Lütsche-Flößgraben

The Lütsche - Flößgraben ( also referred to as age Flößgraben ) was applied to the rafting of timber Flößgraben in the Thuringian Forest, which can be used as a hiking trail today. It is located north of the center Rennsteig, which is bounded by the municipalities Oberhof, Frankenhain and Luis valley in an area.

History

Until the 17th century the wood from the Duchy of Gotha was floated for a fee on the Gera by Schwarzburg epidemiologically relevant geographical area, as Thuringia was territorial heavily dissected at that time. At the end of the 17th century the Counts - Schwarzburgisch - Arnstädtische chamber increased the fees so dramatically that the then head of the Gotha rafts transposed the plan of his mountain Captain Georg Christoph von Utterodt to build a Flößgrabens on the Gotha area into action.

From 1691 to 1702, the main portion of the Flößgrabens, by the Lütsche Brook on Long Pond reason ( site of today's campsite at the Lütsche Dam ) was ran along the slope of the Borzelbergs, the Steiger Mountain and the Eisenberg. After that he is retiring at the mountain rumble along, above Friedrichsanfang ( a present-day district of Crawinkel ) on Kienberg along until after Luis valley where it discharges into the Ohra. Then the timber was rafted up to Erfurt About the Apfelstädt.

1702 of Flößgraben was first used.

Some years later, the Flößgraben was "backwards" extended until Kehltal to open up new forest areas. The Flößgraben should run along exactly at the height of the burned stone, therefore, had in the porphyry rocks by alternating application of fire and ice-cold water bit by bit a 38 m long, 2.30 m high on average and 2.20 m wide tunnel to be blown up - the Burnt stone. The construction of the lined trench with boards with the help of the local population was therefore very cumbersome because the Flößgraben mostly on steep slope ran along, so that the valley had to be dammed with logs.

Internally

View

East entrance of the burned stone

For rafting the timber was first transported to Kehltalsteich after the snow melts, then the floodgates were opened and the Floßgut took its way along the slope, through the burnt -stone, about the support mountain, for Sieglitzteich, past the Sieglitzkopf and Hohenwarte to the Lütschegrund and from there further to the first section. The population of the neighboring villages had to be set up along the trench and prevent long hook that hooked up to 4 m long logs. Through the burnt stone, the strains were pulled by woodcutters, this work was considered to be especially hard, because the men had to work in the water.

Through the wood seals but leaked again and again water and damming was too costly, so the have floated after 17 years and only 11 uses has been set. The cost of 50,000 thalers for construction and repairs could therefore not be covered by the transport of only about 40,000-50,000 m³ of wood.

Current situation

Today, at 23 km in length runs along a hiking trail in and around the former Flößgraben. Some traces of the Flößgrabens are still visible clearly, such as the erosion of the road. A highlight on Flößgraben is the Burnt Stone, through its dark tunnel even today still leads the tourist trail.

Since 1980, every year in Gräfenroda a fun run under the name Flößgrabenlauf place whose route includes large parts of the Flößgrabens.

During construction of the Thuringian Forest Highway, the air exchange center Kehltal the Rennsteig tunnel was built near the beginning of the former Lütsche - Flößgrabens on Kehltalsteich. The term Floßgraben for air exchange center at the southern end of the tunnel refers to a different Flößgraben on the southern slope of the Thuringian Forest.