Valley guards
The Talwächter is a striking rock climbing north of the health resort Rathen in Saxon Switzerland .
Location and description
The rock, originally called Feldstein and then Jungfernstein , is about 50 m high and rises above Lake Amsel at the foot of the honey stones . It was first climbed in 1874.
The valley guard has an L-shaped floor plan, the broad northeast wing is followed by a somewhat narrower southeast wing at approximately right angles, on which the highest point with the summit book is located. Rock tunnels run through both rock bars in the base area. To the south-west and north-west, the valley guard stands on a rock plinth.
Naming
The valley guard was mentioned for the first time in the map series of the First Electoral Saxon Land Survey by Matthias Oeder in 1592. He referred to the rock as a field stone , since the fields of Rathen then as well as today extended to the foot of the rock. The later common name Jungfernstein alluded to the apparent inaccessibility of the rock with its vertical walls. As a valley guard , which can be explained by its prominent location above the Amselgrund , it was first designated in 1823. The name did not become generally accepted until around 1900, and in 1906 Oscar Schuster used both names and described the rock as "one of the strangest rock figures in the entire area". According to a local anecdote, this is said to have been attributed to the increasing number of climbers who would have made the previous name obsolete.
Climbing history
In the climbing area of Saxon Switzerland, the valley guard is one of the earliest climbed climbing peaks . It was first climbed in 1874 by Otto Ufer, who, however, still used artificial aids . Robert Kappmeier found a second way in 1886, also using technical aids such as rope ladders . In the history of climbing in Saxon Switzerland , however, free climbing increasingly prevailed at the end of the 19th century , where technical aids are only used for securing, but not for movement. Oscar Schuster, Friedrich and Konrad Meurer mastered the first free ascent on December 28, 1893; today's Schusterweg is classified according to Saxon difficulty level II. In 1906 Oscar Schuster already recorded five well-known climbs, the most difficult of which, the Schwarzriß , is now classified as V difficulty. Rudolf Fehrmann , who himself first climbed another path with the pillar path, which is now classified as V, already listed eight paths in his first climbing guide published in 1908 . In the decades that followed, climbers discovered around 20 other ascents and a multitude of variants. The most difficult routes include the direct east edge ( Matthias Gäbler , 1977, VIIIa), caveman (Michael Techel, 2003, RP IXa, VIIIc), the direct south-west face ( Bernd Arnold , 1973, VIIIa, RP VIIIb) and good and bad (Jürgen Höfer, 1990, IXc).
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Hans Pankotsch, Dietmar Heinicke: The names of our climbing peaks . Saxon Mountaineering Association , Dresden 2013, p. 26.
- ↑ Joachim Schindler, with the assistance of Bernd Arnold and Frank Richter: Oscar Schuster (1873-1917) - mountaineer, alpinist, developer, doctor, publicist. In the series: Monographs Saxon Mountaineering. Saxon Mountaineering Association, Dresden 2013, p. 102.
- ↑ a b Dietmar Heinicke (Ed.): Climbing Guide Saxon Switzerland, Volume Wehlenergebiet / Rathenergebiet / Brand . Dresden 2003, ISBN 3934514065 , p. 241 ff.
- ^ Rudolf Fehrmann: The mountaineer in Saxon Switzerland . Johannes Siegel Publishing House, Dresden 1908 p. 85 ff.
literature
- Rudolf Fehrmann: The mountaineer in Saxon Switzerland . Johannes Siegel publishing house, Dresden 1908
- Dietmar Heinicke (Hrsg.): Climbing Guide Saxon Switzerland, Volume Wehlenergebiet / Rathenergebiet / Brand . Dresden 2003, ISBN 3934514065
- Hans Pankotsch, Dietmar Heinicke: The names of our climbing peaks . Saxon Mountaineering Association, Dresden 2013
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 58 ' N , 14 ° 5' E