Rieseneck hunting ground
The Rieseneck hunting facility is a cultural monument on hunting technology and history of the 18th and 19th centuries in the Saale-Holzland district in Thuringia . It owes its creation to the hunting passion of the Dukes of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg , who used the area until the end of the First World War .
location
The Rieseneck facility is located about three kilometers west of the village of Hummelshain , in the middle of a wooded hill that continues west for about one kilometer to the high bank of the Saale near Großeutersdorf . The hunting facility is related to the Fröhliche Wiederkunft hunting lodge , which is located in the village of Wolfersdorf barely ten kilometers to the east and was previously connected to the Rieseneck facility by riding and horse-drawn carriage paths.
history
The name "Rieseneck" refers to the medieval forest farming settlement of Rieseneck , which is probably located at the same location and which can be documented in the spelling "Resßeneck, Rießeneck, Risseneck, Risenegk". This field name was usually traced back to the personal name "giant" and the angular mountain formation protruding into the valley. Possibly the Middle High German word “ris, riz” meaning “branch, bushes, forest” or the identical word for swamp “ris”, the origin of today's name.
There are isolated indications that there was a settlement of the same name at this location in the Middle Ages . It was allegedly destroyed in the Saxon fratricidal war. However, there is no documentary evidence for this, which is why this information should be viewed critically. Nevertheless, on a copper engraving from around 1750, a church tower is shown in the middle of the hunting grounds.
Starting from the Hunting Lodge Fröhliche Wiederkunft , which was built in the reign of Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous , imposing court and state hunts took place in the wooded area, which were part of a tradition in the later Duchy of Saxony-Gotha-Altenburg. The red deer was named here as the preferred game , the population density was extremely high, also because of the constant additional feeding. After the devastation of the Thirty Years' War , the Rieseneck facility underwent a technical modernization, whereby the initially only wooden - and therefore not very durable parts of the facility had to be replaced by stone structures.
Original plant
According to current knowledge, the original hunting facility was built in the second half of the 16th century. It was built in several stages, some not until after the Thirty Years' War.
Expansion in the 18th century
The shape of the stone complex, which is still visible today, was created between 1712 and 1735. During this period, lively and systematic construction work took place on the complex. This is proven by the years on some buildings. A Chamberlain von Beust was entrusted with the construction work , who received the necessary powers and funds to erect a structure that was initially unique at this time.
During his reign , Duke Friedrich II (Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg) played a key role in the representative expansion of the hunting grounds and the Hummelshain hunting residence . His son Friedrich III. continued work on the system and completed it with bridle paths and avenues. Up until the second half of the 18th century, the Gotha dukes and their guests used the hunting grounds frequently.
Temporary end and incipient expiry
After 1830 the complex lost its importance and began to deteriorate. The decline continued into the 20th century and was hastened by vandalism . From 1954, efforts were made to secure the substance of the hunting facility.
Stocktaking
In 1987 the Rieseneck Circle of Friends was founded in the Kulturbund of the GDR . Since then, work has been carried out to restore the shape of 1712/1727. Buildings of the historical hunting facility were repaired. The condition of the site has been improved.
Concept and description of the building
For the high nobility of the Baroque period, the practice of hunting was an elementary basis for self-portrayal, hunting castles and state hunts were made possible at great expense and the hunting passion of some princes was increased into obsession. Apparently no expense was spared for the Rieseneck hunting grounds either.
The Brunftau
According to contemporary descriptions , a system of partly open, partly vaulted corridors sunk into the ground and fortified with dry stone walls was created in the area of the Brunftau - a kind of open forest meadow, which perhaps goes back to the arable and settlement areas of the desert Connected and thus enabled an approach unnoticed for the observed game.
So-called hunting umbrellas were placed at the ends of the corridors ; these enabled several people to observe the game at the same time, provided space for the safe storage of firearms and accessories, and offered protection from rain and storms.
