Schweinfurt Meteorite Fall (1627)
| Schweinfurt Meteorite Fall (1627) | |
|---|---|
| place | Schweinfurt |
| Fall time | 1627 |
| authenticity | rather implausible |
The Schweinfurt meteorite fall in 1627 is the name given to an impact event in southern Germany.
The following inscription can still be read in the courtyard of the Roth brewery in Schweinfurt (Bavaria) :
Gallows wheel u. Rabenstein
bad boy be warning.
Also to warn me u. You
this thunderbolt is hanging here!
An alleged meteorite hangs on a chain above this inscription .
background
In 1579, Johann Schopper acquired the property on which today's Roth brewery is located and built the so-called Schopperhaus on it. One of the next owners, Council Consulate Johann Höfel, decorated the magnificent house with sayings, pictures, coats of arms and reliefs - also with the mysterious inscription. In 1818 a brewery was founded in this house , which the Roth family took over in 1870. The new owner sent the alleged meteorite to the Conservatory General in Munich for inspection. An analysis showed that the stone is not a meteorite, but rather a quartz cut round in the Main . However, there are no records of this investigation. The Roth brewery, a Renaissance house in Schweinfurt , was destroyed except for the ground floor in the Second World War . The slogan on the original wall plate was retained, but there is no trace of a meteorite. All you can see is a wooden dummy . In this case, too, it is no longer possible to determine who made them.
Black lydite from the Main as a meteorite
The question of how a normally white quartz rubble can be mistaken for a meteorite can be answered by the black Lydite , which is more common in the Main . Lydite is a rock that consists of the silica skeletons of unicellular marine microorganisms that are chemically identical to quartz . These rocks are mined in the Franconian Forest and then transported on over the Main . In Lower Franconia they can only be found in and along the Main.
Schweinfurt city history
This alleged meteorite has long been part of the city history of Schweinfurt. He appears again and again in books and chronicles. The thunderbolt is well known there: From generation to generation it has been passed down that it fell from heaven. Even school classes go on trips there. There is no further information about a possible meteorite fall in Schweinfurt. A meteorite fall is extremely unlikely.
literature
- Bavarian State Office for the Environment : Out of this world. Bavaria's meteorite. Self-published, Augsburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-936385-92-2 .