Wichtellöcher (Uttershausen)

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The gnome holes

The Wichtelöcher on the Dosenberg, also called Wichtelhöhlen , on the southern slope of the Dosenberg in the Wabern district of Uttershausen are a legendary geotope on the rocky slope of the Schwalm in the Schwalm-Eder district ( Northern Hesse ). The corridors of the gnome holes lead up to 30 meters into the shell limestone and are easily accessible with the exception of two collapsed side corridors.

Historical finds on the Dosenberg

In 1982 aerial archeology discovered a double moat of the Wartberg culture on the Dosenberg . The two trenches running parallel at a distance of 12 m surrounded the facility and are still preserved today as a semicircle. Palisade trains and ramparts probably reinforced the fortifications. In 1986 the complex was examined archaeologically. The two trenches could be seen up to 2.40 m below the field horizon . Only a few undated sherds and some charcoal were discovered . A copper flat ax from the Neolithic Wartberg culture was found north of the moat .

Creation of the gnome holes

In the sea, lime and marlstone were deposited on the Dosenberg during the Muschelkalkzeit between 240 and 235 mya . Lime and marl covered the older red sandstone. Then in the Hessian Basin there were alternating mainland phases with sea invasions. The shell limestone was also raised in the following geological history and eroded by wind and water. The deposits were only protected from erosion in trench zones . 40 million years ago in the New Earth Age the specific sands , gravels , clays and lignite deposits typical of the country and the volcanic basalts were formed in the area . The rivers then dumped sand, gravel and clay, which also lay over the rocks of the shell limestone and red. The Schwalm exposed the old rocks of the Homberger Graben on the Dosenberg impact slope , and the two neighboring caves, the so-called Imp holes on the Dosenberg , were created by washing out .

Tell of the elves' departure

In Vollmer's Mythologie aller Völker (Stuttgart, 1874) the legend is presented as follows:

The gnome holes served the gnomes as a tunnel mouth in the Dosenberg. An elf man always came to the farm Tobi's grandfather from Singlis in a friendly manner . When the farmer was cutting grain one day, the gnome came and asked if Tobi wanted to take over the haulage through the Schwalm the next night for ample payment. Tobi accepted the offer. In the evening the elf brought a sack full of wheat into the farmer's house as hand money . He harnessed his four horses to the wagon and drove to the Dosenberg near Uttershausen. The imp man dragged heavy, invisible loads out of the holes in the mountain of cans and loaded them onto the farmer's wagon. The farmer brought the freight through the Schwalm from ten in the evening to four in the morning to the other bank. It went back and forth until the hard-working people were totally tired. “It's enough,” said the pixie, “now you should see what you've transported!” He let the curious farmer look over his shoulder. He was amazed to see that the large, wide field at the Schwalm was full of elves. The Wichtelmann said: “After a thousand years in the Dosenberg it is time for us to move to another country. We left so much gold behind in the mountain for the life of the people here in the country. ”Then he loaded Tobi's car full of gold and disappeared. The horses struggled to pull the wagon full of gold home. Tobi became a rich man overnight, and it is said that his descendants are still wealthy people today. The pixies, however, were never seen again.

literature

  • Otto Henne am Rhyn, Anton Henne: The German folk tale in relation to the myths of all times and peoples (Volume 2), Verlag A. Hartleben, Vienna / Pest / Leipzig 1879, p. 348
  • Jacob Grimm: Deutsche Mythologie (first volume, fourth edition), Berlin 1875, p. 380

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Coordinates: 51 ° 4 ′ 17.9 ″  N , 9 ° 19 ′ 37.9 ″  E