Externsteine
Encyclopedia
The Externsteine ˈɛkstɐnʃtaɪnə are a distinctive rock formation located in Ostwestfalen-Lippe
of northwestern Germany
, not far from the city of Detmold
at Horn-Bad Meinberg
. The formation is a tor consisting of several tall, narrow columns of rock which rise abruptly from the surrounding wooded hills. The name probably means "stones of the Egge
", Egge meaning ridge.
pillars, the tallest of which is 37.5 m (123 ft) high and form a wall of several hundred metres in length, in a region that is otherwise largely devoid of rocks. The pillars have been modified and decorated by humans over the centuries.
The geological formation consists of a hard, erosion
-resistant sandstone, laid down during the early Cretaceous
era about 120 million years ago, near the edge of a large shallow sea that covered large parts of Northern Europe at the time.
peoples and their predecessors prior to the arrival of Christianity
in northern Europe
. Research into this area was carried out as early as 1564 by Hermann Hamelmann
.
However, archaeological excavations did not produce any findings earlier than the 11th century BC, other than some Paleolithic
and Mesolithic
stone tools dating to before about 10,000 BC. As such the precise date when people first used the rocks for rituals has not yet been established.
The last pre-Christian
inhabitants of the region were Saxons
until their defeat and conversion by Emperor Charlemagne
. After conquering Eresburg
in 772, Charlemagne is reported to have ordered the destruction of the Saxon Irminsul
; (Wilhelm Teudt
in the 1920s suggested that the location of the Irminsul had been at the Externsteine). A church dedicated to St Peter
was built on the same spot. There is also evidence of an early monastery, which might have been founded as early as 815. The findings, however, are not yet conclusive, though the dating of 1093 has been proven false by art historians, who date the relief to early 9th century. One inscription indicates that the Bishop of Paderborn
consecrated the grotto in the western columns as a Christian chapel in the early 12th century.
In 1933 Wilhelm Teudt
joined the Nazi Party and proposed to turn the Externsteine into a "sacred grove" for the commemoration of the ancestors. Heinrich Himmler
was open to the idea, and in 1933 initiated and then presided over the "Externstein Foundation". Interest in the location was furthered by the Nazi Ahnenerbe
division within the SS
, who studied the stones for their value to Germanic folklore and history.
At the top of the tallest stone is a chamber, now open. Thought to have been once used for sacrifices, little decoration remains apart from one wall with a circular hole cut into it, facing due East. Studies have shown that this may be some form of calendar. On the exact day each year when summer turns to winter, the sun shines exactly onto this hole.
Some Neo-Pagans
continue to believe that the Irminsul was located at the Externsteine and identify a bent tree depicted beneath the cross in a 12th century Christian carving with it. The site has also been of interest to various German nationalist
movements over the years, and continues to be a popular destination.
s in Lippe’ and was placed under protection..de/Aufgaben/Organisation/Abteilung5/Dezernat51/Naturschutzgebiete/KreisLippe/Externsteine/index.html bezreg-detmold.nrw.de - "Nature Extersteine" Today it is approximately 27 acre (0.10926522 km²; 0.0421875373010882 sq mi), and forms part of the ‘Teutoburg Forest’ nature reserve, Extersteine
Some of the Externsteine rocks can easily accessed and climbed. Many of the rock outcrops can be accessed straight from the road. However, in some cases, access is prohibited to protect rare vegetation.
During the day there is an entrance fee for visiting and climbing on the site. However outside the opening hours, some of the rocks are accessible without charge.
Hikers reach the Externsteine from the north, on the Hermannsweg and coming from the south via the Eggeweg, which is part of the E1 European long distance path.
Ostwestfalen-Lippe
Ostwestfalen-Lippe , abbreviation OWL, is a region in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a 2,000-years-old history and culture. Ostwestfalen-Lippe is the eastern part of the region of Westphalia, joined with the Lippe region. Translated to English, the name would be East...
of northwestern 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...
, not far from the city of Detmold
Detmold
Detmold is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of about 74,000. It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947...
at Horn-Bad Meinberg
Horn-Bad Meinberg
Horn-Bad Meinberg is a town in the Lippe district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with c. 18,300 inhabitants. It was formed in 1970 by merging various other towns that had grown together, including Bad Meinberg and Horn - the new entity's original name was Bad Meinberg-Horn, before taking its...
. The formation is a tor consisting of several tall, narrow columns of rock which rise abruptly from the surrounding wooded hills. The name probably means "stones of the Egge
Eggegebirge
The Eggegebirge is a range of low, forested mountains in the very east of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.-Geography:The Eggegebirge extends from the southern tip of the Teutoburger Wald range near Horn-Bad Meinberg southwards to the northern parts of the Sauerland near Marsberg...
", Egge meaning ridge.
Geology
The Externsteine are a natural outcropping of five sandstoneSandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
pillars, the tallest of which is 37.5 m (123 ft) high and form a wall of several hundred metres in length, in a region that is otherwise largely devoid of rocks. The pillars have been modified and decorated by humans over the centuries.
The geological formation consists of a hard, erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
-resistant sandstone, laid down during the early Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
era about 120 million years ago, near the edge of a large shallow sea that covered large parts of Northern Europe at the time.
