Rungholt

54.4666666666678.7166666666667Koordinaten: 54 ° 28 '0 " N, 8 ° 43' 0" E

Rungholt was a parish of the former island beach in front of the North Frisian mainland coast. It was destroyed on January 16, 1362 or any subsequent storm surges in the Second Marcellus ( Grote Mandränke ).

• 6.1 Reception in Poetry and Fiction
• 6.2 journal articles

Geographical location

The substrate consisted of a Rungholts Torflinse that are not resisted the overflush. The storm surge formed around an existing flow to a deep and large tidal creek, today Norderhever.

The historic Rungholt

For a long time there was no physical evidence from the time of the place before 1362, which could prove the existence of Rungholts. Contemporary accounts no longer exist. Although had chronicler of the 17th century as Matthias Boetius and Anton Heimreich Tell reproduced from a vanished in the 14th century city and reports of finds in the mud, but only 1921-1938 flushed the tide in the Wadden north of Südfall again remains of mounds, buildings and cisterns free. The finds were systematically recorded and researched and could confirm data on old maps. Of particular importance here is the map of Johannesburg Mejer 1636, which should itself be based on a map of 1240. Other indicators are a testament of 1345 with the mention of the name Rungholt and a trade agreement with Hamburg merchants from 1 May 1361st The date is eight months before the Marcellus and confirmed that the place at the time of the tsunami still existed. The trade agreement and finds of Rhenish pitchers corroborate the assumption that Rungholt was the main port of the Edomsharde.

The Rungholt researcher Andreas Busch increased due to the number and distribution of wells remains an estimate of the number of inhabitants. Thus he concluded on a population of at least 1,500 to 2,000 inhabitants. This is a remarkably large number for a town of the 14th century in this area. Kiel, for example, at that time had as many inhabitants, in Hamburg, the population was about 5,000.

The origin of the name

The name probably derives from the Rungholt Frisian Rung - prefix ( "false", "low", the same root as the English wrong ) and the root word Holt ( " woody " ) from. Hence the importance of " low wood"; this derivation is supported by historical maps, which is a small forest in hilly terrain at Rungholt show that what is " Silva Rungholtina " very unusual in the area. A similar type of terrain can be found today in the dunes in front of St. Peter- Ording.

Finds in the Wadden

In the centuries before the unambiguous identification of various observations settlement traces have been handed down. One of the first indications provides the treatise De Cataclysmo Norstandico by Matthias Boetius († 1624), who writes of frequent finds of ways, ditches and metal boilers in watts, the destruction of the city, however, according to oral tradition attributed to a storm surge in 1300. Similar descriptions are from his contemporaries Peter Sax

Around 1880, discovered a large wooden fishing residues in watts at that point where later the floodgates were found; He held, however, for a shipwreck. In addition, plow traces always found in old fields submerged in the mud as well as ceramics, brick remains and even some swords that are now in the Nordsee Museum. In the following years large amounts of silt were washed away by the ocean currents. So remains Rungholts reappeared, however, were destroyed very quickly. After all, could 1921-1940 a number of mounds, fountains and even a dike foot be mapped, give a good idea of ​​the size of the city.

Mapping of the mounds, wells and dykes

Many buildings Rungholts stood on mounds. The Rungholter mounds consisted of mounds that were backed up with about 20 layers of turf against wind and waves. Remains of 28 such mounds appeared clearly visible since the early 1920s, again and again and have been carefully mapped by Andreas Busch and partially described. This created a card that could be compared with the traditional cards Rungholts. This made it possible to assign the individual mounds places: since the position of Liitke Rungholt, Grote Rungholt and Niedam is known.

On and between the mounds also were found the remains of about 100 wells, which had also been built of sod. The wells usually had an inner diameter of about one meter and provided probably two to three households. The estimate of the population in this area is based on these findings and assumptions, which suggest the number of wells not found in the area.

A single of the mounds found showed no remnants of wells. She was lying in a field in which particularly many Warftreste were discovered close together, the "Eight - mounds area " (in which nine mounds have been found ), northwest before the holm Südfall. This area was identified as Grote Rungholt. He had a stretch of 900 meters in an east-west direction and 600 meters in north-south direction. The southernmost of these mounds (after Busch'schen count the mound 1), which is approximately in the middle of the east-west extent is this fountain loose mound. Since then, the church was the only building that did not need its own water supply, this mound is generally considered the Rungholter Kirchwarft. This assumption is supported by the sighting of two elongated pit remains in the ground, the graves could have been. So probably even the town center is known.

On one of the two mounds that belonged to the place Niedam and could be observed 1932-1956, Bush discovered in 1952 two parallel sod strips, which had probably formed the walls of a building. The outside walls were 5.30 meters and 3.80 meters apart inside; the wall thickness corresponded to a length of 75 centimeters Soden. If it has actually traded at a sod house, so it was more of a hut. Sods were then in this region the most widely used construction material because bricks were very rare due to the absence of clay and had to be transported from far away.

Remains of a city wall were not found, but probably the imprints lower dikes that had stood between the locks and the three places. The weight of the dikes had the boggy ground compressed so that a bottom depression remained after the dikes were washed away. These wells were measured, and of its width, one can conclude the amount of the then dyke: about two meters, with some variations in the dike course. In some places even the remains could be discovered by dike repairs. These were pits, caused by sod removal in the former ground, and stakes to secure new material to dike breaks.

