Stone bolt
Stone bars (also reading stone bars or reading stone walls ) are elongated layers of reading stones . They shape the image of numerous southern German vineyards . Depending on the region they are also stone rattling , rock slides , rolling walls or Karmauern called.
Emergence
From the late Middle Ages onwards , more and more wine was grown in Germany, even in less favorable locations. This was only possible if the vineyards (often shallow shell limestone soils ) were always chopped. Larger stones, released from the ground by soil erosion and frost uplift , were often piled in the fall line of the slopes along the property lines. This is one possible reason why the “Wengerter” built the ramparts in this form and not in the form of terraces running across the slope, as is otherwise common in steep-slope viticulture.
The accumulations, often several meters wide, had the side effect of heating up during the day and releasing the heat again at night. Occasionally there are stone walls about 1 m high at right angles to the stone bars and running parallel to the slope edge. These served as barriers against the cold air from the plateaus, which due to their higher density flows into the valleys.
In some cases, on the sides of the stone bars there are trenches lined with plates for the water to run off, in order to prevent the valuable soil from being washed away in the event of heavy rain. One of the longest stone bars was measured at 234 m in the Pfitzinger valley near Niederstetten .
Decline and today's importance
The introduction of phylloxera in the 19th century led to a decline in viticulture and a reduction in the area under vines. As a result of the removal and use of the stones, the development of hillside areas with residential buildings and land consolidations , the stone blocks disappeared in many places. Where this is not the case, the stone bars are often overgrown, but preserve the terrain relief that is important in terms of usage history. The soil under the stone bars is hardly affected by erosion and thus gives an indication of the original surface of the earth at the beginning of the viticulture period. In order to counteract the encroachment, nature conservation representatives and municipalities (in addition to mechanical slope maintenance measures) are trying to encourage grazing with sheep .
protection
Since 1992, stone bars in Baden-Württemberg have been considered natural monuments and biotopes according to Section 32 of the State Nature Conservation Act and are listed on the Red List of Biotope Types as "Endangered Biotopes" according to hazard category 3 and rated as a biotope type "of medium to high importance" in terms of nature conservation .
Flora and fauna
Occasionally the bare bars were used for special crops. Thus wrote Karl Esslinger in his History of the Upper Office Gerabronn : "By 1750, as many were in the area of Niederstetten on the located between the vineyards stone walls quince pulled that out of them wine was prepared." But if Steinriegel not piled or otherwise kept free hedges, bushes and forests quickly gain the upper hand. The maintenance of the landscape is complex and is only done by a few idealists . As a result, the open, dry, warm, woody locations that are important for fauna and flora are increasingly disappearing .
Usually undemanding species such as the white sedum plant , Sempervivum globiferum , tripmadam and spicy stonecrop start the process . Eyelash pearlgrass is also easy to find, and mullein is common. This is followed by bushes such as sloe , wild blackberries and clematis . Hops , which in earlier times were planted as an additional source of income on the edges of the stone bars, now quite often overgrow them across the board. The last phase in the vegetation of the stone bar landscape are trees such as walnuts , cherries and dogwoods, as well as hazelnut bushes and dog roses . Less common are hawthorn , privet , elderberry and plum trees .
The Steinriegellandschaft is home to all warbler species occurring in Germany . Reversible necks are numerous as they have abundant food available in the form of ants . Sand lizards and blindworms feel just as comfortable on the warm stones as their predator, the smooth snake . The little owl was common in earlier times, but has now disappeared from the stone bar landscape for unexplained reasons.
"Mostloch"
A “ Mostloch ” refers to a niche in southern Germany that was inserted with larger stone blocks when a stone bar was erected. It was used to keep the must and food cool for the " hackers " and assistants working in the vineyard . It was built on the shady side of a stone bar to ensure the highest possible cooling. There was one cider hole per vineyard.
See also
Literature and Sources
- Günter Hüttl: Steinriegel in our landscape . In: Historical Association for Württemberg Franconia (ed.): 650 years of Niederstetten. Publications on local history and local history in Württembergisch Franconia . tape 4 . Schwäbisch Hall 1991.
- Carlheinz Gräter : Hohenloher rarities: history and stories. Silberburg-Verlag , Tübingen 2010, ISBN 978-3-87407-901-3
Web links
- Cultural landscape in transition
- Example of capturing a typical stone bar landscape
- Swabian Heimatbund
- Red list of biotope types
- Nature Conservation Act Baden-Württemberg
Individual evidence
- ^ Carlheinz Gräter: Hohenloher rarities: history and stories. P. 53.
- ↑ § 32 (1) 6.
- ↑ lubw.baden-wuerttemberg.de: Red List of Biotope Types Baden-Württemberg - List ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PdF, State Institute for the Environment, Measurements and Nature Conservation Baden-Württemberg , 2002. p. 5, 23.00 Morphological special forms of anthropogenic origin , 23.20)
- ^ Carlheinz Gräter: Hohenloher rarities: history and stories. Page 56
- ^ Tauber-Zeitung , June 9, 2011, Bürgerforum Stadtbild , swp.de: Wengerterschlupf with Mostloch ( memento from April 7, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on February 27, 2014)
