Ehrenbürg
Encyclopedia
The Ehrenbürg is a double-peaked butte
on the edge of the Franconian Jura
in Bavaria
, Germany
. It is in the district of Forchheim
in Upper Franconia
, in the municipalities of Kirchehrenbach
, Leutenbach
and Wiesenthau
. The north peak is the 513.9 m Walberla, the south peak the 531.7 m Rodenstein (previously known as the Bodenstein). The entire mountain is popularly known as the Walberla.
. It lies within the Nature Park Little Switzerland and Veldenstein Forest, approximately 2 km south-southeast of Kirchehrenbach, 1.4 km northwest of Leutenbach and 1.6 km east-northeast of Wiesenthau. Dietzhof, part of Leutenbach, and Schlaifhausen, part of Wiesenthau, lie south of the mountain; Reuth, an eastern part of the town of Forchheim
, lies west of it.
The mountain is approximately 1.5 km long and 300 or 350 m wide at its widest. The two peaks of the mountain are 750 m apart, with a broad "saddle" between them. The Ehrenbach flows past the mountain on the east side; in Kirchehrenbach it joins the Wiesent-Mühlbach, a tributary of the Wiesent, which flows to the west of the mountain.
, and which are coterminous with the local extent of the bird protection area (Important Bird Area
) Felsen- und Hangwälder in der Fränkischen Schweiz (cliffs and forested slopes of Little Switzerland). In addition, it is part of the western section of the Protected area
Little Switzerland and Veldenstein Forest, which was founded in 2001 and comprises 1,021.64 km². The dry grassland habitat and rare plants, particularly orchids, caused the mountain, in particular its higher parts, to be designated in 1987 as the Ehrenbürg Nature Protection Area, which is 1.55 km² in area, extending a maximum of approximately 2.3 km from north to south and 1 km from east to west.
going up the mountain and is presumably derived from St Walburga. A 16th–17th-century chapel dedicated to her stands on the north peak; the first recorded mention of such a chapel is dated 1360.
The name Ehrenbürg appears to be earlier and has been variously interpreted. One interpretation derives it from Latin arca (protection) and German Burg (fortification), to mean "protective area" or "fort which is a safe retreat", another from Celtic *Ariacon or *Arika; and another from the Ehrenbach and the devices used to catch fish there. There are two local stories about fish. The chapel used to have a statue of the Virgin Mary with a water-filled crown in which a fish swam, and according to legend if the fish slapped its tail against the side of the crown, there would be a flood; also according to legend, an underground lake beneath the mountain contains a fish so large that it must swallow its own tail, and if it released it, all the nearby settlements would be inundated by the resulting overflow.
The mountain is also the topic of numerous legends about witches and hidden treasure, and the tale of a fabulous town which once stood at the foot of the mountain, an accursed castle which stood where the chapel is now, and an evil woman who was turned to stone and became a rocky outcropping, the "steinerne Jungfrau" (stone virgin).
The mountain was a settlement site from the early Neolithic
(approximately 4000 BCE) until the end of the Roman period in the 5th century CE. In the late 14th century BCE, it became a hill fort
; in the early Iron Age
(approximately 550–380 BCE), under the Celtic Hallstatt
and early La Tène culture
s, it was a strongly fortified regional centre, with two gates and a citadel, and finds originating from Mediterranean cultures indicate far-flung trade. Remnants of these fortifications are still discernible. However, in the late Iron Age, during the late La Tène period (approximately 150–30 BCE) the mountain was only lightly settled; instead, a large unfortified town grew up nearby at Altendorf
. The defensive role of the Ehrenbürg appears to have been taken over by the Staffelberg
. After an interruption, there was then possible occupation by Germanic
people during the late Roman period, around 400 CE; unlike the Celtic settlement, only on the Rodenstein.
Archaeological finds indicate that during the Hallstatt and La Tène periods, the mountain was the site of human sacrifices, possibly including cannibalism
. Some human bones, such as a woman's skeleton which was unnaturally bent and buried under boulders, appear to be sacrifices for the luck of a building; some skulls have been cut up and had holes bored in them for use as amulettes; the armless and legless skeleton of a baby, and discarded fragments of human bones with cut marks, both suggest cannibalism. Nine skeletons of newborn babies were also found to have been buried against the eastern foundation of the chapel in the 17th or the 18th century.
