Devil box
The Teufelskiste is a boulder about 5 m long, 1 to 2.50 m wide and about 1.20 m high in the district of Winterscheid in the municipality of Ruppichteroth in the Rhein-Sieg district . Its weight is estimated at around 20 tons. The block of slate rock is located on the northern slope of the Bröltal , around 800 m southwest of the hamlet of Beiert, away from the forest paths near the slope of a rocky outcrop.
Its origin is not clear. In any case, it seems unlikely that it has thundered out of the surrounding rock over the course of thousands of years, because its stratification is different from that of the neighboring or deeper rock. It is more likely that it is the relic of a quarry that operated here a long time ago , which is also indicated by other rocks in the vicinity.
Lore
In the vernacular there are numerous local legends entwined with the stone.
A tradition tells of the struggle of the settlers in the Bröltal against the son of Satan , who had settled with his journeymen against God's will in the Bröltal and whose spirits did not leave the settlers in peace. Therefore they declared war on him and all the farmers from Neunkirchen, Winterscheid and the surrounding area went to battle on the Beierter Höhe. When the archangel Michael appeared on the side of the farmers and chased away the evil spirits with his flaming sword, they were able to overpower the diabolical adversary and put them in iron. It was forged into a hole dug on the slope and finally a large stone, the devil's chest, was rolled over it. From then on the settlers had peace. If there is a quarrel among the settlers of the Bröltal today or if their piety diminishes, then the devil prince begins to rage under his chest, so that the stone moves and threatens to fall.
Other legends tell of a treasure hidden under the stone or angry bachelors.
swell
- ↑ a b Karl Künster: Man in the Winterscheider landscape . In: Hubert Janzen (Ed.): Winterscheid - a home book . Heimatverein Winterscheid eV, Winterscheid 1982, p. 13.
- ↑ Seven more legends in: Legends and stories from our homeland , Heimat- und Geschichtsverein Neunkirchen-Seelscheid eV (ed.), Collected and explained by Leo Lammert, 1991, quoted in Landgasthaus Herchenbach ( Memento des original from October 16, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) 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. (Accessed April 22, 2007)
- ↑ Winterscheider Heimatblatt , Heimatverein Winterscheid eV (Ed.), 2nd edition April 1998
- ↑ Forum Winterscheid: Sagen zur Teufelskiste (accessed April 22, 2007)
Coordinates: 50 ° 49 ' N , 7 ° 22' E