 , CW Niemeyer Buchverlage , Hameln, 1998
- Thomas Budde: The Helmstedter Landwehr in: Brochure of the city of Helmstedt for the Open Monument Day 2013 ( online , pdf, pp. 20–24)
Web links
- 1. Walbecker Warte in the Lower Saxony Monument Atlas
- 2. Walbecker Warte in the Lower Saxony Monument Atlas
- Magdeburger Warte in the Lower Saxony Monument Atlas
- Helmstedter Landwehr with description, maps and photos at LGN (pdf)
Individual evidence
- ↑ 1. Walbeck Control Center
- ↑ 2. Walbeck Control Center
- ↑ Magdeburger Warte ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
