Menhir from Großstorkwitz

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The menhir of Großstorkwitz , also called Malkstein , Melkstein or Reiterstein , was a prehistoric menhir near Großstorkwitz , a district of Pegau in the Leipzig district . Before 1856 it was removed from its original location and placed in the ancient museum in the Great Garden in Dresden . There he fell victim to the bombing raids on Dresden on the night of February 13-14, 1945 .

location

The menhir was originally located on the border of Großstorkwitz on the parcel "Das Steingewänne" or "Steingewende".

description

The menhir was made of sandstone and was columnar. It had a height of 200 cm and a width of 86 cm. Its thickness was 48 cm at the foot and 28 cm at the top. It was provided with pictures on all four sides, which were probably attached in the 12th century AD. The four pictures show two riders with spears, another, single rider, a worm-like monster and a cow being milked by a woman. In addition to the picture decorations, the stone also had a few grinding grooves. The time of its original erection can no longer be determined with certainty; the only finds from its immediate vicinity come from the cord ceramic culture . In historical times it served as a boundary stone and was last decorated with pictures.

The menhir in regional sagas

There are several legends about the menhir , most of which relate to its pictorial decorations. According to a legend, an unknown woman, called Bockmarthe, came on a cart pulled by four goats and milked the cows. Horsemen were sent out to take her, but the woman was as if sunk in the ground. Another legend tells of a deceitful maid who secretly milked cows and was turned to stone as a punishment. A third legend related to the illustration of the milking tells that milk was sold on the menhir during the plague . Furthermore, the stone is said to have been a memorial for a hero of the 11th or 12th century or a memorial stone to the battle of Riyadh against the Hungarians in 933.

literature

  • Hans-Jürgen Beier : The megalithic, submegalithic and pseudomegalithic buildings and the menhirs between the Baltic Sea and the Thuringian Forest (= contributions to the prehistory and early history of Central Europe. Volume 1). Wilkau-Haßlau 1991, p. 71.
  • Johannes Felix , Max Näbe : About relationships of stone monuments and erratic blocks to cult, to legends and folk customs. In: Meeting reports of the Natural Research Society in Leipzig. Volume 42, 1915, p. 14 ff.
  • Horst Kirchner : The menhirs in Central Europe and the menhir thought (= Academy of Sciences and Literature. Treatises of the humanities and social sciences class. Born 1955, No. 9). Wiesbaden 1955, p. 187.
  • Waldtraut Schrickel : Western European elements in the Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age of Central Germany. Part 1. Catalog Leipzig 1957, p. 71.
  • HW Schulz, G. Klemm, FL Bösigk: Guide through the museum of the Royal Saxon Association for research and preservation of patriotic antiquities in the Königl. Great Garden Palace. Dresden 1856, p. 81 ( online ).