Daneil's Cave
Encyclopedia
Daneil's Cave also called Robber's Cave (Räuberhöhle) is located on the northern side of the Huy ridge in the district of Harz in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt
. It is named after the legend of a notorious robber, Daneil.
It forms three caverns that a linked to one another inside a rock face of Middle Bunter Sandstone, each with their own entrance. It is protected as a nature reserve. The caverns apparently formed as a result of erosion during the Tertiary
or during the Ice Age
, i.e. they have a geological origin.
Holes for doorframes and vertical walls are evidence that Daneil's Cave has been enlarged by human hand. It may have been a retreat for local people in the Middle Ages. That the Daneil's Cave was also a hideaway for highwaymen and robbers, is clear from legal proceedings against Simon Bingelhelm from Halberstadt
, who was known as Tausendteufel ("Thousand Devils"), and who was sentenced in June 1600 to be executed by dismemberment
for numerous crimes in Gröningen
.
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...
. It is named after the legend of a notorious robber, Daneil.
It forms three caverns that a linked to one another inside a rock face of Middle Bunter Sandstone, each with their own entrance. It is protected as a nature reserve. The caverns apparently formed as a result of erosion during the Tertiary
Tertiary
The Tertiary is a deprecated term for a geologic period 65 million to 2.6 million years ago. The Tertiary covered the time span between the superseded Secondary period and the Quaternary...
or during the Ice Age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
, i.e. they have a geological origin.
Holes for doorframes and vertical walls are evidence that Daneil's Cave has been enlarged by human hand. It may have been a retreat for local people in the Middle Ages. That the Daneil's Cave was also a hideaway for highwaymen and robbers, is clear from legal proceedings against Simon Bingelhelm from Halberstadt
Halberstadt
Halberstadt is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt and the capital of the district of Harz. It is located on the German Half-Timbered House Road and the Magdeburg–Thale railway....
, who was known as Tausendteufel ("Thousand Devils"), and who was sentenced in June 1600 to be executed by dismemberment
Dismemberment
Dismemberment is the act of cutting, tearing, pulling, wrenching or otherwise removing, the limbs of a living thing. It may be practiced upon human beings as a form of capital punishment, as a result of a traumatic accident, or in connection with murder, suicide, or cannibalism...
for numerous crimes in Gröningen
Gröningen
Gröningen is a town in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It lies approx. 40 km south-west of Magdeburg, and 10 km east of Halberstadt. It has 4,180 inhabitants . Gröningen is part of the Verbandsgemeinde Westliche Börde....
.