Millstone Cave (Neroth)

Millstone Cave
	The millstone cave on the Nerother head
Location:	Nerother Kopf , Rhineland-Palatinate
Height :	643 m above sea level NHN
Geographic ; location:	50 ° 11 '37.1 " N , 6 ° 45' 36" E Coordinates: 50 ° 11 '37.1 " N , 6 ° 45' 36" E
Geology:	Lava rocks
Type:	artificial cave
Lighting:	No
Level difference:	18 m

The Mühlsteinhöhle is an artificial cave in the Vulkaneifel , Rhineland-Palatinate . It was created by making millstones from a rock wall made of volcanic rock .

Location and access

The millstone cave is located in the summit area of the Nerother Kopf , a wooded hill of volcanic origin east of Neroth . The entrance is just below the Freudenkoppe castle ruins at a height of around 640 m and can be reached via a hiking trail. The cave is 18 meters deep and its vault is up to ten meters high. It is accessible, but not illuminated (torch required).

history

Because of its steep, vertical walls made of lava rocks, the Nerother head turned out to be a suitable mining site for millstones. The date of the start of mining is unknown, but is probably before the construction of the castle began around 1340. The millstones were broken out of the rock with a hammer and chisel and finished on the spot. Unfinished blanks of these stones can still be found today on the walls of the cave. The remains of broken millstones can also be found outside the cave. The lava rock was not only mined for the production of millstones, but was also used in the construction of Freudenkoppe Castle. Millstones were also mined here in later times, the last testimony dates from 1788. The cave was probably larger at that time and also had a side exit, but sliding earth moved part of the cave. According to a legend, the cave was even part of an underground passage to other castles, which is also expressed in the popular poem Op dem Nerother Kopp / the Deuwel sits there / drives underground through / up to the Altburg .

Members of the Wandervogel eV met in the cave on December 31, 1919. V. to found the Nerother Wandervogel .

The cave has been under protection as a cultural monument since 1980 .

Web links

Commons : Millstone Cave - collection of images

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Walter Pippke, Ida Leinberger: The Eifel . History and culture of the old volcanic region between Aachen and Trier. DuMont Reiseverlag, 1999, ISBN 978-3-7701-3926-2 , p. 220 ( Google Books [accessed November 25, 2011]).
↑ Federal Office for Cartography and Geodesy, State Office for Surveying and Basic Geographic Information Rhineland-Palatinate: Digital Topographic Map 1:50 000, Germany Viewer , accessed on November 25, 2011
↑ Cave wall of the millstone cave on the Nerother Kopf, Vulkaneifel , accessed on September 9, 2014
↑ ^a ^b Entry on the millstone cave on the Nerother Kopf (Neunkirchen, Daun municipality) in the database of cultural assets in the Trier region ; Retrieved February 3, 2016.
↑ Manfred Böckling: Hiking on the Eifelsteig . 2nd Edition. DuMont Reiseverlag, 2010, ISBN 978-3-7701-8029-5 , p. 80 ( Google Books [accessed November 25, 2011]).

[Pippke-1] Walter Pippke, Ida Leinberger: The Eifel . History and culture of the old volcanic region between Aachen and Trier. DuMont Reiseverlag, 1999, ISBN 978-3-7701-3926-2 , p. 220 ( Google Books [accessed November 25, 2011]).

[RP-2] Federal Office for Cartography and Geodesy, State Office for Surveying and Basic Geographic Information Rhineland-Palatinate: Digital Topographic Map 1:50 000, Germany Viewer , accessed on November 25, 2011

[eur-3] Cave wall of the millstone cave on the Nerother Kopf, Vulkaneifel , accessed on September 9, 2014

[roscheiderhof-4] Entry on the millstone cave on the Nerother Kopf (Neunkirchen, Daun municipality) in the database of cultural assets in the Trier region ; Retrieved February 3, 2016.

[BÖ-5] Manfred Böckling: Hiking on the Eifelsteig . 2nd Edition. DuMont Reiseverlag, 2010, ISBN 978-3-7701-8029-5 , p. 80 ( Google Books [accessed November 25, 2011]).