Karlsbrunnen (Eichenberg)
The Karlsbrunnen is a curiosity and historical fountain in the locality of Eichenberg ( Neu-Eichenberg municipality ) in the Werra-Meißner district in Hesse .
history
In 1720 the Hessian Landgrave Karl von Hessen-Kassel was made aware of a curiosity in the village of Eichenberg. The village well of the village, actually a natural spring derived into the village, changes the water flow several times during the day. At times the spring even seems to dry up, after a few hours it suddenly pours again and in excess. The impatient Landgrave missed this spectacle, but returned to this miracle fountain in 1721 after a hunt and in the same year financed the construction of a fountain house, which from then on was referred to as Carlsbrunnen .
The Hessian historian Georg Landau later reported about the fountain: ... for one and three quarters of an hour the spring was so weak that you could close the opening with your hand, but then, after an underground roar, the water would burst out with such force and volume that of which a mill could be driven. This nature game, "ebb and flow", occurs 12 times a day.
Craftsmen put the letters L and C for Landgrave Carl and the year 1720 above the entrance. After the Landgrave's death, another renovation took place in 1769, and a cave vault was created over the water point in the village, in keeping with the taste of the times.
On May 20, 1904, a scientific investigation of the source was carried out. With colored water an attempt was made to illustrate the flow behavior in the mountain. It took 21 hours for the first discoloration to become visible in the well. A cavity is therefore fed by several underground tributaries. Even with severe drought, the spring has never failed.
The next phase of renovation began in 1913, the fountain house in the local area was partially renewed, the arched border made of ashlar was created. Since the well also had to meet the needs of the village population as a water point, a canopy clad with battens was attached in front of the well house and closed with a door. This stem has been renewed several times in a simplified form up to the present day.
description
The natural spring of the Karlsbrunnen is located about 800 m from the fountain house on the northeast slope of the mountain Auf der Schärer . In the interior of the mountain, Wenzel (1912) suspects a larger cavity than a water basin, the continuous drainage of which is almost completely blocked by a stone on the ground. Due to the constant inflow into the basin, the water level rises and the stone tilts slightly to the side from a certain level as a result of the counterpressure acting on it. The water basin empties through the now exposed drain until the stone returns to its previous position due to the pressure reduction. According to Mötzing (1970), the water regulation takes place rather via the air pressure. H. Penndorf remarks: It is entirely possible that the air pressure plays a role in the discharge phase. This would also explain the appearance of a dull roar at the beginning of the flood.
On average, the spring pours 200 liters per minute, i.e. 288,000 liters per day. The draining water collects about 100 meters below in the village pond, which serves as a floodplain and extinguishing water pond . Before the water pipe was put in place, every time the water came out, the call rang out through the village: "The water is coming!" Whereupon the inhabitants rushed over with buckets and covered their needs.
The legend of the Karlsbrunnen
- Many years ago, soon after the harvest, when houses and barns were filled with straw and hay, a huge fire broke out in Eichenberg. The wind carried the flames from house to house. More than a dozen buildings burned down. Then the house of a poor widow was also in great danger. The villagers tried to save it, but since the ebb tide caused a lack of water in the miracle well, it seemed lost. Then the poor woman hurried to the well in her need, threw herself on her knees under the thick walnut tree, the branches of which shaded the spring, and asked God for help in her need. The widow was still kneeling in prayer when the well-known thunder rang out from the depths that heralded the beginning of the flood, and the water was already gushing more powerfully than usual from the earth. The widow's house was saved; for the tide continued uninterrupted until the fire in the village was extinguished. Landgrave Carl von Hessen also heard the story. During his next hunt in the Werra Valley, he visited this wonder fountain.
literature
- E. Wenzel: The Karlsbrunnen in Eichenberg . In: Hessenland. Journal for Hessian history, folklore and local studies, literature and art . 26. JG. Printed and published by Friedrich Scherf, Kassel 1912, p. 200 .
- Gottfried Ganßauge: Neu-Eichenberg, Karlsbrunnen . In: Hessischer Heimatbund (Hrsg.): Witzenhausen district. Handbook of the Hessian Homeland Federation . tape IV . JA Koch Buchdruckerei, Marburg ad Lahn 1971, p. 155 .
- Kurt Mötzing: The village of Eichenberg, its surroundings and its "Carlsbrunnen" . In: Werratalverein Eschwege eV (Ed.): The Werraland . Issue 3. Eschwege 1970, p. 40-43 .
swell
Coordinates: 51 ° 22 ′ 19.6 ″ N , 9 ° 53 ′ 48.6 ″ E