Lethkogel

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Lethkogel
Lethkogel (center) from the southeast

Lethkogel (center) from the southeast

height 608  m above sea level A.
location Styria , Austria
Mountains Koralpe , Lavanttal Alps
Dominance 0.36 km →  Stainzer Kogel
Notch height 21 m ↓  Wartenweg
Coordinates 46 ° 53 '16 "  N , 15 ° 13' 50"  E Coordinates: 46 ° 53 '16 "  N , 15 ° 13' 50"  E
Lethkogel (Styria)
Lethkogel
rock Amphibolite , mica schist
particularities archaeological site (Copper and Latène Age settlement remains and smelting furnaces), Stainzer Warte
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The Lethkogel (also Pölliberg ) is 608  m above sea level. A. high hill in the Lavanttal Alps in the Austrian state of Styria . On it is the Stainzer Warte , a historic observation tower and a popular excursion destination. The survey gained supraregional fame as the site of the Copper Age and Latène Age settlement remains and metal smelting furnaces.

Location and surroundings

The Lethkogel rises in western Styria on the eastern edge of the Koralpe around 260 meters above the Stainztal. The foothills of the Rosenkogel are located in the area of ​​the market town of Stainz about 3 km southwest of the market. While the summit and the north and east sides of the mountain are largely forested, the southern slope around the village of Vochera am Weinberg (part of the former market town of Bad Gams ) presents itself as an extensive wine-growing area . From Stainz, the Salleggerstraße ( L645 ) climbs in a semicircle around the Lethkogel and includes local roads from Kothvogel, Vochera, Mitteregg and Gamsgebirg. The Stainzer Warte can be reached from all directions on hiking trails.

Geology and geomorphology

The Lethkogel belongs to the Koralpe crystalline complex and is composed of a core of eclogite amphibolite encased in pegmatitoid mica schists . The well-known Stainzer hard gneiss comes to the surface on the southern slope, broken by several tectonic faults . Morphologically , the Lethkogel is a relapse dome with little dominance and notch height . The north slope is characterized by artificially created terrace steps (see archeology ), which were recently destroyed in the lower area by an amphibolite quarry .

archeology

Terrain model with archaeological sites and quarry

A Slovenian publication reported for the first time in 2002 about finds from the Copper Age and an early medieval hilltop settlement on the Pölliberg . Between 2003 and October 2006, extensive excavations were carried out in cooperation between the market town of Stainz, Archäologieland Steiermark and AMS Deutschlandsberg . The work, using the latest methods, cost 260,000 euros and yielded a total of around 900 finds of archaeological importance.

The first settlement of the Lethkogel took place around 4000 BC. BC (Lasinja culture), as numerous ceramic finds show. In contrast to other hilltop settlements in Styria, settlement from the Copper Age did not break off at this point, but existed until around 3700 BC. The focus of the settlement was in the area of ​​the summit, where up to 2005 postings of Copper Age buildings and pits could be exposed. The latter contained high-quality ceramics and knock-off devices such as blades, knives and arrowheads . Outstanding finds were a ceramic pintadera and fragments of casting spoons, which are considered the oldest evidence of copper processing in Styria. At the edge of triangular settlement basic form to the extent of 150 x 150 m, a stone workshop, the down devices was Silex and ax and Beilrohlinge from local amphibolite and meta gabbro brought forth. While the remains of the settlement reveal influences from pile construction , the ceramic finds (furrow pattern ) also show connections to the Mondsee culture , which makes the Lethkogel the southernmost known distribution point of this culture.

The second phase of settlement on the Lethkogel did not take place until the late Latène period from the 2nd century BC. From this era there are remains of a rampart that have been preserved in varying degrees of well-preserved along the southern edge , which were destroyed in the west by the construction of an elevated tank . Not far outside of the wall cut, the archaeologists discovered 21 metal smelting furnaces on the north-west slope , which, with the help of the University of London and the Montan University of Leoben , date back to 69-30 BC. Could be dated. Slag finds indicate iron smelting and provided evidence of arsenic copper , which in turn suggests a connection to the Moon Sea culture. The Celtic settlement ended shortly before the Roman occupation in 15 BC. A last, early medieval settlement, during which, among other things, the stone wall was raised with a pile of earth, is believed to exist before the Hungarian conquest in the 8th and 9th centuries AD.

Stainzer waiting

Even before a tourist observation tower was built on the Lethkogel, there was a probably high medieval defense tower called “Polan” there. The complex, also known as the "Pöllibergschloss", served as the seat of a family of servants of the Lords of Wildon and was probably built in the late 12th century. The local history of Stainz assumes the tower was built in the 9th century in connection with the Bavarian colonization. According to more recent findings, the structure was not - as originally assumed - on the summit, but on a knoll near the Engelweingarten on the south-eastern slope of the mountain.

