Four stones from Krimpe

Four stones from Krimpe
	The four stones from Krimpe
Coordinates	51 ° 31 '4.5 " N , 11 ° 44' 51.3" E Coordinates: 51 ° 31 '4.5 " N , 11 ° 44' 51.3" E
place	Salzatal , OT Krimpe , Saxony-Anhalt , Germany

The four stones from Krimpe are from the Neolithic period dating Menhirgruppe in Krimpe , in the municipality of Salzatal in Saalekreis in Saxony-Anhalt .

Location and description

Nails driven into one of the stones

The four stones are located on the southern outskirts of Krimpe at an old crossroads. The road runs from Schochwitz to Höhnstedt in a north-south direction , to the west the road to Räther and to the east a dirt road. The four stones lie in the southeast quadrant of the intersection and form an irregular square. In the middle is a linden tree . About 1 km to the east is the menhir of Räther ("The Farmer") and 2.4 km south of the menhir of Höhnstedt ("Hexenstein").

It is not entirely certain how many stones were originally there. In 1828 S. Fulda reported in a brief outline of only four stones. The pastor Förster from Höhnstedt, however, counted six stones in 1840. Again, in the 1950s, an old farmer reported that there were five stones in his youth.

The four stones still standing today are all made of quartzite and have the following dimensions:

stone	height	width	thickness	distance to the tree
western stone	90 cm	67 cm	26 cm	130 cm
southern stone	85 cm	61 cm	62 cm	50 cm
eastern stone	30 cm	30 cm	20 cm	140 cm
northern stone	56 cm	70 cm	30 cm	120 cm

Since the soil around the stones has grown due to the formation of humus and the accumulation of road dirt, the height figures differ significantly from those measured by Waldtraut Schrickel in the 1950s. At that time the heights were 150 cm, 125 cm, 77 cm and 60 cm.

The four stones are plate-shaped and rounded. Two of them are nailed . The southern stone has over 100 nails; Alfred Kirchhoff counted up to 125 nails at the end of the 19th century.

The four stones in regional sagas

There are several legends about the four stones. It is said about their origins that once a coachman got stuck in a thaw with a carriage drawn by four horses. Despite their best efforts, the horses failed to move the cart. Then the driver began to curse and wished the devil would turn them all to stone. No sooner had he said this than a thunderstorm broke out and the horses, wagons and coachmen turned to stone. At night one should still be able to hear the roaring, screaming and snorting of the horses near the stones. The petrified coachman is occasionally identified with the neighboring menhir of Räther.

In connection with the custom of driving nails into stones, S. Fulda reports that the stones become soft during a thunderstorm. Another legend sees the grave of the good Lubbe, a Slavic deity , in the stones . Finally, a fourth legend tells of a dog with glowing eyes who chases hikers passing by at night.

literature

W. Fieber / R. Schmitt: Small monuments - definition and typology. Examples from Halle and the Saalkreis. In: Preservation of monuments in Saxony-Anhalt. Volume 8, 2000, pp. 164-175.
Förster: Comments on the document of Bishop Gebhard zu Halberstadt, regarding the veneration of the good Lubben zu Schochwitz in Mansfeld. In: Messages from the field of historical-antiquarian research. Volume 5, Issue 2, 1841, pp. 110-132.
S. Fulda: Message about the four stones from Krimpe. In: Friedrich Kruse: German antiquities. 3rd volume, III. and IV. Issue, Halle 1829, p. 92 ( online version ).
Johann Georg Theodor Grasse : Book of legends of the Prussian state: First volume. Dresden 1868, p. 468, No. 517 ( online version ).
Johannes Groht : Menhirs in Germany. State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology Saxony-Anhalt, Halle (Saale) 2013, ISBN 978-3-943904-18-5 , pp. 404–406, 460–461.
Hermann Großler : Old Holy Stones in the Province of Saxony. In: New Years Papers. Volume 20, 1896.
Horst Kirchner : The menhirs in Central Europe and the menhir thought (= Academy of Sciences and Literature. Treatises of the humanities and social sciences class. Born 1955, No. 9). Wiesbaden 1955, p. 181.
Erich Neuss : The "four stones" at Krimpe. In: Mansfeld home calendar. Eisleben 1930, pp. 52–53.
Erich Neuss: walks through the county of Mansfeld. Volume: Southern Mansfeld. Hall 1938.
Waldtraut Schrickel : Western European elements in the Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age of Central Germany. Part I. Catalog. Publications of the State Museum for Prehistory Dresden, Volume 5, VEB Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1957, pp. 68–69.
Erhard Schröter : soil monuments of the Halle district. In: Annual publication for Central German prehistory. Volume 69, 1989, p. 90.
Britta Schulze-Thulin : Large stone graves and menhirs. Saxony-Anhalt • Thuringia • Saxony. 2nd edition, Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle (Saale) 2011, ISBN 978-3-89812-799-8 , pp. 96-97.
Bodo Wemhöner , Ralf Schwarz : Routes of archeology. Hall and the hall circle. State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology Saxony-Anhalt - State Museum for Prehistory, Halle (Saale) 2006, ISBN 3-910010-97-X , pp. 76–79.
Friedrich Wiggert: About the admiration of the good Lubben zu Schochwitz in Mansfeld. In: New communications from the field of historical-antiquarian research. Volume 3, Issue 1, 1836, pp. 130-136.

Web links

Commons : Viersteine von Krimpe - Collection of images, videos and audio files

The Megalithic Portal: Four Stone
grosssteingraeber.de: The menhir group "Viersteine" near Halle
tw.strahl.org: Menhir group "Vierersteine" ("Viersteine"), Krimpe near Höhnstedt, west of Halle
suehnekreuz.de: Krimpe (I - IV) / OT from Schochwitz

Individual evidence

↑ Viererstein
^ Johannes Groht: Menhirs in Germany. P. 460.
↑ ^a ^b Bodo Wemhöner, Ralf Schwarz: routes of archeology. Hall and the hall circle. P. 76.
^ Waldtraut Schrickel: Western European elements in the Neolithic and in the early Bronze Age of Central Germany. Part I. Catalog. Pp. 68-69.
^ Johann Georg Theodor Grasse: Book of legends of the Prussian state: First volume. P. 468, No. 517
^ Waldtraut Schrickel: Western European elements in the Neolithic and in the early Bronze Age of Central Germany. Part I. Catalog. P. 69.
^ S. Fulda: Communication about the four stones from Krimpe. In: Friedrich Kruse: German antiquities. 3rd volume, III. and IV. Booklet, p. 92.
↑ Bodo Wemhöner, Ralf Schwarz: routes of archeology. Hall and the hall circle. Pp. 77-78.

[1] Viererstein

[2] Johannes Groht: Menhirs in Germany. P. 460.

[Wemhöner76-3] Bodo Wemhöner, Ralf Schwarz: routes of archeology. Hall and the hall circle. P. 76.

[4] Waldtraut Schrickel: Western European elements in the Neolithic and in the early Bronze Age of Central Germany. Part I. Catalog. Pp. 68-69.

[5] Johann Georg Theodor Grasse: Book of legends of the Prussian state: First volume. P. 468, No. 517

[6] Waldtraut Schrickel: Western European elements in the Neolithic and in the early Bronze Age of Central Germany. Part I. Catalog. P. 69.

[7] S. Fulda: Communication about the four stones from Krimpe. In: Friedrich Kruse: German antiquities. 3rd volume, III. and IV. Booklet, p. 92.

[8] Bodo Wemhöner, Ralf Schwarz: routes of archeology. Hall and the hall circle. Pp. 77-78.