Linden at the well in front of the gate
| Linden at the well in front of the gate | |||
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.jpg) View out of town to Linde and Brunnenplatz in Allendorf
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| place | Bad Sooden-Allendorf in the North Hessian Werra-Meißner district | ||
| country | Hessen , Germany | ||
| Tree species | Summer linden ( Tilia platyphyllos ) | ||
| Geographical location | 51 ° 16 '13.2 " N , 9 ° 58' 49.9" E | ||
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| Status natural monument | Designated as a natural monument on August 1, 1936 | ||
| Age | Over 100 years | ||
| Trunk circumference (chest height) |
more than three meters | ||
| Tree height | Around 26 meters | ||
It is said that Wilhelm Müller , inspired by the linden tree at the fountain in front of the gate in Bad Sooden-Allendorf in northern Hesse , wrote the poem “The Linden Tree” . The verse became famous as " At the fountain in front of the gate " through the setting by Franz Schubert and the arrangement by Friedrich Silcher . The almost 700 years old "Original" linden tree fell victim to a storm in May 1912. In 1914 a new linden tree was planted in its place, which has now reached impressive dimensions with a height of around 26 meters and a trunk circumference of more than three meters. The tree has been under special protection as a natural monument since 1936 .
Location
The square with the linden tree and the fountain can be found on the corner of “Langer Weg” and “Rothesteinstraße” in Allendorf in the Werra-Meißner district . The facility is not far from the former “Steintor” in the southeastern area of the Allendorfer city fortifications. Relics of the outer wall have been preserved here, with an inscription indicating the year 1724.
In the 1990s, the stone gate, which had disappeared for more than 150 years, was rebuilt according to old documents. The main reasons for the reconstruction are said to have been provided by participants in Japanese tour groups who visited the fountain in front of the gate with the linden tree because they knew that the poet Wilhelm Müller wrote the text of the famous song at this point, and asked where the associated gate. However, today's archway only suggests the former city gate.
The last of the three cornerstones of the Allendorfer gallows lies behind the “room fountain”, as it is officially called . This stood on the Zinnberg on the edge of the Klausberg, from which the clean, soft water of the room fountain comes. According to a legend, the “Zinnborn” source is said to have its source at the point where the head of an innocent decapitated girl rolled from the place of execution.
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The complex, which has been redesigned several times, with the raised space around the fountain is protected as a cultural monument for historical reasons.
history
The linden tree planted when Allendorf was founded in 1218 fell, destroyed by a hailstorm, on the night of May 12, 1912. The loss of the old tree was reported across the country at that time. Photographs of the uprooted tree appeared in many newspapers in the empire . The art historian and photographer Thomas Wiegand reports in his book “Trees from the Werraland” that choral societies had pieces of wood sent to them from the mighty trunk as a relic , so to speak.
A few months later, on March 17, 1913, in the year of the 100th return of liberation from the French occupation and on the day of the 25th anniversary of the reign of the last German Emperor Wilhelm II , a new linden tree was opened, accompanied by national speeches and brass band music, planted. However, this did not grow and the planting campaign had to be repeated the following year, this time without any patriotic behavior. When the linden tree, which was set up in 1914, turned 100, the city and the local history association raised awareness of the anniversary with a linden tree festival. After the festive church service, festive lectures and musical contributions, more than 500 people sang the song “At the fountain in front of the gate” in honor of the tree.
Folkloric meaning
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On one of his numerous trips, Wilhelm Müller, who has only turned 33, is said to have also visited Allendorf an der Werra . Tradition reports that it should have been around 1822 when the stately linden tree inspired him to write his famous verses. His poem was first published as "Der Lindenbaum" in 1823 in the cycle of twelve traveling songs "Die Winterreise". At the beginning of 1827 Franz Schubert set the first songs of the " Winterreise " to music . However, an arrangement by Friedrich Silcher was primarily responsible for the great success of the song. Based on Schubert's composition, it was Silcher's simplified version that turned “Am Brunnen vor dem Tore” from a romantic art song into a popular folk song that is famous and loved around the world .
However, it is not certain that Wilhelm Müller was ever in Allendorf and erected a monument to this linden tree. Some other places in Germany with a "fountain in front of the gate" also refer to the origin of the verse. However, as the local historians from Bad Sooden-Allendorf say, "the constellation where the fountain with the linden tree and the gate are so close together is only possible here with us."
The linden tree is not only a tourist trademark for the place, as the mayor put it in a festive contribution for the 100th birthday, but also a symbol of power and strength and for a piece of home. The idyllic three-piece ensemble, with the shady old tree, the fountain that stands next to it, and the city gate, is one of the most famous motifs of North Hessian romanticism. Hardly any visitor or spa guest fails to take a souvenir photo.
Web links
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- "At the fountain in front of the gate" on the website of the Verein für Heimatkunde eV Bad Sooden-Allendorf
- Brief description and pictures, including historical photos, by Klaus Heinemann on the Baumkunde.de website
Individual evidence
- ↑ In the list of natural monuments in the Werra-Meißner district, the tree has the number ND 636.008.
- ↑ Its current name Bad Sooden-Allendorf was given to the place on the occasion of the amalgamation of the Sooden and the town of Allendorf in 1929.
- ↑ Gottfried Kiesow: "Even old trees need protection" in the magazine "Monuments, the magazine for monument culture" , issue 3/2005; accessed on September 16, 2019.
- ↑ a b c Thomas Wiegand: Trees from the Werraland - A photo documentation. Published by the Kreissparkasse Eschwege . druck GmbH Keitz + Fischer, Eschwege 1984, p. 30th f .
- ^ Peer Zietz: Monument topography Federal Republic of Germany. Cultural monuments in Hessen. Werra-Meißner district III. Old district of Witzenhausen. Published by the State Office for Monument Preservation . Vieweg, Braunschweig / Wiesbaden 1995, ISBN 3-528-06228-2 , pp. 56 f .
- ↑ Hessische / Niedersächsische Allgemeine from June 18, 2015, "Festival at the fountain in front of the gate: substitute linden tree 100 years old." ; accessed on September 16, 2019.
- ↑ Werra-Rundschau of June 23, 2015, "100th birthday of the linden tree at the fountain in front of the gate" ; accessed on September 17, 2019.
- ↑ Bernd Leistner: "On the life and writing history of Wilhelm Müller" . On the website of the International Wilhelm Müller Society; accessed on September 17, 2019.
- ^ "At the fountain in front of the gate" on the website of the Verein für Heimatkunde eV Bad Sooden-Allendorf; accessed on September 16, 2019.