Herzog-Ernst-Kreuz near Ottersdorf
The Herzog-Ernst-Kreuz bei Ottersdorf is a historical atonement cross near Ottersdorf , a district of the municipality Büchenbach in the Central Franconian district of Roth in Bavaria .
description
The small monument is located about 2.1 kilometers west of Ottersdorf. It is there on a forest road in the corridor "Eichelschlag". The stone cross is also known locally as Herzog-Ernst-Stein . It is named after Duke Ernst , a legendary hero of the High Middle Ages . The cross is only preserved as a torso and is made of sandstone . The dimensions are 62 × 24 × 25-44 cm and it is embedded in a base plate. A Latin cross is notched on the front . On the right and on the back there are pans (soul holes).
It stands on the border of the municipal areas of Büchenbach, Kammerstein and the municipality-free Heidenberg . The cross is a station (19) on the local legend hiking trail . An information board about the cross is set up on site.
history
Presumably that was penitential cross in 1400 on medieval Ortsverbindungsweg Hague - Ungerthal built. The cross was first mentioned as Herzog-Ernst-Kreuz in 1417 , when a Peter Vogelsang from Haag bought a forest "gen de Hagerleyten located near the Hegenberg and bumped into Duke Ernst Kreuz" from Imperial Knight Konrad von Kühedorf , who owned it as a burggrave's fief . In 1492 the forest came to the Schwabach mint master Hans Rosenberger , the cross is also mentioned in this document. In 1708, Privy Councilor Pachelbel von Gehag reports for the first time a legend that relates both precisely to this place on the Kreuzlach and to the high grave of Duke Ernst in the Roßtal pilgrimage church , which was preserved until 1627 .
Duke Ernst Sage
Once this stone was said to be a cross and was supposed to remind of Duke Ernst, who had died here. The Hungarians had invaded Franconia and burned down villages and towns. Rossal also fell into their hands. Duke Ernst led the warriors who were supposed to liberate Rossal again. It succeeded and the Hungarians fled in a wild hurry. The duke pursued them. He caught up with her on Heidenberg . There was a final, bloody battle. The Frankish knights suffered great losses but in the end they won. The long day of fighting had cost a lot of strength. Everyone was dead tired and wanted to finally rest. The duke took off his helmet. At that moment an arrow whizzed up and struck the knight in the neck and killed him. The bullet came from the crossbow of a wounded Hungarian who was badly injured on the ground. The duke was buried in Rossal. At the point in the Kreuzlach, however, where he had found death, a cross was erected in his memory. Only a piece of this cross is left.
The information board can be found on site:
“The historical core of the Duke Ernst epic , which has been widespread since the 13th century by bailiff , pilgrims and writing, is probably the uprising of Duke Luidolf v. Swabia (and Alsace) and his commander Ernst against his father, King Otto I , who in 954 unsuccessfully besieged the fortress of Roßtal. A little later reconciled, father and son beat the Hungarians together on the Lechfeld . Later versions of the epic mix biographical details of other Duke Ernst figures and especially emphasize the motif of the heroic pilgrimage to the holy grave in Jerusalem . Duke Ernst liberated the Roßtal, besieged by the Hungarians, and pursued the defeated enemies as far as the Heidenberg, where he stood for battle in the Kreuzlach. When Duke Ernst wanted to lift his helmet after the victory, a wounded Hungarian lying among the dead shot him an arrow through his visor, which resulted in the Duke's death. He was buried in the nearby Ross Valley, while a stone cross was being erected here in the forest. Last stanza from the Gotha Herzog-Ernst manuscript around 1280 (translation): Ernst wooed God's grace He asked before he died that he would be buried in Roßtal, where the hero is still buried according to princely law. There lies also who has conquered the worldly trials, Frau Irmegard. To her grace is a great pilgrimage. God does many signs through them. "
Whether it happened that way is not proven. At least the place name Ungerthal and the name of the mountain Heidenberg point to Hungarian incursions in the region.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kammerstein.de, Sagenwanderweg , accessed on June 1, 2020
- ^ Roth district: Small monuments in the Roth district. Treasures of our hallways. Field crosses, boundary stones, wayside shrines, atonement crosses and much more . Roth 2016, ISBN 978-3-9815571-3-8 , p. 70.
- ↑ www.suehnekreuz.de, Ottersdorf , accessed on June 1, 2020
- ↑ Irmgard Prommersberger, registration list for small monuments in the district of Roth treasures of our corridors , ISBN 978-3-9815571-3-8
- ↑ On-site information board , accessed on June 1, 2020
Coordinates: 49 ° 17 ′ 39.7 ″ N , 11 ° 0 ′ 24.6 ″ E