A ''Dreiherrenstein'' or ''Dreiherrnstein'' is the topographic name of a historical

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

, especially in the German-speaking lands of central Europe, i.e. a place where the border of three princely territories met, together with any enclosures or border fortifications. The word means literally "Three Lords' Stone".

Examples

Examples of places where ''Dreiherrensteine'' are located include: *

Boundary stone A boundary marker, border marker, boundary stone, or border stone is a robust physical marker that identifies the start of a land boundary or the change in a boundary, especially a change in direction of a boundary. There are several other t ...

between the municipalities of Friesenhagen, Wenden and the town of Freudenberg. Es handelt sich um die former border of the Barony of Wildenburg with the kurkölnischen Duchy of Westphalia and the Principality of Nassau-Siegen. * Boundary stone in Medenbach,

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

, in the parish of "Wellinger" that once marked the borders of Nassau-Idstein, Electoral Mainz and the

Hesse-Darmstadt The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt () was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse among the four sons of Landgrave Philip I. ...

. It bears the date 1730. * Boundary stone between the bishoprics of Münster, Osnabrück and Orange * Boundary stone in the municipality of Bellingen (Westerwald) on the border between

Electoral Trier The Electorate of Trier ( or '; ) was an Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that existed from the end of the 9th to the early 19th century. It was the temporal possession of the prince-archbishop of Trier (') wh ...

, Orange-Nassau and Sayn-Hachenburg, dated 1780 * Boundary stone between Electoral Trier, Orange-Nassau and Sayn-Hachenburg in the municipality of Rothenbach, 1790 * Dreiherrenstein, Meisenbach between Electoral Cologne, the

Duchy of Berg Berg () was a state—originally a county, later a duchy—in the Rhineland of Germany. Its capital was Düsseldorf. It existed as a distinct political entity from the early 12th to the 19th centuries. It was a member state of the Holy Roman Emp ...

and County of Sayn near Kircheib at the Landgraben there *

Dreiherrenstein near Oberwiesenthal A ''Dreiherrenstein'' or ''Dreiherrnstein'' is the topographic name of a historical tripoint, especially in the German-speaking lands of central Europe, i.e. a place where the border of three princely territories met, together with any enclosures ...

in the Ore Mountains * Boundary stone on the

Ravensberg (Harz) The Ravensberg is a 659 m high mountain in the South Harz mountains in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is relatively isolated and visible for a long way. It lies in the district of Landkreis Göttingen, Göttingen, north of Bad Sachsa. ...

* Boundary stone on the Hartenberg near

Elbingerode (Harz) Elbingerode is an ''Ortsteil'' of Oberharz am Brocken in the Harz district, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. The former town was incorporated into the newly established municipality on 1 January 2010. Its population is 3,101 (2021). Geogra ...

* Boundary stone south of Benneckenstein on the

Trans-Harz Railway The Harz Railway or Trans-Harz Railway () was formerly the main line of the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways (''Harzer Schmalspurbahnen'' or ''HSB'') and runs north to south right across the Harz Mountains from Wernigerode to Nordhausen. However, the to ...

near the former railway station of Kälberbruch. It was on the border between the Kingdom of Hanover, Kingdom of Prussia and Duchy of Brunswick of 1841 * Boundary stone east of

Nordhalben Nordhalben is a municipality in the district of Kronach in Bavaria in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps ...

in the Frankenwald; border between Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg, Barony of Gera (later the Principality of Reuß j. L.) and Barony of Lichtenberg (later the Margraviate of Kulmbach-Bayreuth, then Kingdom of Prussia, finally Kingdom of Bavaria) * Dreiherrnstein on the Riemen on an eminence (673,9 m) near the mountain of Riemen in the Rothaar Mountains * Dreifürstenstein on the 854-metre-high

Dreifürstenstein Dreifürstenstein is a mountain in Zollernalbkreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Al ...

near Mössingen (county of Tübingen) from the 17th century * Dreiherrensteine from the

Hainich Hainich () is a forested hill chain in the state of Thuringia in Germany, between the towns of Eisenach, Mühlhausen and Bad Langensalza. Hainich covers an area of around 160 km² (61,8 sq mi), of which, since 31 December 1997, half has ...

in western Thuringia * Boundary stone near Sohland/Spree in

Upper Lusatia Upper Lusatia (, ; , ; ; or ''Milsko''; ) is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to the north, it makes up the region of Lusatia, named after the Polabian Slavs, Slavic ''Lusici'' tribe. Both parts of Lusatia a ...

from the year 1750, with the coats of arms of the adjacent baronies:

von the Sahla The term () is used in German surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple preposition used by commoners that means or . Nobility directories like the often abbreviate the noble term to ''v.'' I ...

(Sohland), County Salm-Reifferscheidt ( Hainspach in Bohemia) and Chapter of St. Peter’s, Bautzen (

Wehrsdorf Wehrsdorf (German) or Wernarjecy (Upper Sorbian) is a small village in a valley of the Lusatian Highlands in the region of Upper Lusatia (''Oberlausitz'') in Saxony, Germany. It has about 1,776 inhabitants and belongs to an administrative commu ...

