Wilhelm stones
The Wilhelmsteine , formerly known as book stones , are a group of rocks made of iron pebbles (hardened rocks ) on the south-south-east high elevations of the Angelburg , the highest mountain in the Gladenbacher Bergland , in the Scheldt Forest . They are located in the municipality of Siegbach in the Hessian Lahn-Dill district and are a geotope of the National Geopark Westerwald-Lahn-Taunus . The group of rocks consists of several individual rocks, the tallest of which rises about 15 m. Such a rock formation is also known as a "rock castle".
Surname
The Wilhelmsteine are named after Duke Wilhelm I of Nassau (1792–1839), who came to power in both the Principality of Nassau-Weilburg and the Duchy of Nassau-Usingen in quick succession. This gave the Duchy of Nassau the form in which it existed until 1866. 1830 The Duke attended by then carrying stones called rock group. The high reputation he enjoyed among the population meant that the rock group was named after his early death in 1839.
geography
location
The Wilhelmsteine are located in the Lahn-Dill-Bergland nature park, about 700 m south-southeast of the Angelburg television tower on the summit of the Angelburg ( 609.4 m above sea level ) . They are located in the north of the municipality of Siegbach , about 100 m southeast of the border with the municipality of Eschenburg , on which the formerly historically important Herborner Hohe Straße runs, which branches off from the important intersection of the historic Brabanter Straße and Westfalenweg highways near the Angelburg . The rocks stand in a light, flat beech forest at a height of about 585 m . The landscape drops to the southeast to the Siegbach district of Wallenfels . The Gansbach rises about 300 m northwest of the stones .
The Wilhelmsteine are located in the northeast of the fauna-flora-habitat area Schelder Wald (FFH no. 5216-305; 37.88 km² ).
Natural allocation
The Wilhelmsteine belong to the natural spatial main unit group Westerwald (No. 32), in the main unit Gladenbacher Bergland (320) and in the subunit Lahn-Dill-Bergland (320.0) to the natural area Bottenhorn plateau (320.01).
Emergence
The Wilhelmsteine were created by submarine volcanism in the Upper Devonian , a geological epoch of the Paleozoic (ancient times), around 360 million years ago on the bottom of a sea that at that time almost completely covered the area of today's Germany, the bottom of which was largely basalt . Volcanic gases and hot water dissolved metals from the basalt and deposited as ores in the rugged rock. This resulted in local silicification. The ore deposits and rock formations were then covered by deposits of sedimentary rock several thousand meters thick . Beginning in the Upper Oligocene (approx. 30 million years ago) of the Tertiary, which was part of the Modern Era, larger clod packs lifted out, and with them the younger sediments from the dry sea. The sediments were removed and the formations formed in the Upper Devon were exposed. In the area of the Dill Hollow , floe uplifts were so extensive that the ore deposits ( iron , copper and other ores) came to a relatively near-surface location. These ores were mined beginning in the Celtic period until 1973 (main article → Lahn-Dill area ). The Wilhelmsteine remained, their silicification prevented them from being eroded.
Historical meaning
Depending on the perspective, you can see large sculptured faces in profile and other figures on some rocks, especially on the highest rock, which may have been reworked by human hands using natural rock forms. This certainly contributed to the veneration of the stones in prehistory and early history.
The rock castle of the Wilhelmsteine is regarded as a former nationally significant cult site ( natural sanctuary ), which has been visited and used since the Neolithic through the Bronze and Iron Ages (Celts and Germanic peoples) to missionary work. Several prehistoric settlements have been found near the Angelburg. An important find is the Hirzenhainer "Keltenstein", a figuratively carved representation of a human face on a stone stele, which is shown in the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt as part of the Celtic exhibition.
The Wilhelmsteine are likely to have served Stone Age hunters and collectors as a central meeting point as well as a place of worship and living. In the area of the individual rock formations there are different places - e.g. B. rock overhangs in the south and south-east, which can be expanded into a place to sleep and sleep with relatively simple means, such as branches and twigs that are covered with furs or sod. It is also conceivable that the entire area of the “rock castle” was fortified for a certain period of time. The spaces between the individual outer rocks could be closed with a little effort by means of boulders, tree trunks and branches lying around (on the southern edge there is some evidence) and thus set up a well-protected large living space. The rocks included in the fortification could be used as excellent observation and defense towers.
Significant prehistoric and medieval long-distance routes / trade routes ( old streets ) such as the old Cologne-Leipziger-Messe-Straße , also called Brabanter Straße (in the further course in the west it was also called Eisenstraße ), the Herborner Hohe Straße (used until 1875) and the Westfalenweg ( Coming from the direction of Gießen, touching the Celtic oppidum Dünsberg and continuing on the Aar-Salzböde-watershed) led on the mountain ranges of the Scheldt forest past the Wilhelmsteinen and crossed in the immediate vicinity at the Angelburg.
Hiking destination
When the secondary railway line from Dillenburg to Wallau was completely completed in 1911, there was lively excursion tourism to the Wilhelmsteinen from the nearby Hirzenhain station in the summer months. Every May 1st, the Wilhelmsteine are a popular destination for traditional May excursions. This is where hikers from the surrounding villages meet to have a barbecue.
For generations there has also been a forest service at the Wilhelmsteinen on Ascension Day, which is attended by residents from the surrounding communities of Dautphetal , Eschenburg , Angelburg , Steffenberg , Bad Endbach and Siegbach .
It is not known when the first small hunting lodge with horse stable was built near the Wilhelmsteins. After this hunting lodge fell into disrepair, the forest administration built a new, smaller half-timbered hunting lodge in the same place, which, however, became dilapidated due to repeated damage and fires. In the middle of the 20th century it was torn down and a log cabin was built there, which was dismantled in 1970 due to severe damage from vandalism. Today there are several permanently installed barbecue areas available to visitors. In 2003 climbing on the Wilhelmsteinen was banned. The ban was issued out of concern about damage to the natural monument that could cause safety hooks driven into it.
From a hiking car park (2.8 km north of Tringenstein on the K53), the Wilhelmsteine can be easily reached on a paved path (approx. 1.4 km, no motor vehicle traffic).
See also
literature
- Max Söllner: Hikes to prehistoric and early historical sites in Upper Hesse. Brühlscher Verlag, Giessen 1980, ISBN 3-922300-04-9 .
- Elisabeth Neumann-Gundrum: Culture of large sculptures, archetypes / ancient knowledge of a European mental structure. Wilhelm Schmitz Verlag, Giessen 1981, ISBN 3-87711-039-8 .
- Heidrun and Friedrich Jantzen: Naturdenkmale Hessens, No. 27. Landbuch Verlag, Hannover 1985, ISBN 3-7842-0323-X , p. 91.
- Giesela Graichen: The cult place book. A guide to the old places of sacrifice, shrines and places of worship in Germany. Hoffmann et al. Campe Verlag, Hamburg 1988, ISBN 3-455-08282-3 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Grand Duchy of Hesse 1823–1850, 6. Gladenbach. Historical maps. In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
- ↑ Map services of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation ( information )
- ^ Gerhard Sandner: Geographical land survey: The natural space units on sheet 125 Marburg. Federal Institute for Regional Studies, Bad Godesberg 1960. → Online map (PDF; 4.9 MB)
- ↑ Horst W. Müller: "Wilhelmsteine and Ellerchen", legendary and strange stones and rocks in the southwestern hinterland. Hinterländer Geschichtsblätter, Biedenkopf, No. 3, September 2014, pp. 49–54.
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 47 '5.6 " N , 8 ° 26" 1.4 " E