Wilder Stein (Büdingen)
The "Wild Stone" in Büdingen is a striking and rare of columnar basalt existing Geotop . It was created as a side vent of the Vogelsberg volcano .
Emergence
The wild stone is of volcanic origin and was formed about 19 million years ago in the Young Tertiary .
particularities
Particularly conspicuous and of geoscientific interest are yellowish-white rock layers with bluish-greyish deposits. During its formation, the volcano broke through layers of Zechstein ( copper schist ), humpback schist and red sandstone . The red sandstone on top was pulled down into the hot lava in the chimney. The stone was "fried" by the heat and no longer appears reddish, but yellowish. The bluish deposits come from limonite (brown iron). The sandstone partially solidified between the columnar basalt and took on its five- to six-sided bar shape. The geologist August von Klipstein described this contact metamorphic changed sandstone as a new rock under the name Buchit ; the wild stone is the type locality for this rock.
Younger story
In pre-Christian times the wild stone was supposedly a place of worship. His name is an abbreviation from "the wild woman rock". During the witch trials of the 16th and 17th centuries , women accused of witchcraft claimed under torture that they had ridden the Wild Stone with the devil . In Napoleonic times, part of the rock was blown up for road and bridge construction work.
Today the Wilde Stein is a striking formation over the city of Büdingen, which serves as a tourist attraction and vantage point that allows a view of almost the entire city.
Access to the Wilder Stein has been closed since 2014 due to two dilapidated concrete bridges.
Individual evidence
- ↑ A. v. Klipstein: About vulcanized sandstones in the Vogelsgebirge . In: Hertha - magazine for geography, ethnology and national studies . tape 10 . Stuttgart 1827, p. 354-368 .
- ↑ Kreis-Anzeiger: Viewpoints on the "Wild Stone" closed , March 15, 2014.
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 17 ' N , 9 ° 7' E