Nievoldhagen is an abandoned village

Abandoned village

An abandoned village is a village that has, for some reason, been deserted. In many countries, and throughout history, thousands of villages were deserted for a variety of causes...

 in the Hödinger woods

Hödingen

Hödingen is a village and a former municipality in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Oebisfelde-Weferlingen....

 in Saxony-Anhalt

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...

 in 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...

. The settlement was destroyed by war during 16th century.

Location

Nievoldhagen is located in the woods which are the middle of Behnsdorf

Behnsdorf

Behnsdorf is a village and a former municipality in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the municipality Flechtingen....

, Eschenrode

Eschenrode

Eschenrode is a village and a former municipality in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Oebisfelde-Weferlingen.- Geography :...

, Hödingen

Hödingen

Hödingen is a village and a former municipality in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Oebisfelde-Weferlingen....

 and Hörsingen

Hörsingen

Hörsingen is a village and a former municipality in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Oebisfelde-Weferlingen....

. The village is located on the road from Behnsdorf

Behnsdorf

Behnsdorf is a village and a former municipality in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the municipality Flechtingen....

, after Hörsingen

Hörsingen

Hörsingen is a village and a former municipality in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Oebisfelde-Weferlingen....

 since 2006.

History

Nievoldhagen was a village settlement that was destroyed by a war. All that remains today is the foundation of the village church. The village was deserted in 1540 .

The inhabitants presumably got their water from the nearby Angerborn spring, a spring

Spring (hydrosphere)

A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...

 that still exists to this day. At present, the Nievoldhagen area is under the care of German forest services.

The legend of Nievoldhagen

The legend of Nievoldhagen tells of a time when three swine herders from Eschenrode, Hörsingen and Behnsdorf shepherded their animals where the settlement used to be. One of the swines had uncovered the Nievoldhagen church bell while digging for food. The herders could not agree on whose swine it was that uncovered the bell, as the owner of this swine's village would keep the church bell. To settle their differences the herders agreed that whoever could transport the bell to their village first got to keep it. Each ran off towards their homes. The shepherd from Eschenrode caught a stroke of good luck and met a fellow villager with a carriage immediately upon exiting the woods. He told him what had happened and so the bell ended up in Eschenrode.

Today the bell still hangs alongside the two modern day church bells in the church of Eschenrode and sounds every day at six o'clock.