The Tönsberg is a hill ridge in the

Teutoburg Forest The Teutoburg Forest ( ; ) is a range of low, forested hills in the German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. Until the 17th century, the official name of the hill ridge was Osning. It was first renamed the ''Teutoburg Forest'' ...

that reaches a height of and lies in the district of

Lippe Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. ...

near

Oerlinghausen Oerlinghausen (; ) is a city in the Lippe district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany located between Bielefeld and Detmold in the Teutoburg Forest. At the end of February 2023, it had 17,314 inhabitants.Hermann's Way runs over the Tönsberg for about 3.5 km.

Points of interest

Along Hermann's Way on the crest of the Tönsberg are several points of interest:

Hünenkapelle

To the east of the long ridge of the Tönsberg are the ruins of a pre-historic

hillfort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

(''Sachsenlager'') and a chapel known as the '' Hünenkapelle''. The fortification was probably used until the 9th century as a defensive site and refuge. The chapel would have been built in the time when Christianity reached the

Saxons The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

under Frankish rule. The name "Tönsberg" could go back to Holy Anthony, in whose honour the first Christian chapel could have been dedicated.

Löns Monument

In 1898 the writer,

Hermann Löns Hermann Löns (29 August 1866 – 26 September 1914) was a German journalist and writer. He is most famous as "The Poet of the Heath" for his novels and poems celebrating the people and landscape of the North German moors, particularly the L ...

, walked over Tönsberg; his impressions are recorded in his narrative, ''Frau Einsamkeit'' ("Lady Loneliness"), which appeared in 1911 in the volume ''Da draußen vor dem Tore: Heimatliche Naturbilder.''.. Thirty years later a monument to him was erected on the Tönsberg and unveiled on 9 September 1928.

War memorial

In 1930 a war memorial was unveiled to remember the fallen from the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

; over 5,000 people climbed the Tönsberg for the opening ceremony. It was created by the sculptor,

Berthold Müller-Oerlinghausen Berthold Müller-Oerlinghausen (10 February 1893 in Oerlinghausen as Berthold Müller – 22 June 1979 in Kressbronn) was a German sculptor. Life and work Born in Oerlinghausen near Bielefeld in 1893, Berthold Müller – he himself added Oerl ...

; a soldier lies on a

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

framed by columns. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, a British

aeroplane An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a vari ...

crashed in the vicinity of the memorial in February 1945 killing two airmen. The memorial was lightly damaged.

Kumsttonne

On the Tönsberg is the ruin of an old

windmill A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...

dating to 1753. The cylindrical base of the windmill is known as the ''Kumsttonne'' ("

Sauerkraut Sauerkraut (; , ) is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferment the sugar ...

barrel") and is an emblem of the town of Oerlinghausen on the north slopes of the Tönsberg.

Coat of arms

The Tönsberg appears, in stylised form on the coat of arms for the town of Oerlinghausen; it is the middle one of three hills depicted. File:Toensberg02.jpg, The Tönsberg in winter File:Toenskapelle.jpg, The Hünen Chapel on the Tönsberg File:Kumsttonne Oerlinghausen.jpg, The ''Kumsttonne'' on the Tönsberg

Sources

*Andreas Rahns: ''Der Tönsberg bei Oerlinghausen''. Lippische Kulturlandschaften, Heft 7. 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tonsberg Lippe Mountains and hills of North Rhine-Westphalia Teutoburg Forest