Teufelsstein (Haßberge)
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The Teufelsstein in the
Haardt The Haardt () is a range of wooded, sandstone hills in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in southwestern Germany. The range is some long and lies within the Palatinate Forest (''Pfälzerwald''). Its highest point is the Kalmit, near Maikammer ...
mountains, near the
Palatine A palatine or palatinus (Latin; : ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman Empire, Roman times.
county town of
Bad Dürkheim Bad Dürkheim () is a spa town in the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration. It is the seat of the Bad Dürkheim (district), Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, and the site of the discovery of the element caesium, in 1860. Geogra ...
in the German state of
Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...
, is a hill . On its domed summit is a
monolith A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often made of very hard and solid igneous or metamorphic rock. Some monolit ...
of the same name (which means "Devil's Rock"). Traces of human activity on the rock indicate that it acted as a cult object in former times.


Geography

The hill, which is a southeastern spur of the 487-metre-high Peterskopf massif, lies north of where the River
Isenach The Isenach is a left tributary of the Rhine in the northeastern Palatine region of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is nearly long. Course The Isenach rises in the northern Palatinate Forest, southwest of Carlsberg Hertlingshausen. Its source i ...
breaks out of the
Palatinate Forest The Palatinate Forest (; ), sometimes also called the Palatine Forest, is a List of landscapes in Rhineland-Palatinate, low-mountain region in southwestern Germany, located in the Palatinate (region), Palatinate in the state of Rhineland-Palatina ...
mountains into the hill country of the
Weinstraße The wine route within wine-producing regions, are marked and advertised roads with special signs, along which insist natural, cultural and environmental values, vineyards and cellars of individual or associated farms open to the public. They const ...
and
Upper Rhine Plain The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben ( German: ''Oberrheinische Tiefebene'', ''Oberrheinisches Tiefland'' or ''Oberrheingraben'', French: ''Vallée du Rhin'') is a major rift, about and on average , between Basel in the ...
. From its summit, which nowadays is wooded, there is an all-round view over the Rhine Plain to the east, the Palatinate Forest to the west, and its eastern mountain range, the Haardt, which runs from north to south. Until 1981, when it was closed for legal reasons, a
gondola lift A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel wire rope that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate suppo ...
ran from the site of the Dürkheimer Wurstmarkt, the ''Brühlwiesen'', in a northwesterly direction up to the top of the Teufelsstein. A southern outlier, which is also part of the Peterskopf massif, is the 300-metre-high ''Kästenberg'' ( Pal. for ''Kastanienberg'' or "chestnut hill"), is host to the remains of the
Heidenmauer Heidenmauer is German for "heathen wall" and may refer to: * Heidenmauer (Palatinate) The ''Heidenmauer'' ("heathen wall") near the Palatinate (region), Palatine county town of Bad Dürkheim in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate is a circul ...
, a large
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
settlement with a 2.5 km long circular wall, which was built around 500 B. C., as well as the
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
quarry, the
Kriemhildenstuhl The ''Kriemhildenstuhl'', more rarely ''Krimhildenstuhl'' (short i), in the forests around the Palatinate (region), Palatine county town of Bad Dürkheim in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, is an old Roman Empire, Roman quarry, which was ...
, which was used until the 4th century A. D.


Name

The ''Teufelsstein'', which gave the hill its name, is a rock formation about 2.50 metres high and up to 4 metres wide. Five steps have been carved into the rock, staircase-fashion, leading to the top where there is a hollow which is thought to be a sacrifice bowl (''Opferschale'') for religious rites of its former, probably Celtic users and from which a blood channel (''Blutrinne'') runs down the rock by the steps. In addition, the rock has numerous symbols carved into it, dating to various periods. As well as sun wheels,
runes Runes are the Letter (alphabet), letters in a set of related alphabets, known as runic rows, runic alphabets or futharks (also, see ''#Futharks, futhark'' vs ''#Runic alphabets, runic alphabet''), native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were ...
and Roman letters there are several markings that recall the
stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with mortar and even the ancient lime mortar ...
's marks of the 12th and 13th centuries. According to older accounts, two coarsely drawn human figures as well as other carvings used to be visible as well, but they have since weathered away or been deliberately destroyed. In the near vicinity of the Teufelsstein are several large rocks which could be the remains of a former enclosure of the summit plateau.


Legend of the Teufelsstein

The following local legend is told about the Teufelsstein: :''Once upon a time, when
Limburg Abbey Limburg Abbey is a ruined abbey near Bad Dürkheim, at the edge of the Palatinate Forest in Germany. In the 9th century, the Salian Dukes from Worms built a fortress on the ''Linthberg'' as their family seat. History In 1025, Conrad II, Holy Rom ...
was built on a hill opposite the Teufelsstein, the monks deceived the Devil into helping with its construction. They led him to believe they wanted to build an inn and in this way induced him into stacking the giant stone
ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...
s on top of one another. It was not until the after the building had been finished and the bells rang out for the solemn
consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...
of the
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...
, that the Devil realised the deception. Full of wrath he wanted to take the huge boulder from the hill opposite and hurl it at the new monastery. But God protected the monks, the stone turned out to be as soft as butter. Then the Devil sat on it and left imprints of his bottom, his feet and his tail that are still visible today...'' In his book ''Die malerische und romantische Rheinpfalz'' ("The Picturesque and Romantic Rhenish Palatinate") Franz Weiß wrote an epic poem about the legend of the Teufelsstein that ends as follows: :''Noch ruhet auf derselben Stelle''
''ein stummer Zeuge und allein,''
''wo er entfiel dem Herrn der Hölle,''
''auf hohem Berg – der Teufelsstein.'' :''"Still it rests on that same spot, a silent witness and alone, where it escaped the Lord of Hell, on a mountain high – the Devil's Stone."''


References

{{reflist Archaeological sites in Germany Mountains and hills of Rhineland-Palatinate Rock formations of Rhineland-Palatinate Culture of the Palatinate (region) Mountains and hills of the Palatinate Forest Bad Dürkheim (district) Natural monuments in Rhineland-Palatinate