The first archaeological investigations of the Ehrenbürg were conducted beginning in 1903 by Hans Räbel (1872–1941), a teacher in Forchheim who founded the local historical society and was responsible for the foundation of the local museum. He succeeded in both saving Forchheim Castle and preventing development of the mountain. Between 1989 and 1995, Björn-Uwe Abels of the Bayerisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege (Bavarian State Department of Preservation) conducted extensive excavations. In 2005, a tranche was then taken through the wall to reveal the phases of development. Finds from the site, and from the Staffelberg, are now on display at the Archäologiemuseum Oberfranken (Archaeology Museum of Upper Franconia), a branch of the Bavarian State Archaeological Collection
housed in Forchheim Castle.
An early 16th-century wooden statue of St. Walburga by Hans Nußbaum used to stand in the chapel, flanked by statues of her brothers, but was stolen; on 1 May 2000, a new bronze statue in front of it, by Ernst Steinacker, was dedicated.
festival. It grew from a pilgrimage into a widely attended fair. In 1801, geographer J. B. Koppelt described it as "a famous market ... attended by merchants from Saxony
, Bayreuth, the Palatinate and Nuremberg
and where every imaginable class of merchandise is offered, especially shoes." It became particularly popular with students from the University of Erlangen; a student's account of attending the fair in 1798 is preserved. The poet Joseph Victor von Scheffel writes in his 1863 poem Exodus Cantorum – Bambergischer Domchorknaben Sängerfahrt:
Until 1910, the fair took place on the saint's day, 1 May; since then it has been held on the first Sunday in May.
VIII+. Major climbing routes are the Schlaifhausen Face, the Frankenschnellweg (Franconian Shortcut) and the Edelweiß Face.
Butte
A butte is a conspicuous isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; it is smaller than mesas, plateaus, and table landform tables. In some regions, such as the north central and northwestern United States, the word is used for any hill...
on the edge of the Franconian Jura
Franconian Jura
The Franconian Jura is an upland in Bavaria, Germany. Located between two rivers, the Danube in the south and the Main in the north, its peaks reach elevations of up to .Large portions of the Franconian Jura are part of the Altmühl Valley Nature Park...
in Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It is in the district of Forchheim
Forchheim (district)
Forchheim is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Bamberg, Bayreuth, Nürnberger Land and Erlangen-Höchstadt.-History:...
in Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia is a Regierungsbezirk of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia , all now part of the German Federal State of Bayern .With more than 200 independent breweries which brew...
, in the municipalities of Kirchehrenbach
Kirchehrenbach
Kirchehrenbach is a municipality in the district of Forchheim in Bavaria in Germany....
, Leutenbach
Leutenbach, Bavaria
Leutenbach is a municipality in the district of Forchheim in Bavaria in Germany....
and Wiesenthau
Wiesenthau
Wiesenthau is a municipality in the district of Forchheim in Bavaria in Germany....
. The north peak is the 513.9 m Walberla, the south peak the 531.7 m Rodenstein (previously known as the Bodenstein). The entire mountain is popularly known as the Walberla.
Location
The Ehrenbürg is located in the foothills of Little Switzerland, which is the northern part of the Franconian Jura, which in turn forms part of the South German ScarplandsSouth German Scarplands
The South German Scarplands is a geological and geomorphological natural region or landscape in Switzerland and the south German states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg...
. It lies within the Nature Park Little Switzerland and Veldenstein Forest, approximately 2 km south-southeast of Kirchehrenbach, 1.4 km northwest of Leutenbach and 1.6 km east-northeast of Wiesenthau. Dietzhof, part of Leutenbach, and Schlaifhausen, part of Wiesenthau, lie south of the mountain; Reuth, an eastern part of the town of Forchheim
Forchheim
Forchheim may refer to the following places in Germany:*Forchheim, capital of the district of Forchheim, Bavaria*Forchheim am Kaiserstuhl, a municipality in Baden-Württemberg*Forchheim , part of Rheinstetten, Baden-Württemberg...
, lies west of it.
The mountain is approximately 1.5 km long and 300 or 350 m wide at its widest. The two peaks of the mountain are 750 m apart, with a broad "saddle" between them. The Ehrenbach flows past the mountain on the east side; in Kirchehrenbach it joins the Wiesent-Mühlbach, a tributary of the Wiesent, which flows to the west of the mountain.
Protected areas
The Ehrenbürg is located in the west of the twin natural protected areas of Ehrenbürg and Katzenköpfe, designated under the Habitats Directive of the European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, and which are coterminous with the local extent of the bird protection area (Important Bird Area
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...
) Felsen- und Hangwälder in der Fränkischen Schweiz (cliffs and forested slopes of Little Switzerland). In addition, it is part of the western section of the Protected area
Protected area
Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...
