Donar's Oak

The Donareiche was a Germanic god Donar or Thor sacred tree at Geismar, today a part of Fritzlar, in northern Hesse.

Precipitation by Boniface

The oak is known for an incident during the missionary work of St. Boniface. According to the written order 760 Vita Sancti Bonifatii of Willibald of Mainz Boniface was on a mission trip in the northeast of the Frankish Empire in what is now Hesse. He used it probably built and occupied by the Clovis been Christianized Franks Büraburg as a base, which was in sight on the south bank of the Eder opposite the present city of Fritzlar. To convince the largely not yet converted to Christianity chat, he sought the impotence of the old Germanic gods to prove and left in the year 723, fell under the protection of the Frankish soldier and in the presence of numerous chat oak, was one of the most important Germanic sanctuaries.

"Quorum consultii atque consilio arborem quandam Mirae magnitudmis, quae prisco paganorum vocahulo appellatur robur Jovis in loco, qui dicitur Gaesmere, servis dei secum astantibus, succidere tentavit "

" On her advice, he laid in the presence of his brothers the ax to an oak tree of tremendous size, which was designated by the pagans as a Jupiter - oak and stood at a place called the Geismar. "

From the wood of the oak Boniface was at a place not specifically designated a house of prayer consecrated to St. Peter ( oratorio ) build. To 732 is reported in the St. Boniface Life of Willibald, Boniface had let build a church dedicated to St. Peter and a monastery in Fritzlar.

Hypotheses on the location of the Donareiche

Archaeological evidence for the location of the oak are not known. The tradition is based on the Boniface Life of Willibald, which clearly indicate the place name Gaesmere called as the site of the Oak ( Geismar ). The former chat tables settlement " Altgeismar " lay a few hundred yards south of the present village of Geismar and was excavated in the 1970s. What location the first house of worship was built from the wood of oak, is not mentioned. As the site of which was built around 732 St. Peter's Church and monastery designate Willibald Friedeslar ( Fritzlar ), which later became the site of the present-day Fritzlarer cathedral was built. Due to the Patroziniums is generally believed that was even the first St. Peter consecrated prayer house in the same place.

The different spatial data can be explained by the fact that, had been elected for the first house of prayer today's cathedral hill higher ground as the location because he - as later happened - was good for attachment to expand and worked as a construction site more appropriate. The wood of a tree trunk over the short distance of only about 1-1.5 miles from Geismar to Fritzlar was easily possible to transport with former agents, if you are not needed by forest or swamp.

Contrary in the hypothesis, the first house of worship of Boniface was built directly at the site of Donareiche and today Fritzlarer Dom thus located at this point, due in particular to the fact that Germanic sanctuaries were more likely to altitudes than in lowlands and Fritzlarer Cathedral Hill at the time of Boniface probably belonged to the corridor of Geismar. Hence, no even the supposedly arduous transportation of wood on the cathedral hill. Although this hypothesis contradicts the written tradition of Boniface Vita, which expressly refers to two different local names, however, was written until almost 50 years later, as long since formed around the St. Boniface Church and the local monastery, a new settlement called Friedeslar ( place of peace ) had.

As the site of the Donareiche continue also some kilometers north- westernmost head between St. John's Church Geismar, Zuschen and waves was suspected. Other hypotheses, according to which the Donareiche have been on the Hülfensberg at Geismar at the Frieda or Hofgeismar in northern Hesse, are considered unlikely because these places far away are and Boniface hardly the wood of the oak to build his chapel until after Fritzlar would transport leave.

Spread of Christianity

Büraburg was raised in the year 742 by Saint Boniface for the first diocese in the newly evangelized territories. The diocese was, however, not re-occupied after the death of the first bishop, Witta, but Lull, Boniface 's successor, incorporated as Archbishop of Mainz, in the diocese of Mainz, thereby Mainz to the supervision of the missionary work in the more eastern areas secure.

Literary reference

Literary mention was the Donareiche including in Wolf Dietrich Schnurre The Shadow photographer.

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