<< Other Photo Pages >> Eresburg - Hillfort in Germany in North Rhine-Westphalia
Submitted by Harald_Platta on Thursday, 17 September 2015 Page Views: 3350
Multi-periodSite Name: EresburgCountry: Germany
NOTE: This site is 8.881 km away from the location you searched for.
Land: North Rhine-Westphalia Type: Hillfort
Nearest Town: Marsberg Nearest Village: Obermarsberg
Latitude: 51.450280N Longitude: 8.852780E
Condition:
| 5 | Perfect |
| 4 | Almost Perfect |
| 3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
| 2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
| 1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
| 0 | No data. |
| -1 | Completely destroyed |
| 5 | Superb |
| 4 | Good |
| 3 | Ordinary |
| 2 | Not Good |
| 1 | Awful |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
| 4 | Short walk on a footpath |
| 3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
| 2 | A long walk |
| 1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
| 4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
| 3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
| 2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
| 1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
| 0 | no data |
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Eresberg hill was the place of a Neolithic settlement, as shown by pieces of pottery from the Michelsberg culture.
The oldest parts of the hillfort were discovered at the presentday collegiate church St. Petrus & Paulus, where the remains of ditches, ramparts and posts are preserved. Radio carbon dating of the wooden posts dates the hillfort to the Pre-Roman Iron Age (420 and 370 BC).
The hillfort was also used in the Germanic Iron Age. It is assumed that it served as a border castle of the Cherusci tribe. Moreover, it has been speculated, that the Cherusci leader Segestes might have held his daughter Thusnelda as prisoner here, because she had become the wife of his rival, Arminius (Hermann). However, there is no evidence available that could support this theory. Finally, the Cherusci became a part of the Saxon community.
The Eresburg was conquered by the Frankish king Karl der Große (Charles the Great, Charlemagne) in 772 AD. He stayed several months at the Eresburg and initiated the construction of the first version of today`s St. Petrus & Paulus church, making it one of the oldest churches in Westphalia. Most likely, the church was built on the site of the former Saxon sanctuary. The destruction of the Irminsul within this sanctuary was regarded as a deeply symbolic act during his war against the pagan Saxons. Later, Pope Leo III is supposed to have stayed at the Eresburg in 799 on his way to Paderborn.
Because of its strategic position, the Eresberg hill became the place of several acts of war during the following centuries. It remained a strong fortification from the middle ages to the early modern era. Parts of this medieval wall and two of the formerly seven towers can still be seen today.
Several archaeological finds from prehistory to modern times are displayed in the Heimatmuseum Stadt Marsberg. A modern stone replica (from the 1930`s) of the Irminsul can be seen in the crypta of St. Petrus & Paulus church.
Literature:
[01] Bérenger, D.: Die eisenzeitliche Höhenbefestigung von Obermarsberg. In: Archäologie in Ostwestfalen 6. Verlag für Regionalgeschichte, Bielefeld (2002).
[02] Cichy, E.: Die Eresburg, Marsberg-Obermarsberg, Hochsauerlandkreis. In: Frühe Burgen in Westfalen 36 (2013).
[03] Cichy, E.: Eresburg - Eine Grabung, viele Fragen. In: Westfalen in der Eisenzeit (2015).
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Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
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