Red Cross (Taunus)
| Red Cross | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 The eponymous Red Cross |
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| Compass direction | north | south | |
| Pass height | 688 m above sea level NN | ||
| state | Hesse | ||
| Valley locations | Schmitten | Koenigstein | |
| expansion | Pass road (L 3025) | ||
| Mountains | Hochtaunus | ||
| Map (Hessen) | |||
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| Coordinates | 50 ° 13 '31 " N , 8 ° 26' 11" E | ||
The Red Cross is a pass in the Hochtaunus .
Pass road
The Red Cross ( 688 m above sea level ) opens up the entrance from Königstein or the B8 coming into the Weiltal . This pass has been used since ancient times. The Romans secured the passage with the Kleiner Feldberg Roman fort ( ⊙ ) (due to the water supply, the fort is not located directly on the top of the pass, but about 1 km away at the Weilquelle). In the Middle Ages, Reifenberg Castle secured the transition. At the top of the pass, the L 3024 branches off, which leads over the Großer Feldberg to Sandplacken .
The extent of long-distance trade via the Weiltal route can no longer be quantified today. However, a gold coin find near the red cross in 2005 shows how integrated world trade was at that time. Among the coins found was an Arab coin.
A shuttle bus drives to a total of 14 parking spaces around the Feldberg on weekends and public holidays.
The cross
In 1730 this was a historical meeting place between Königstein and Reifenberg . The dead Reifenberg knight Canon Philipp Ludwig von Mainz was handed over and buried in the Sankt Gertrundis chapel in Bassenheim . Today's sandstone Red Cross dates back to 1999. It replaced a dilapidated wooden cross that could already be seen on postcards from 1900. A previous cross from the 19th century is said to have been made of red sandstone and thus gave the pass its name. The earliest reference to a cross can be found in the location “Am rothen Kreuz” in the Ravenstein map (1851) “Surroundings of Frankfurt”.
The restaurant
The idea of building a “sales point” came up before 1895 and was called “Zollstocks Bettche”. At this place a procession kept coming by and also because it was found that the animals of the carts got water and food at this point. At the same time one could sell schnapps and beer to the carters. The restaurant "Zum Roten Kreuz" has existed at this location since 1895. After a fire in 1928, the restaurant with a guest room was built. These are no longer rented out today. The inn is run in the 5th generation .
Slate mining
In the 19th century, slate was mined about 200 m west of the Red Cross ( ⊙ ). Even if the Taunus is part of the Rhenish Slate Mountains , there are only a few economic sites of roofing slate, e.g. B. in Langhecke , where the only major dismantling took place. But mostly found in the Taunus Taunus slate , one for building purposes is not appropriate colored slate. There was usually no economic success associated with its dismantling, as was the case with sand slapping.
This mining industry was first mentioned in a document in October 1840. This year, Ludwig Baum from Oberems sent a request to the sovereign to exploit the “red roofing slate warehouse” and in the same year, together with Johann Peter Thomas from Wüstems, received the concession to mine slate in the “Rothenfels mine”. On November 12, 1842, Ludwig Baum becomes the sole owner of the pit of 80 times 20 laughers . The usable shale layer turned out to be only one foot thick and mining ceased on January 13, 1847.
In October 1858 the miller Michael Berg from Neuweilnau dared to make a new attempt. Trial digs revealed a roofing slate store with a thickness of three pools. The mining authority was convinced and granted the mining concession. It was dismantled from 1860 to 1868. The slate obtained was praised for its color, thinness and pierceability and was used in the construction of the first Feldberg house. But even this attempt at dismantling ends after a few years for economic reasons.
Slate was mined for the last time from June 1882 to May 1884. 6 workers mined the slate in the Rothenfels mine until mining was finally stopped due to the small amount of usable slabs. The location was never forgotten. In 1925, 1928 and 1948 new investigations were carried out as to whether mining of slate should be attempted again. However, economic viability could no longer be proven.
Since 1991 the tunnel of the Rothenfels pit has been made accessible and secured with a grid. Today it serves as a roost for various bat species .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ taunus.info ( Memento of the original from December 3, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. accessed on May 1, 2017
- ↑ a b From the history of the Red Cross restaurant . Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. 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. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
literature
- Thomas Kirnbauer / Manfred Wenzel: The former roof slate mining at the Red Cross; in: Yearbook of the Hochtaunuskreis 2002, ISBN 3-7973-0784-5 , pages 144–151.
- Helmut Müller: wayside crosses and other memorials in the Glashütten im Taunus district (Section 1.3: The Red Cross); in: Yearbook of the Hochtaunuskreis 2001, ISBN 3-7973-0747-0 , page 79.