Hexengrund (Thuringia)
As Hexengrund the valley of the Western left is Saale -Zuflusses Wiedabach in the north of the district Saalfeld-Rudolstadt in Thuringia referred. It has a length of about 11 km and is located in the municipality of Uhlstädt-Kirchhasel between the districts of Schmieden in the northwest and Zeutsch in the southeast. The largest part of the valley is accessed from the state road 2391.
The water-rich Wiedabach, which rises on the 518 m high Hummelsberg near Schmieden and flows into the Saale near Zeutsch, powered a total of seven mills until a few decades ago. In Hexengrund are the villages and hamlets of Zeutsch, Beutelsdorf , Röbschütz , Heilingen , Dorndorf , Rödelwitz , Engerda and Schmieden, as well as the ruins of the Schauenforst castle from the 12th century. The villages of Rödelwitz, Röbschütz and Zeutsch are of Slavic origin.
The name Hexengrund comes from the old term for winegrowers who were called "Hecker people" or "Heckers people" here. On the sunny southern slopes of the Muschelkalk mountains, and especially in the area around Heilingen, there were numerous vineyards for centuries. As early as 973, the "excellent wine" from Heilingen was noted in a certificate from Emperor Otto II . From the 18th century onwards, viticulture lost its importance as a result of the damage caused by phylloxera , and the focus was therefore increasingly on fruit growing. Around 1928 there were around 30,000 fruit trees in the Engerdaer Flur .
Heilinger whitebeam natural monument
In September 2005, the largest currently known specimen of the Heilinger whitebeam tree ( Sorbus heilingensis ) was declared a natural monument. This tree species only occurs in a small area on the ridge between Hexengrund and Reinstädter Grund and, according to current surveys, only has a population of a few hundred specimens. The species was not described again until 1961 and is classified as endemic to Thuringia in the Red List of Fern and Flowering Plants of Thuringia as "extremely rare".
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ordinance on the natural monument "Heilinger whitebeam on the Ledersberge" near Kleinbucha (September 19, 2005) (PDF file; 533 kB)
Coordinates: 50 ° 46 ′ 45.1 ″ N , 11 ° 26 ′ 24 ″ E