) * Boundary stone, known as the ''Tafelstein'', on the hillside of the

Tafelfichte Smrk (; ) is the highest mountain in the Czech part of the Jizera Mountains. Rising , it is sometimes known as "The King of the Jizera Mountains". Geography The top of the mountain lies in the municipal territory of Lázně Libverda in the Lib ...

(

Smrk Smrk may refer to: * Smrk (Jizera Mountains) Smrk (; ) is the highest mountain in the Czech Republic, Czech part of the Jizera Mountains. Rising , it is sometimes known as "The King of the Jizera Mountains". Geography The top of the mountain ...

) in the Isergebirge; since ancient times it has marked the boundary point between

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

and

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

and was, from 1742 to 1815, also the

between

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

* Dreiherrenstein in the

Kellerwald The Kellerwald is a low mountain range reaching heights of up to 675 m in the western part of northern Hesse, Germany. Its assets include Germany's largest contiguous beech woodland and it contains Hesse's only national park, the Kellerwald-Ederse ...

on the border point of Hesse-Darmstadt (denoted by GH),

Hesse-Kassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, also known as the Hessian Palatinate (), was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. The state was created in 1567 when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided upon t ...

(KH) and Waldeck (W or FW for the

Principality of Waldeck The County of Waldeck (later the Principality of Waldeck and Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire and its successors from the late 12th century until 1929. In 1349 the county gained Imperial immediacy and ...

) * Dreiherrenstein at the

Weißenberg Weißenberg (German language, German) or Wóspork (Upper Sorbian language, Upper Sorbian, ) is a town in the Bautzen (district), district of Bautzen, in Saxony, in eastern Germany. The Upper Lusatian town has approximately 3,100 inhabitants and ...

(county of Südwestpfalz, Rheinland-Pfalz) in the

Palatine Forest The Palatinate Forest (; ), sometimes also called the Palatine Forest, is a low-mountain region in southwestern Germany, located in the Palatinate in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The forest is a designated nature park () covering 1,771&n ...

on the former border point of the estates of the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

dukes of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, the Leiningen counts and the Barony of Gräfenstein * Dreiherrenstein, Neustall in the Hessian

Vogelsberg The Vogelsberg () is a large volcanic mountain range in the German Central Uplands in the state of Hesse, separated from the Rhön Mountains by the Fulda (river), Fulda river valley. Emerging approximately 19 million years ago, the Vogelsber ...

on the boundary of the parishes of Hintersteinau, Neustall and Holzmühl * Boundary stone number 467.3 at the junction of the parishes of

Bad Kreuznach Bad Kreuznach () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach (district), Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a spa town, known for its medieval bridge dating from around 1300, the Alte Nahebrücke (Bad Kreuznach), Alte Nahebrücke, ...

Altenbamberg Altenbamberg is an ''Ortsgemeinde (Germany), Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Kreuznach (district), Bad Kreuznach Districts of Germany ...

and

Frei-Laubersheim Frei-Laubersheim is an '' Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Bad Kr ...

which, from 1815 to 1945, marked the tripoint of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

and

. The rock was so badly damaged on 12 November 1933 (the day of the first Reichstag election involving the Nazi party) as part of a large-scale campaign of destruction by the

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth ( , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth wing of the German Nazi Party. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. From 1936 until 1945, it was th ...

against the great number of German states, which in the border area between Rhenish Hesse and the Palatinate alone saw the destruction of 77 boundary stones, that the marking on it were no longer visible; instead only the initials of the Hitler Youth ("HJ") remain today. * Dreiherrenstein at the Heldrastein near

Treffurt Treffurt () is a small town in the western region of the Wartburgkreis district which belongs to the federal state of Thuringia. The former municipality Ifta was merged into Treffurt in January 2019. The town lies near the Werra and is surrounded ...

(

Wartburgkreis Wartburgkreis is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the west of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) the districts Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis, Gotha, Schmalkalden-Meiningen, and the districts Fulda, Hersfeld-Rotenburg and ...

, Thuringia) on the Hessian-Thuringian state border at a former border point between the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

(

Province of Saxony The Province of Saxony (), also known as Prussian Saxony (), was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1944. Its capital was Magdeburg. It was formed by the merger of various territories ceded ...

, Regierungsbezirk Erfurt), Kingdom of Prussia, Province of

Hesse-Nassau The Province of Hesse-Nassau () was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1868 to 1918, then a province of the Free State of Prussia until 1944. Hesse-Nassau was created as a consequence of the Austro-Prussian War of ...

, Regierungsbezirk Kassel (before 1866

Electorate of Hesse The Electorate of Hesse (), also known as Hesse-Kassel or Kurhessen, was the title used for the former Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel after an 1803 reform where the Holy Roman Emperor elevated its ruler to the rank of Elector, thus giving him ...

) and Grand Duchyof

Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach () was a German state, created as a duchy in 1809 by the merger of the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach, which had been in personal union since 1741. It was raised to a grand duchy in 1815 by resolutio ...