Little Switzerland and Veldenstein Forest, which was founded in 2001 and comprises 1,021.64 km². The dry grassland habitat and rare plants, particularly orchids, caused the mountain, in particular its higher parts, to be designated in 1987 as the Ehrenbürg Nature Protection Area, which is 1.55 km² in area, extending a maximum of approximately 2.3 km from north to south and 1 km from east to west.
Names and history
The name Walberla is first recorded in an 18th-century document referring to students from ErlangenErlangen
Erlangen is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located at the confluence of the river Regnitz and its large tributary, the Untere Schwabach.Erlangen has more than 100,000 inhabitants....
going up the mountain and is presumably derived from St Walburga. A 16th–17th-century chapel dedicated to her stands on the north peak; the first recorded mention of such a chapel is dated 1360.
The name Ehrenbürg appears to be earlier and has been variously interpreted. One interpretation derives it from Latin arca (protection) and German Burg (fortification), to mean "protective area" or "fort which is a safe retreat", another from Celtic *Ariacon or *Arika; and another from the Ehrenbach and the devices used to catch fish there. There are two local stories about fish. The chapel used to have a statue of the Virgin Mary with a water-filled crown in which a fish swam, and according to legend if the fish slapped its tail against the side of the crown, there would be a flood; also according to legend, an underground lake beneath the mountain contains a fish so large that it must swallow its own tail, and if it released it, all the nearby settlements would be inundated by the resulting overflow.
The mountain is also the topic of numerous legends about witches and hidden treasure, and the tale of a fabulous town which once stood at the foot of the mountain, an accursed castle which stood where the chapel is now, and an evil woman who was turned to stone and became a rocky outcropping, the "steinerne Jungfrau" (stone virgin).
The mountain was a settlement site from the early Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
(approximately 4000 BCE) until the end of the Roman period in the 5th century CE. In the late 14th century BCE, it became a hill fort
Hill fort
A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...
; in the early Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
(approximately 550–380 BCE), under the Celtic Hallstatt
Hallstatt culture
The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Central European culture from the 8th to 6th centuries BC , developing out of the Urnfield culture of the 12th century BC and followed in much of Central Europe by the La Tène culture.By the 6th century BC, the Hallstatt culture extended for some...
and early La Tène culture
La Tène culture
The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site of La Tène on the north side of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, where a rich cache of artifacts was discovered by Hansli Kopp in 1857....
s, it was a strongly fortified regional centre, with two gates and a citadel, and finds originating from Mediterranean cultures indicate far-flung trade. Remnants of these fortifications are still discernible. However, in the late Iron Age, during the late La Tène period (approximately 150–30 BCE) the mountain was only lightly settled; instead, a large unfortified town grew up nearby at Altendorf
Altendorf, Upper Franconia
Altendorf is a community in the Upper Franconian district of Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany.- Constituent communities :The namesake centre of Altendorf has 1,544 inhabitants while the outlying amalgamated centre of Seußling has 542 .The community also has two traditional rural land units, known in...
. The defensive role of the Ehrenbürg appears to have been taken over by the Staffelberg
Staffelberg
Staffelberg is a mountain of Bavaria, Germany. It is part of the Franconian Switzerland and one of the most important landmarks in Franconia. First settlements date from the neolithic Stone Age. Romans, Celts and Franconians followed. Nowadays, it is a famous tourists' attraction - not only because...
. After an interruption, there was then possible occupation by Germanic
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...
people during the late Roman period, around 400 CE; unlike the Celtic settlement, only on the Rodenstein.
Archaeological finds indicate that during the Hallstatt and La Tène periods, the mountain was the site of human sacrifices, possibly including cannibalism
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
. Some human bones, such as a woman's skeleton which was unnaturally bent and buried under boulders, appear to be sacrifices for the luck of a building; some skulls have been cut up and had holes bored in them for use as amulettes; the armless and legless skeleton of a baby, and discarded fragments of human bones with cut marks, both suggest cannibalism. Nine skeletons of newborn babies were also found to have been buried against the eastern foundation of the chapel in the 17th or the 18th century.
