Atonement stone
An atonement stone or murder cheek , also known as a murder stone , is a memorial stone from the Middle Ages or the early modern period, which, possibly after a judgment, was erected at the place where a murder had occurred. Atonement stones are classified as land or ground monuments.
The stones in their North German version, preserved on the island of Rügen and in Mecklenburg , are flat and very high. Some of them contain inscriptions on the occasion of their installation and often show crucifixion scenes, which is why they were previously referred to as atonement crosses .
Still preserved in their original location are z. B. the Pomertstein near Herrnburg , the memorial stone of Ludeke Mozellenburch near Grevesmühlen, the atonement stone of Schaprode and the atonement stone of Gustow on Rügen. The atonement stone from Gingst was rededicated as a tombstone.
There are also atonement stones in different shapes and sizes. For example, two atonement stones , known as mordestones , have been preserved as smaller, gravestones-like variants in the Sennestadt district of Bielefeld . At Hann. Münden there are two murder stones that were erected in 1614 because of robbery and murder of two merchants.
More recently, memorial stones have also been erected after murders. One example of this is the murder site in Bockau .
See also
literature
- Ingrid Schmidt: megalithic grave and sacrificial stone. Soil monuments on the island of Rügen. Hinstorff Verlag, Rostock 2001, ISBN 3-356-00917-6 , p. 48f.
Web links
- Atonement Crosses and Murder Stones. suehnekreuz.de, accessed on October 28, 2013 (information on atonement stones and their locations in Germany).
- Mordwange near Grevesmühlen with picture