Hexenstein (Lindau)

The Hexenstein at low tide, with shoal markings , from the rear island, looking north to the Schachener Ufer

Depiction of the Hexenstein, seen from Lindau, on a postcard before 1916, after a watercolor by Michael Zeno Diemer

Large also Hexenstein on the city map from 1822.
Immediately outside the former harbor mole south of the castle or Römer Schanz (here a separate small island) is the second Hexenstein .

The Hexenstein is a block of gneiss in the Obersee of Lake Constance near the island of Lindau , which reached its current location during the last Ice Age and protrudes slightly above the surface of the water.

geography

The Hexenstein is located 160 meters west of the Lindau railway embankment , where it reaches the island of Lindau, or just under 120 meters west-northwest of the Sternschanze and a good 40 meters north of the so-called rear island in the shallow water.

Depending on the water level, the Hexenstein rises slightly above the water surface, at low water levels over a meter ("three to four feet, and is a popular playground for seagulls ") and is marked as a danger point for shipping with a red sign (E.7 label of the Shallows and shipping obstacles) .

The lake area near the island does not belong to any parcel or district and is therefore already outside the city limits of Lindau. As part of the dump (bank area up to a water depth of 25 meters), the area still belongs to Germany.

The Hexenstein reached its present location as glacial debris from the large Wasserburg-Lindau moraine , as did the Schachener Berg , the Salzfresser and the upper and lower Bergle near Wasserburg , which do not reach the water level, but are nevertheless obstacles to shipping.

Two witch stones

Since there used to be a second Hexenstein near Lindau, there was also talk of the Hexenstein in the plural. To distinguish it from the earlier Kleiner Hexenstein (Hexenstein near the Römerschanze) , the name Großer Hexenstein (Hexenstein near the Sternschanze) was used . On the land map from 1822 (picture below) the second witch stone is drawn in front of the Römerschanze (directly at Lindau harbor) . From this point , which would be within the Roman baths today, nothing can be seen on current maps or aerial photos. 47.54328 9.68548

The forecast to put a witch when they fled from Switzerland you ride across the lake with the first step on the small (now defunct) and then on the big Hexenstein and reached the third step, the opposite mainland shore. A legend from the Irish-Scottish missionary days with Gallus and Columban has grown up around the witch stones . Furthermore, it is said in Lindau that the witch stone in front of the Römerschanze still shows the footprint that Aurelia left on her legendary landing.

In a book from 1902 the two witch stones are referred to as erratic blocks . Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap
f1