The first archaeological investigations of the Ehrenbürg were conducted beginning in 1903 by Hans Räbel (1872–1941), a teacher in Forchheim who founded the local historical society and was responsible for the foundation of the local museum. He succeeded in both saving Forchheim Castle and preventing development of the mountain. Between 1989 and 1995, Björn-Uwe Abels of the Bayerisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege (Bavarian State Department of Preservation) conducted extensive excavations. In 2005, a tranche was then taken through the wall to reveal the phases of development. Finds from the site, and from the Staffelberg, are now on display at the Archäologiemuseum Oberfranken (Archaeology Museum of Upper Franconia), a branch of the Bavarian State Archaeological Collection
Bavarian State Archaeological Collection
The Bavarian State Archaeological Collection in Munich is the central museum of prehistory of the State of Bavaria and one of the most important archaeological collections and cultural history museums in Germany.-History:...
housed in Forchheim Castle.
An early 16th-century wooden statue of St. Walburga by Hans Nußbaum used to stand in the chapel, flanked by statues of her brothers, but was stolen; on 1 May 2000, a new bronze statue in front of it, by Ernst Steinacker, was dedicated.
Walberla-Fest
The Walberla-Fest in honour of St. Walburga is the oldest spring festival in Germany; pilgrimages associated with the Walberla-Kärwa are attested as early as the 9th century. It supposedly derives from an ancient heathenGermanic paganism
Germanic paganism refers to the theology and religious practices of the Germanic peoples of north-western Europe from the Iron Age until their Christianization during the Medieval period...
festival. It grew from a pilgrimage into a widely attended fair. In 1801, geographer J. B. Koppelt described it as "a famous market ... attended by merchants from Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, Bayreuth, the Palatinate and Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
and where every imaginable class of merchandise is offered, especially shoes." It became particularly popular with students from the University of Erlangen; a student's account of attending the fair in 1798 is preserved. The poet Joseph Victor von Scheffel writes in his 1863 poem Exodus Cantorum – Bambergischer Domchorknaben Sängerfahrt:
Ob Vorchheim bei Kirchehrenbach
Woll’n wir zu Berge steigen.
Dort schwingt sich am Walburgistag
Der Franken Maimarktreigen.
Der ist seit grauer Heidenzeit
Noch allem Landvolk theuer,
Schatzkind, halt Gürtel fest und Kleid,
Wir springen durch die Feuer!
Above Forchheim at Kirchehrenbach
Let's go up on the mountain
There on St. Walburga's Day
The Franconian May-market dance is in full swing
Since dim days of heathendom
It has been dear to all people of the land
Darling, hold your girdle and your dress tight
We're jumping through the fire!
Until 1910, the fair took place on the saint's day, 1 May; since then it has been held on the first Sunday in May.
Climbing
Climbing the Walberla has been forbidden since 1991. On the Rodenstein, only established routes may be climbed. There are 44 of these, up to UIAA gradeGrade (climbing)
In rock climbing, mountaineering and other climbing disciplines, climbers give a climbing grade to a route that concisely describes the difficulty and danger of climbing the route...
VIII+. Major climbing routes are the Schlaifhausen Face, the Frankenschnellweg (Franconian Shortcut) and the Edelweiß Face.
Sources
- G. Böhner. "Das Walberla - eine Attraktion seit 100 000 Jahren". Die Fränkische Schweiz 4 (1983) 109–11
- Björn-Uwe Abels. "Kannibalismus auf der Ehrenbürg". Das archäologische Jahr in Bayern 1990. pp. 68–70
- Georg Schwarz. Die Ehrenburg (Walberla). Heimatbeilage zum Amtlichen Schulanzeiger des Regierungsbezirks Oberfranken 207. Bayreuth: Regierung von Oberfranken, 1994
- Björn-Uwe Abels. "Überblick über die Besiedelung der Ehrenbürg in vorgeschichtlicher Zeit". Bericht der Bayerischen Bodendenkmalpflege 30/31 (1994) 103–22
- Hermann Schmidt-Kaler. Das Walberla - Ein Weißjura-Zeugenberg vor der Frankenalb. Wanderungen in die Erdgeschichte 15. Munich: Pfeil, 2004. ISBN 9783899937497
- Björn-Uwe Abels, Günter Dippold, Wolfgang Schirmer and Ermelinda Spoletschnik, eds. Die Ehrenbürg. Geologie - Archäologie - Volkskunde. Proceedings of the symposium Die Ehrenbürg - neue Forschungsergebnisse, 7 October 2006. Forchheim: Kulturamt des Landkreises Forchheim, 2009. ISBN 9783981127454
External links
- www.walberla.de, Tourismusverein "Rund ums Walberla - Ehrenbürg"
- Adolf Riechelmann and Adolf Zirnsack, "Verbreitung und Ökologie der Orchideen der Ehrenbürg"
- "Das Walberla wird zur Mülldeponie!", April Fools Day article, Frankenjura.com