Six stones
The six stones are the remains of medieval sandstone crosses in a stone cross nest in Ilberstedt in Saxony-Anhalt .
location
The stones are located south of the main road leading through Ilberstedt. They are surrounded by a small hedge for protection.
history
The exact background of the construction of the stones is unknown. Presumably they represent the remains of an abandoned cemetery. The oldest cross probably dates back to the second half of the 13th century. The inscription Jacobi Albrecht Weller Famulus and the year 1363 are barely legible on a cross .
The stones were described as early as 1710 without any further details about the history of the stones being known.
The stones
The northernmost stone closest to the main road has a height of 64 cm above the ground. The width is 55 cm, the depth 22 cm. The stone was worked as a cross. The top is round. While the back is badly weathered, a carved, equal-armed cross with a wider shaft can be seen on the front.
There is another stone just south of it. Its dimensions are 54 cm × 42 cm × 18 cm (H × W × D). There are no traces of processing on the stone. Only its position within the stone group gives an idea of its importance.
The third stone is still 90 cm high today. However, around 1950 it was 150 cm high. In the area of the cross shaft, however, it then broke off and was ordered to this breaking point. The width is 88 cm, the depth 19 cm. A cross with parallel edges can be seen on the front of the stone. The lines of the cross intersect.
The fourth stone is a very well preserved, somewhat asymmetrical stone cross with the dimensions 55 cm × 43 cm × 18 cm (H × W × D).
Only a few fragments of the fifth stone have survived. Here, too, it was a stone cross. One fragment represents a piece of the shaft and an arm of the cross. The second fragment is a remnant of the shaft. Around 1900 there was also a second arm of the cross.
The southernmost stone was designed as a Gothic nose cross with sector supports. The upper part was round. After a break, the break was put back together with an iron clamp. In the meantime, however, another break has occurred.
legend
According to a legend, which is also described on a stone tablet set up on site, the stone crosses are said to have been erected for four robbers, a butcher and his dog. Afterwards, the four robbers attacked the butcher at this point, but were killed by the dog. The dog is said to have accidentally killed its master as well. Out of grief the dog lay down at his master's side and died there too.
Literally it says on the board:
A butcher comes here from the city, he has
a big dog with him.
He was attacked by robbers,
but the dog brought death to all of them.
Then alas, he no longer knows the Lord.
Strangle him from here either.
Then he lies down next to him.
Food does not occur to him.
Four robbers, butcher and the dog,
tells you the number of stones
and if you don't want to trust my word,
read so, you can see it on the stones.
literature
- Birthe Rüdiger in Dehio, Handbook of German Art Monuments , Saxony-Anhalt II, Dessau and Halle administrative districts , Deutscher Kunstverlag Munich Berlin, 1999, ISBN 3-422-03065-4 , page 339
- Britta Schulze-Thulin, Great stone graves and menhirs , Mitteldeutscher Verlag Halle (Saale) 2007, ISBN 978-3-89812-428-7 , page 78 ff
Individual evidence
- ^ Rüdiger, Kunstdenkmäler, page 339
- ↑ Andreas Martin, measurement in 2006, [1]
- ↑ Andreas Martin, measurement in 2006, [2]
- ↑ Andreas Martin, measurement in 2006, [3]
- ↑ Andreas Martin, measurement in 2006, [4]
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 47 ′ 57.9 " N , 11 ° 40 ′ 25.6" E