. Probably erected after 1866, restored 2002, height 488.5 m above NN.{{Cite web , url=http://www.heldrastein.de/dreiherren.html , title=Dreiherrenstein at the Heldrastein , access-date=2015-10-10 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012073654/http://www.heldrastein.de/dreiherren.html , archive-date=2013-10-12 , url-status=dead * Dreiherrenstein near Maltitz on the border between Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia * Dreiländerstein (Eggenthal), on the county boundary between

Eggenthal Eggenthal is a municipality in the district of Ostallgäu in Bavaria in Germany. It is located in the Allgäu region. There are the Gemarkungs Bayersried and Eggenthal. There are also the villages of Romatsried and Holzstetten as well as severa ...

Ostallgäu Ostallgäu is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts of Oberallgäu, Unterallgäu, Augsburg, Landsberg, Weilheim-Schongau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and by the ...

and Unteregg,

Unterallgäu Unterallgäu (, ) is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) Neu-Ulm, Günzburg, Augsburg, Ostallgäu, Oberallgäu, and the districts Ravensburg und Biberach in Baden-Württ ...

on the old border point between

Irsee Abbey Irsee Abbey, also the Imperial Abbey of Irsee (), was a Benedictine abbey located at Irsee near Kaufbeuren in Bavaria. The self-ruling imperial abbey was secularized in the course of the German mediatization of 1802–1803 and its territory annexed ...

Kempten Abbey The Princely Abbey of Kempten () was an Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire for centuries until it was annexed to the Electorate of Bavaria in the course of the German mediatization in 1803. Geography Located within t ...

and Electoral Bavarian

Mindelheim Mindelheim (; ) is a town in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. The town is the capital of the Unterallgäu district. At various points in history it was the chief settlement of an eponymous state. Geography Mindelheim is located on the river Mindel ...

''Dreiherrensteine'' on the Rennsteig Trail

A total of 13 ''Dreiherrensteine'' is located on the

Rennsteig The () is a ridge walk as well as a historical boundary path in the Thuringian Forest, Thuringian Highland and Franconian Forest in Central Germany. The long-distance trail runs for about from and the valley in the northwest to and the ...

, of which 11 are in

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

and two in

. They are, from west to east: * Dreiherrenstein at Glasbach (1643, near

Ruhla Ruhla () is a town situated in the forest of Thuringia in the district of Wartburgkreis in Germany, immediately next to the Rennsteig. Thal and Kittelsthal are parts of the town. History Within the German Empire (1871-1918), part of Ruhla belon ...

– missing) * Dreiherrenstein am Großen Weißenberg (1783, bei Steinbach) * Dreiherrenstein am Hangweg (1586, near

Floh-Seligenthal Floh-Seligenthal is a municipality in the district Schmalkalden-Meiningen, in Thuringia, Germany. Notable people Born in Floh-Seligenthal * Johann Michael Bach III, (1745 - 1820) German composer, lawyer and music theorist * Carola Anding, (* 196 ...

) * Gustav-Freytag-Stein (1719, near Oberhof – Dreiherrenstein fehlt) * Stone 16 or the Dietzel-Geba-Stein (1734, near Oberhof) * Kleiner Dreiherrenstein (1630, near Frauenwald) * Großer Dreiherrenstein (1596, near Frauenwald) *

Dreiherrenstein an der Hohen Heide A ''Dreiherrenstein'' or ''Dreiherrnstein'' is the topographic name of a historical tripoint, especially in the German-speaking lands of central Europe, i.e. a place where the border of three princely territories met, together with any enclosures ...

(1846, near

Masserberg Masserberg is a municipality in the district of Hildburghausen, in Thuringia, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and t ...

) * Dreistromstein and Kleiner Dreiherrenstein (1733, near

Siegmundsburg Siegmundsburg is a former municipality in the Sonneberg district of Thuringia, Germany. Since 31 December 2012, it is part of the town Neuhaus am Rennweg Neuhaus am Rennweg is a town in the district of Sonneberg, in Thuringia, Germany. It is si ...

) * Dreiherrenstein, Hohe(r) Lach (1548, near

Neuhaus am Rennweg Neuhaus am Rennweg is a town in the district of Sonneberg, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated in the Thuringian Forest, 17 km north of Sonneberg, and 22 km southwest of Saalfeld. The former municipalities Lichte image:Wallendorfe ...

) * Dreiherrenstein, Sperbersbach (1821, near

Tettau Tettau is a municipality in the district of Kronach in Bavaria in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to ...

) * Dreiwappenstein at Kießlich (1717, near

Steinbach am Wald Steinbach is a municipality in the district of Kronach in Bavaria in Germany. History The village was first mentioned in 1190. Until 1388 it was part of 'Eygen Teuschnitz', a large estate of Langheim monastery. Economy Biggest employer is Wiegan ...

) * Dreiherrenstein, Hohe Tanne (1845, near Brennersgrün)

References

* Lists of buildings and structures in Germany

Examples

''Dreiherrensteine'' on the Rennsteig Trail

See also

References