Kunigunden Forest

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The Kunigundenwald is a Rechtlerwald on the edge of the Steigerwald in the district of the municipality of Seinsheim . For a long time, a total of eight locations in the vicinity of the forest had a share in the forest use, this special legal position was already regulated in the late Middle Ages .

location

The Kunigunden Forest is located in the extreme south of the Kitzingen district . Further south, the Bullenheimer Berg rises as a witness mountain on the edge of the Steigerwald. The Kunigunden chapel, which refers to the founding legend of the Rechtlerwald, was also built there. In the north you can find Hüttenheim with the Tannenberg. Nenzenheim lies further to the northeast. From there, the district road KT 1 / NEA 42 leads past the forest in the east. Seinsheim, in whose area the forest is located, is some distance to the north-west. The eight villages were:

history

According to a legend , the name of the Kunigunden Forest goes back to the Empress Kunigunde of Luxembourg . She is said to have lost her way in the forest and vowed to found a church in the place where she would find her way out of the forest . Then the bells of Bullenheimer Leonhardskirche rang and Kunigunde found the way. Out of gratitude, she not only donated a church (today's Kunigunden Chapel), but also donated the forest, which had previously been imperial property, to the surrounding communities.

In the older literature it is assumed that the eight villages were so-called imperial villages at the time of the Ottonians , that is, they were only subordinate to the emperor. Today it is assumed that the emperor only managed Würzburg goods in part. However, the eight villages in the vicinity of the Steigerwald probably set up a market cooperative that provided for shared use of their districts. However, this common use was largely given up in the Middle Ages.

The Kunigunden Forest was officially divided between the eight villages. That is why the rights of the individual villages were laid down in the so-called wooden letter in 1458. It says: "(...) the eight village stamps that Holy Frau Kunigund gave a Holtz (...)". The contract for the forest was signed in the Steinbühl corridor , which is located on the Hüttenheimer Tannenberg. The Kunigunden Chapel was probably also only built when the wooden letter was being written.

In the centuries before the Holzbrief came into force, large parts of the Kunigunden Forest had been cleared. It was not until the agricultural crisis of the 14th and 15th centuries that reforestation resulted, which was not threatened again afterwards. Central forest management is still practiced in the Kunigunden Forest to this day. In 1958, the so-called eight-village oak, which refers to the medieval market cooperative, was planted on the Hüttenheimer Tannenberg .

Flora and fauna

Until the 15th century, today's Kunigunden Forest was covered with arable land up to the high altitudes. At that time, grass was grown on the plateau, the so-called Äiweding, and so-called vaulted bakers were built on the steep slopes. After the agricultural crisis, the lawyers reforested their forest. Since then, central forest management has been practiced in the forest . The area is thinned every 25 years so that some very tall trees can grow here. The Kunigunden Forest is one of the few forests in the Kitzingen district where this form of farming is still practiced today.

Central forest management also leads to a differentiated fauna. The old trees with a height of up to 25 m provide a habitat for the stag beetle (Lucanus cervus). In addition, rare species of butterflies can be found in the Kunigunden Forest. The trees will be dominated by oak trees, especially stone (Quercus ilex), grape (Quercus petraea) and common oak (Quercus robur) can be found in the forest. In addition to hornbeam (Carpinus) planted. Less common are chestnut (Castanea sativa), cherry trees and maple (Acer platanoides). Unlike in many neighboring forests, the spruce is rare.

Protected areas

The entire Kunigunden Forest is part of a protected area encompassing the entire western Steigerwald as a fauna and flora habitat . Rare bird species were given special protection through the establishment of the Southern Steigerwald bird sanctuary . In addition, the entire area is part of the landscape protection area , which includes the former protection zone of the Steigerwald.

literature

  • Hermann Büchlein: The forest in the district of Kitzingen . In: Andreas Pampuch (ed.): Nature and landscape of the district of Kitzingen . Kitzingen 1979/1980. Pp. 108-116.
  • Richard Schmitt: 1200 years of Bullenheim . Ippesheim 2016.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See: little book, Hermann: The forest in the district of Kitzingen . P. 110.
  2. ↑ Schmitt, Richard: 1200 years Bullenheim . P. 40.
  3. ↑ Schmitt, Richard: 1200 years Bullenheim . P. 43.
  4. ↑ Willanzheim: Kunigundenwald and Acht-Dörfer-Eiche , accessed on April 22, 2019.
  5. ↑ Schmitt, Richard: 1200 years Bullenheim . P. 41.
  6. ↑ Schmitt, Richard: 1200 years Bullenheim . P. 40.
  7. ↑ Main-Post: With the forester in the middle forest , accessed on April 22, 2019.

Coordinates: 49 ° 37 ′ 40 ″  N , 10 ° 15 ′ 22.6 ″  E