History
The Externsteine were a centre of religious activity for the TeutonicGermanic 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...
peoples and their predecessors prior to the arrival of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
in northern Europe
Northern Europe
Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Northern Europe typically refers to the seven countries in the northern part of the European subcontinent which includes Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Sweden...
. Research into this area was carried out as early as 1564 by Hermann Hamelmann
Hermann Hamelmann
Hermann Hamelmann was a German Lutheran theologian and the reformer of Westphalia. Born in Osnabrück, he became the priest at Kamen in 1552. While a priest, he converted to the Evangelical Lutheran faith and announced it publicly on Trinity Sunday, 1553, and as a result he was forced to leave the...
.
However, archaeological excavations did not produce any findings earlier than the 11th century BC, other than some Paleolithic
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory...
and Mesolithic
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
stone tools dating to before about 10,000 BC. As such the precise date when people first used the rocks for rituals has not yet been established.
The last pre-Christian
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
inhabitants of the region were Saxons
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
until their defeat and conversion by Emperor Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
. After conquering Eresburg
Obermarsberg
Obermarsberg, previously Eresburg, is one of seventeen quarters in the municipality of Marsberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on a hill 130m above the Diemel River, a tributary of the Weser River.-History:...
in 772, Charlemagne is reported to have ordered the destruction of the Saxon Irminsul
Irminsul
An Irminsul was a kind of pillar which is attested as playing an important role in the Germanic paganism of the Saxon people. The oldest chronicle describing an Irminsul refers to it as a tree trunk erected in the open air...
; (Wilhelm Teudt
Wilhelm Teudt
Wilhelm Teudt was a völkisch lay archaeologist searching for an ancient Germanic civilization...
in the 1920s suggested that the location of the Irminsul had been at the Externsteine). A church dedicated to St Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
was built on the same spot. There is also evidence of an early monastery, which might have been founded as early as 815. The findings, however, are not yet conclusive, though the dating of 1093 has been proven false by art historians, who date the relief to early 9th century. One inscription indicates that the Bishop of Paderborn
Paderborn
Paderborn is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader, which originates in more than 200 springs near Paderborn Cathedral, where St. Liborius is buried.-History:...
consecrated the grotto in the western columns as a Christian chapel in the early 12th century.
In 1933 Wilhelm Teudt
Wilhelm Teudt
Wilhelm Teudt was a völkisch lay archaeologist searching for an ancient Germanic civilization...
joined the Nazi Party and proposed to turn the Externsteine into a "sacred grove" for the commemoration of the ancestors. Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
was open to the idea, and in 1933 initiated and then presided over the "Externstein Foundation". Interest in the location was furthered by the Nazi Ahnenerbe
Ahnenerbe
The Ahnenerbe was a Nazi German think tank that promoted itself as a "study society for Intellectual Ancient History." Founded on July 1, 1935, by Heinrich Himmler, Herman Wirth, and Richard Walther Darré, the Ahnenerbe's goal was to research the anthropological and cultural history of the Aryan...
division within the SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
, who studied the stones for their value to Germanic folklore and history.
At the top of the tallest stone is a chamber, now open. Thought to have been once used for sacrifices, little decoration remains apart from one wall with a circular hole cut into it, facing due East. Studies have shown that this may be some form of calendar. On the exact day each year when summer turns to winter, the sun shines exactly onto this hole.
Some Neo-Pagans
Neopaganism
Neopaganism is an umbrella term used to identify a wide variety of modern religious movements, particularly those influenced by or claiming to be derived from the various pagan beliefs of pre-modern Europe...
continue to believe that the Irminsul was located at the Externsteine and identify a bent tree depicted beneath the cross in a 12th century Christian carving with it. The site has also been of interest to various German nationalist
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
movements over the years, and continues to be a popular destination.
Conservation
As early as 1926, the Extersteine was known as ‘one of the oldest and most important nature reserveNature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
s in Lippe’ and was placed under protection..de/Aufgaben/Organisation/Abteilung5/Dezernat51/Naturschutzgebiete/KreisLippe/Externsteine/index.html bezreg-detmold.nrw.de - "Nature Extersteine" Today it is approximately 27 acre (0.10926522 km²; 0.0421875373010882 sq mi), and forms part of the ‘Teutoburg Forest’ nature reserve, Extersteine
Tourism
In 1958, visitor numbers were around 224,000 people annually.Fritz Runge: The nature reserves of the former administrative district of Westphalia and Osnabrück. Aschendorff. Munster. 3. Ed 1978th P. 143-144. ISBN 3-402-04382-3 Today, between a half to one million people annually visit the stones, making the Externsteine one the most frequently visited nature reserves in Westphalia.Some of the Externsteine rocks can easily accessed and climbed. Many of the rock outcrops can be accessed straight from the road. However, in some cases, access is prohibited to protect rare vegetation.
During the day there is an entrance fee for visiting and climbing on the site. However outside the opening hours, some of the rocks are accessible without charge.
Hikers reach the Externsteine from the north, on the Hermannsweg and coming from the south via the Eggeweg, which is part of the E1 European long distance path.
External links
- Externsteine — Stadt Horn-Bad Meinberg
- Externsteine — Sacred Destinations
- Externstein.de