Eresburg

The Eresburg (today in the area of Obermarsberg, District of Mars mountain in Hochsauerlandkreis ) is the largest known ( old) Saxon People's castle. The hill fort was situated on a mesa, the Eresberg, between 130 and 150 m above the Diemel, a tributary of the Weser, in the extreme south of the Saxon Gau Engern on the border of the duchy of Franconia.

History

On the mountain there were traces that indicate that have stayed here too prehistoric times humans. Also, pieces of pottery found in the Michel Berger culture. Excavations in the vicinity of today's Collegiate Church also gave evidence of ditches, ramparts and post. Radiocarbon dating indicates the origin in the pre-Roman Iron Age: The wood of the posts of trees that must be dated 420-370 before Christ comes.

The earlier research has considered the Eresburg border castle and fortress of Cherusker Segestes where this is said to have imprisoned his daughter Thusnelda. Relevant supporting documents do not exist.

The mountain was due to hard-fought time and again by its central location and boundary was the Great conquered during the Saxon wars in the year 772 by the Frankish king Charlemagne. Charlemagne had destroy the Irminsul located here or nearby, commissioned the abbot of Fulda Sturmius 779 with the mission activities in the region and showed him this place. Already 784/785 Charlemagne wintered on the Eresburg and let (possibly at the site of the former Saxon sanctuary ) build a church. Pope Leo III. to have been on his way to Paderborn in 799 on the Eresburg. When Eresburg found 915 a bloody feud between the Saxon Duke Henry against the East Frankish King Conrad instead. At the battle and the Paderborn Bishop Theodoric said to have been involved in fighting.

Eresburg as the location of Irminsul

When Eresburg there was possibly the Irminsul, one of the highest sanctuaries of Saxony. The formulations in the Annales regni Francorum ( Frankish annals ) for 772 years suggest that the Irminsul could have found either on the Eresburg or in the vicinity thereof. The Annales Petaviani write: " He captured the Eresburg and got to the place that Ermensul is, and put these places on fire. " For one so Karl took the Eresburg and on the other " pervenit ad locum, qui dicitur Ermensul " d h he came to the place which is called Irminsul. The place of Eresburg the author has referred to as " Erisburgo ", so do not Ermensula. The third part of the sentence says " et succendit ea loca", that is, he continued, " these places " ( plural) in fire. Karl so moved by the Eresburg on.

From other sources we know that Charles Buller Born, an intermittent source at Altenbeken encamped before he conquered the Irminsul sanctuary on the following days and destroyed.

The question of the location of the Irminsul but is probably a misnomer, as there must have been several.