Buildings and their function
The Hummelshain hunting lodge was used as a quarter for the hunting visit of the noble guests; the actual hunt was carried out in the respective hunting grounds, which also included the Rieseneck complex.
In order to be able to feed the red deer in the extensive forest area, feeding places and salt licks , wallows and game fields were created in the vicinity of Rieseneck , these also accustomed the game to the topography and the presence of people.
The green house ( location ) was built in 1727 and served as the main building for the accommodation of the hunting guests. The game warden and his assistants used a log cabin , which used to be a residential stable building. The carriage shed with hayloft from 1717 was used to accommodate the carriages and horses
The Blasehaus ( location ) was built in 1717 in the area of stalking. The game warden stayed there with his assistants when the game was being fed. The game was informed about the feeding with a horn signal - hence the bubble house . The ground floor of the bubble house also served to store wild fodder. The walls, which lead up to the blow house on both sides, served as a privacy screen for the hunters, who could get to the stalking walks behind them unnoticed. The game was ambushed on the stalking in order to observe it and usually also to kill it.
At the southern edge of the complex there is another tower-like building - the Herzogsstuhl ( location ). This building was only built in the 20th century as a private retreat for the duke.
Prototype for a hunting facility near Ilmenau
Rieseneck evidently served as a model for a similar system in every respect in the Duchy of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach . A similar object has now been uncovered near the Kickelhahn near Ilmenau . The foundations and remains of the basement of a stalking house there are in turn the center of the facility. Three trenches in the hunting passages of 70 to 90 meters in length were examined and partially exposed; they ran in north, west and south directions; these were probably lined with boards and roofed over as weather protection. The trenches previously referred to as ravines were still clearly visible in the area. The trenches ended again in round hunting umbrellas, from which the rutting place and the feedings were clearly visible. The hunters could easily stalk up, watch the game and shoot. The actual hunting lodge can be seen on a picture in the Ilmenau City Archives. The three huntings are shown on a map from 1762, which hangs in the Museum Gabelbach . The Ilmenau grounds are attributed to the Weimar Duke Ernst August I , who was known for his passion for hunting and building. The structural remains of the complex have been uncovered since 2004 by voluntary archaeologists and, in cooperation with the city of Ilmenau, the State Monuments Office has been permanently secured.
Others
In 2009 the hunting facility was one of the locations for the film A Russian Summer , which tells the story of the last year of Leo Tolstoy's life .
literature
- Claudia and Rainer Hohberg: The Hummelshain hunting castles and the Rieseneck hunting ground
- Wilhelm von Kügelgen: childhood memories of an old man
- Christa Reißig: Historic hunting grounds on the Kickelhahn (Ilmenau). In Thuringian monthly sheets. Issue 29. (2009) page 297
- Hubert Engmann, Ralf Irmer, Manfred Thron: Investigations on a modern hunting facility on the Kickelhahn near Ilmenau, Ilm district. In: New excavations and finds in Thuringia. Issue 4. Weimar 2008.
Web links
- Trockenborn-Wolfersdorf; Hunting stories - the baroque Rieseneck hunting grounds
Individual evidence
- ^ Johann Georg Heinzmann (1788): Observations and Notes ... on Rieseneck from p. 347. In: Google Books. Retrieved March 9, 2010 .
- ^ Johann M. Bechstein (1801): Observations and Notes ... on Rieseneck from p. 91. In: Google Books. Retrieved March 9, 2010 .
- ↑ Abraham Ways (1739): Inventions, to be used for hunting with a lot of plaisir, commoditaet and benefit, together with attached (5) basic cracks. In: Deutsche Fotothek. Retrieved August 18, 2010 .
- ↑ Cindy Heinkel: A Russian Summer in the Middle of the Saale Valley ( Memento of the original from January 19, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Free Word , January 15, 2010
Coordinates: 50 ° 46 ′ 9 ″ N , 11 ° 34 ′ 42 ″ E