The lock

The lying within the embankment meadows and fields had drainage ditches that led the collected water to a lock. Remains of two wooden locks first appeared in 1880 in Watts, but only in 1922 were recognized as buildings and researched by Andreas Busch. They lay about 500 meters northwest of Liitke Rungholt. Busch was 1922-1929 the old and the younger lock measured and pose one of the bars. Two further lock beams were lifted in 1962.

Busch's measurements showed a size of the old lock of about 20.50 × 3.30 meters clear width and outer for the younger lock dimensions of 25.50 x 5.36 meters with a clear drive through width of 4.40 meters. For that time, these locks were unusually large. Both locks were built of wood. With the older lock bush could prove even that they had become leaky. She had been repaired with sealant and had received an additional soil; Therefore, the younger lock had to be built. Had wooden locks at that time a life expectancy of about 80 to 100 years. Therefore, one can surmise that the younger lock was not built before 1280, the elder thus about around 1200. This was also the period of the first reclamation of the area, which locks were necessary only. Due to their small depth of the locks may not have had extensive dewatering effect.

Discussion about Duerr's localization

In 1994, the dating of the locks was challenged with a large press coverage after the anthropologist Hans Peter Duerr had made further discoveries northwest of the Busch'schen finds and referred to them as the true location Rungholts. By measuring the radiocarbon dating of the age of the lock bar but is confirmed; the finds are now assigned to the Duerr's also in the flood submerged, but afterwards rebuilt neighboring Frederingscap vel Rip.

Ceramics

The small finds found in the area Rungholt were not usually recorded cartographically. The ceramic is derived mainly from the 13th and 14th centuries. It is striking that this is about 30% to import goods. This high, known nowhere else in the Wadden Sea finds proportion of imported ceramic has the great wealth, the high taxation of Edomsharde in Waldemar - Erdbuch suggest. Most of the imported pottery, mostly from Rhenish stoneware pottery places, but also a Moorish pot from Spain, and red earthenware from Scandinavia, was produced only in the middle of the 14th century.

Reconstruction

Based on the ceramic keeps track of time, was inhabited in the Rungholt, limited to the approximately one and a half centuries before the fall, which also by the metal finds - is supported - Bronzegrapen, fibulae, weapons, a small scale.

From the findings, it can be reconstructed, that in Rungholt total of about 1000 people must have lived. Their homes were around 25 mounds and on the about 2 -meter-high dike. Their livelihoods were livestock, salt extraction from Seetorf and trade. Around their settlement they grew crops, especially rye, on Wölbackern. The lying below sea moor land on which they lived, they drained by the two of Andreas Busch falsely identified as sluices sluices, which also mentions Peter Sax in his chronicle.

The legend of Rungholt

While the real Rungholt was a peasant commercial port in a well- navigable river and mainly consisted of sod houses, the wealth Rungholts was taken after his demise in ever more magnificent descriptions. It originated fantastic ideas about the richness and grandeur of the city.

The legend that was first handed down in the context of the Second Great Mandränke, the Burchardiflut from 1634, by Anton Heimreich, indicated the downfall Rungholts as divine punishment for vicious life and disrespectful behavior towards the church. So are high-spirited farmers have forced a priest during an evening drinking session, a pig that they had previously made ​​drunk to give the last rites. After threats and taunts the priest could take refuge in the church. The following night, a dream warned him of the coming catastrophe. He could not leave the island in time. Maybe this story goes back to a story of Caesarius of Heisterbach the miraculorum an almost identically worded report brings in his Dialogus how God's wrath via a sacrament desecration to a storm surge. Caesarius was referring to the first Marcellus.

Among the legends of Rungholt also include that in calm weather, its bells were heard under the water surface and that the city intact appearing every seven years in St. John's Eve from the earth. Similar legends are also other defunct places like Vineta.

Exhibition

In 2007 reopened Nordsee Museum of the " myth Rungholt " occupies a wide space. Several topics that relate to the sea, are discussed with respect to Rungholt.

Reception

The poet Detlev von Liliencron sat in his ballad defiance, bare Hans the city a poetic monument:

"Today I went on Rungholt, the city went under six hundred years ... "

2001, the film was The Fall of Rungholt of Victoria Schwartz and Rasmus Hirthe. The film tells the story collage Rungholts occasion of a sailing trip of three people who set out to search for traces of the lost Rungholts.

The Hamburg composer Jacob Vinje was inspired by the saga of Anton Heimreich to the oratorio for choir, narrator and orchestra Rungholt, which premiered in 2001. It also used for texts of Detlev von Liliencron, Rainer Maria Rilke, Theodor Storm, Heinrich Heine, Theodor Fontane and Wolfgang Borchert.

A Rungholt school is in Husum; two traveling in the North Frisian Wadden Sea ferries carry the name Rungholt.

Juliane Werding theme the legend of the downfall in their album calm before the storm, Achim Reichel set to music Liliencron ballad for his album Rain ballad. The North Frisian group Godewind published in 1989 with De bells vun Rungholt a Low German song about the sunken city.

In a historical crime series writer Derek master named his main character, a feisty Lübeck merchants of the Hanseatic League, Rungholt because he is a survivor of the Groten Mandränke.