Kirchberg ramparts in Möbisburg

Kirchberg ramparts in Möbisburg
Kirchberg ramparts in Möbisburg
Creation time :	La Tène time
Castle type :	Hilltop castle
Conservation status:	Burgstall
Place:	Möbisburg
Geographical location	50 ° 55 '36.1 "  N , 10 ° 59' 31.5"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 55 '36.1 "  N , 10 ° 59' 31.5"  E

The rampart on the Kirchberg in Möbisburg, southwest of Erfurt in Thuringia , was built in the Latène period and in its current form probably dates from the time of Frankish rule in Thuringia. The Merwingsburg / Möbisburg gave the place its name.

Location and history

The prehistoric and early historical ramparts are located on the western end of the Möbisburger Kirchberg, a narrow ridge protruding towards the Gera river . The almost rectangular facility is around 250 m long and 80 to 130 m wide. There are natural steep slopes in the south and west. In the north, the slope has been artificially steepened and provided with a ledge, which originally probably carried an obstacle to approach. The particularly endangered east side is secured by an embankment with a wall and a ditch in front . The mountain was fortified at the latest in the Latène period. The remains of the fortifications, which can still be seen today, as well as the church in the area, go back to a new construction in the Carolingian or Ottonian times. Ruins of this castle, which was later expanded, still existed in the 18th century .

The oldest traces of settlement can be found on the site from the late Neolithic (around 2000 BC), intensive settlement during the Hallstatt and Latène periods in the last millennium BC. Ceramic finds have been found on the site from all settlement phases.

The legendary wealth - including the devil - in relation to the Kirchberg is an indication of a place of worship that was there , most recently probably for the Germanic god Donar . The establishment of a Christian church on this place would also be typical, its name “St. Dionysius ”was often awarded by the Franks.

The Möbisburg church and cemetery are located on the site of the former Wallburg, which is a protected ground monument .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Display board on the Möbisburg churchyard wall; attached by the Thuringian State Office for Archeology and Monument Preservation, Weimar.
2. ↑ H. Patze (ed.): Handbook of the historical sites of Germany. Thuringia. 2nd edition, Alfred Kröner Verlag, Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-520-31302-2 , p. 283.
3. ↑ Protected ground monument. Notice board on the Möbisburg churchyard wall; attached by the Thuringian State Office for Archeology and Monument Preservation, Weimar.
4. ↑ Michael Köhler: Pagan sanctuaries. Pre-Christian places of worship and suspected cult sites in Thuringia . Jenzig-Verlag, Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-910141-85-8 , p. 204