The Stainzer Warte

The Stainzer Warte was built in 1902 on behalf of the Austrian Tourist Club (ÖTK) according to plans by the Graz architect Hans Pascher and was officially opened on September 8th of that year. The Wilhelmswarte near Judenburg, also designed by Pascher, served as a model . Wilhelm Ritter Gründorf von Zebegény compared the control room in his travel guide Grazer Tourist (1903) with the Reinerkogel control room, which was completed only a few months earlier . In 1926 the ÖTK handed over the control room to the Styrian Mountain Association , and in 1952 the first general renovation took place. In 1964, Stainz took over the tower, which was in a desolate state, and subjected it to a temporary renovation . Another general renovation was carried out in 1979/80 on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the market town of Stainz. Since then, the monument has been looked after by the local tourist association. The 100th anniversary was celebrated on the national holiday in 2002.

The structure with a total height of 26 m, largely preserved in its original state, consists of a fully clad wooden construction that rests on a 5 m high, square stone base with a side length of 5.2 m. The octagonal viewing platform with a diameter of 6 m is reached via 93 wooden steps at a height of 17 m. In 1902 the magazine Der Bautechniker (No. 45, p. 1) incorrectly stated a total height of 39.5 m and a platform height of 25 m, which can also be read on a board at the control room. To ensure the view, the surrounding treetops have been cut several times recently. The panoramic view extends from parts of the Styrian Randgebirge (Koralpe, Gleinalpe ) over the Grazer Bergland and the Eastern Styrian volcanic country to the Pohorje .

Literature and maps

  • Christoph Baur: The finds from the Lethkogel near Stainz, Styria, from the Latène period. Diploma thesis at the University of Innsbruck 2009, 106 pp.
  • Andreas Bernhard: Zgodnjesrednjeveška višinska naselbina na Pöllibergu pri Stainzu na zahodnem Štajerskem - An early medieval hilltop settlement on the Pölliberg near Stainz in western Styria. In: Mitja Guštin: Zgodnji slovani - The early Slavs. Zgodnjesrednjeveška lončenia na obrobju vzhodnih Alp - early medieval ceramics on the edge of the Eastern Alps. Narodni Muzej Slovenije, Ljubljana 2002, ISBN 961-6169-22-X .
  • Andreas Brudnjak: Lookout guide for Styria. The most beautiful lookout points from Bad Aussee to Radkersburg. Kral Verlag, Berndorf 2014, ISBN 978-3-9902424-5-2 , pp. 144-146.
  • Georg Tiefengraber: The Lethkogel near Stainz in the Copper Age. In: Bernhard Hebert (Ed.): Prehistory and Roman times in Styria. Böhlau Verlag , Vienna 2015, ISBN 978-3-205-79691-6 , pp. 232-235.
  • Austrian map 1: 50,000, sheet 4104 ( UTM ). Federal Office for Metrology and Surveying .

Web links

Commons : Lethkogel  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Digital Atlas of Styria: Geology & Geotechnics. State of Styria , accessed June 20, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Christoph Baur: The Latène period finds from the Lethkogel near Stainz, Styria. Diploma thesis at the University of Innsbruck 2009, p. 5.
  3. ↑ Andreas Bernhard: Zgodnjesrednjeveška višinska naselbina na na Pöllibergu pri Stainzu zahodnem Štajerskem - An early medieval hilltop settlement on Pölliberg in Stainz in Western Styria. In: Mitja Guštin: Zgodnji slovani - The early Slavs. Zgodnjesrednjeveška lončenia na obrobju vzhodnih Alp - early medieval ceramics on the edge of the Eastern Alps. Narodni Muzej Slovenije, Ljubljana 2002, ISBN 961-6169-22-X .
  4. ↑ Bettina Kuzmicki: Look into the past. In: Kleine Zeitung , Süd & Südwest edition of October 21, 2004, p. 27.
  5. ↑ Hans Ast: For archaeologists, copper shines like gold. In: Kleine Zeitung , Süd & Südwest edition of October 24, 2006, p. 22.
  6. ↑ a b c W. Bräunlich: Lethkogel excavation. TV Schilcherland Stainz-Reinischkogel, information board of the Koralm Kristall Trail on the Lethkogel. photo
  7. ↑ a b Georg Tiefengraber: The Lethkogel near Stainz in the Copper Age. In: Bernhard Hebert (Ed.): Prehistory and Roman times in Styria. Böhlau Verlag , Vienna 2015, ISBN 978-3-205-79691-6 , pp. 232-235.
  8. ↑ a b Robert Baravalle: Castles and palaces of Styria. An encyclopaedic collection of the Styrian fortifications and properties, which were endowed with various privileges. Stiasny Verlag, Graz 1961, p. 80.
  9. ^ Chronicle of Stainz. Marktgemeinde Stainz, accessed on June 20, 2019 .
  10. ^ Bernhard, p. 163.
  11. ↑ a b Andreas Brudnjak: Lookout guide for Styria. The most beautiful lookout points from Bad Aussee to Radkersburg. Kral Verlag, Berndorf 2014, ISBN 978-3-9902424-5-2 , pp. 144-146.
  12. ↑ a b W. Bräunlich: The Stainzer Warte. TV Schilcherland Stainz-Reinischkogel, information board of the Koralm Kristall Trail on the Lethkogel. photo