Run away
A Rennweg ( ahd . Renniweg ), sometimes also called Rennsteig or Rennstieg , originally served mainly military purposes. This functional generic term from the age of knights was derived from [a horse] race in the sense of fast riding (cf. Rennwiese in the sense of tournament ground , racing flag for equestrian standard or Renner for the preferred knight horse).
history
The first documentary evidence of a Rennweg comes from the collection of documents in the Fulda Monastery : a “Renniweg” is mentioned in a description of the Salmünster parish dating from the 9th century .
In the Middle Ages , in contrast to the open road , race tracks were mostly laid out away from settlements, often on ridges and through forests as secret direct connections for smaller horsemen and messengers. Militarily they were used for surprise coups, quick retreats or for scouts. Sometimes they also served to link aristocratic free float or as the shortest connections for long-distance journeys by the nobility with small entourage. Occasionally, sections of former Roman roads were reused for this purpose. In contrast to the navigable diet routes and trade routes, the mostly straight racing routes were rather narrow bridle paths or paths with often large differences in height, which were mostly unsuitable for wagons or the entourage and whose use was not advisable for traders and the common people due to the lack of escort .
In modern times , in the course of territorial and military change, the Rennwege gradually lost their strategic and largely also their geographical importance for transport. If they ran along mountain ridges, racing routes were later often used to delimit districts or territories and therefore sometimes also referred to or interpreted as border routes. The derivation of the term from Rain as "Rainweg" that sometimes appears is etymologically untenable.
Relics
More than 220 race tracks or tracks have been preserved, especially in the German low mountain range. Much more can be proven on the basis of old land maps and sources.
Preserved race tracks
The remaining race tracks or race tracks are nowadays often used as hiking trails or as a tourist leitmotif:
- Rennweg (Breisgau) near Freiburg im Breisgau , Baden-Württemberg
- Race paths in the Stromberg , riding and messenger paths on the heights of the Stromberg , Baden-Württemberg
- Rennweg (Haßberge) , path over the ridge of the Franconian Haßberge, Bavaria
- Rennsteig (main moor forest) near Bamberg , Bavaria
- Rennstrasse in the Taunus Nature Park , Hesse
- Rennweg (Arnsberg Forest) , today the main hiking route of the Sauerland Mountain Association, North Rhine-Westphalia
- Rennweg (Huertgenwald) in the Huertgen Forest , North Rhine-Westphalia
- Rennweg (Königsforst) in the Königsforst near Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia
- Rennsteig in the Thuringian Forest and Franconian Forest , Thuringia and Bavaria
- Breiter Rennsteig , a branch of the Thuringian Rennsteig, Thuringia
- Rennstieg , Kammweg im Hainich , Thuringia
- Rennweg (Kyffhäuser) , riding and messenger trail in Kyffhäuser , Thuringia
Name relics
Street and place names derived from Rennweg :
- Rennweg (Nuremberg) , street and district in Nuremberg, Bavaria
- Rennweg (Würzburg) , street in Würzburg , Bavaria
- Neuhaus am Rennweg , town in the Thuringian Forest, Thuringia
- Rennweg (Innsbruck) , street in Innsbruck , Austria
- Rennweg am Katschberg , municipality in Carinthia, Austria
- Rennweg (Wien) , street in Vienna, Austria
- Rennweg (Basel) , street in Basel , Switzerland
- Rennweg (Zurich) , street and quarter in Zurich, Switzerland
See also
literature
- German Dictionary , Volume 14, Column 815, Rennweg article .
- Friedrich Kluge : Etymological dictionary of the German language. 18th edition. de Gruyter, Berlin 1960, p. 596.
- Gottfried Odenwald: The Rennweg from Freiburg im Breisgau . In: Journal of the Breisgau history association Schau-ins-Land, No. 104, 1985, pp. 135–152.
- Schweizerisches Idiotikon , Volume VI, Column 840 f., Article Ränn-Wëg , as well as Volume VI, Column 961 ff., Article rännen .
Remarks
- ↑ Excerpt from Kieser's forest map No. 98, Spilberg , from 1684 (south).
- ↑ a b Friedrich Kluge : Etymological dictionary of the German language. 18th edition. de Gruyter, Berlin 1960, p. 596.
- ↑ Heerstraßen, according to Kluge, op. a. O, originally written Dietwec .
- ^ German dictionary , volume 14, column 815, article Rennweg .
- ↑ Schweizerisches Idiotikon , Volume VI, Column 840 f., Article Ränn-Wëg , where, in addition to the appellative meaning, numerous corresponding place and street names are mentioned.
- ↑ In the place name of Neuhaus am Rennweg , the Thuringian Rennsteig is also referred to as the Rennweg .
- ↑ In addition to the appellative meaning, numerous corresponding place and street names are mentioned here.
- ↑ Here especially the meanings 1d ("set a horse in a hurry, rush it") and 2a ("ride with the reins, at the sharpest pace, drive")
