Galapa ring wall
| Galapa ring wall | ||
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| Castle type : | Höhenburg, spur location | |
| Conservation status: | Moat, ramparts | |
| Place: | Solingen - Castle on the Wupper | |
| Geographical location | 51 ° 8 '12.5 " N , 7 ° 8' 39.6" E | |
| Height: | 144 m above sea level NN | |
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The Galapa was a prehistoric or early historical fortification in the Solingen district of Burg an der Wupper ( North Rhine-Westphalia ).
Location and description
The ring section wall is located at the end of a spur of the Jagenberg at 144 m above sea level in a loop of the Wupper . On the opposite hill you can see the former ducal residence Schloss Burg .
The entire system, including an upstream moat, is 600 m long. Towards the west it is closed by an approx. 180 m long rampart, the inner wall with a ditch is about 65 m long and 18 m wide. It is unclear whether this matrix was built at the same time. The walls have a wall core with mortar . An access cannot be recognized; Rafael von Uslar suspects that it is an Upper Franconian fortification with a bridge over the moat.
In earlier years it was discussed whether the builders could be assigned to the Celtic culture. A short archaeological orientation excavation did not produce any findings that would allow the builder to be determined. The Burgstall is now a ground monument .
etymology
The name Galapa has been handed down in dialect and has no historical record. Written sources from the 19th century pass on the dialectal name op der Jallepa for the location of the fortification. The Solingen historian Heinz Rosenthal sees a connection with the Walloon word gallope , which is said to be based on the Old High German word jal (= suddenly , suddenly ). He sees a connection with the toponym hunting mountain, the fort is located at the spur. He establishes the connection with Wallonia via aristocrats and abbots who came from there and who owned properties in the Wupper area at the end of the 12th century.
literature
- Rafael von Uslar : Studies on prehistoric fortifications between the North Sea and the Alps . Bonner Jahrb. Beih. 11 (Cologne 1964); P. 175f
- Heinz Rosenthal: Solingen - history of a city (1st volume), Walter Braun Verlag, Duisburg, 1973
