Sodenberg
A Franconian Lark
Noah’s Ark
After the Great Flood,
Noah’s ark got stuck on a
mountaintop.
Full of joy and gratitude, Noah emerged from his ark exclaiming:
“So, den
Berg haben wir!“ (Oh, we have a mountain !”).
This gave the SODENBERG
its name.
But
also the animals wanted to get out and enjoy freedom.
In order to prevent a muddle, God told each animal where to go:
the oxen only needed to climb a short distance down into the valley
and remained in OCHSENTHAL.
The pig, a sow, found a home in
MORLESAU, while the young
piglets (=Schweine) hopped to
SCHWEINFURT. The
wethers (= Hammel) ran to HAMMELBURG,
the wolves to WOLFSMÜNSTER, the foxes (= Füchse) to
FUCHSSTADT, the dogs (=Hunde) to HUNDSFELD, and the cats
(= Katzen) to KATZENBACH. The horse (= Ross) hoofed it down
to the ROSSMÜHLE, the
ram (= Widder) ended up in
WITTERSHAUSEN, the hare (=
Hasen) hopped to HASSENBACH,
the cheeky moths (= Motten) made it to MOTTEN,
but not all
mosquitoes (=Schnaken) found their way to SCHNACKENWERT…
Finally, the vultures (= Geier) took off, landing at GEIERSNEST.
In this way, each animal found a place to live unmolested.
These legends and others can be found in the village
chronicles by
P. Dominik Lutz:
Ochsenthal und seine Geschichte (in German),
published by the town of Hammelburg,
Maristendruck
und Verlag, D-8301 Furth über Landshut.
MORLESAU, Geschichte
eines Dorfes an der Fränkischen Saale,
published by the town of Hammelburg 1988.
Printed by Druckhaus Werner Hofmann KG,
Sonnefeld
Copies of these books are on display at our holiday
apartments.
They can still be purchased at the
BUNTER
BUCHLADEN, Hammelburg,
or from the Hammelburg Tourist Information.
Sodenberg - 506 m
The Sodenberg is called the Guardian of the Saale Valley.
Because of the wide view to be enjoyed
from its top it is also
referred to as the
“Franconian Rigi”.
The top of the Sodenberg was once crowned by the
castle of the Thüngen,
Kilianstein Castle.
All that is left of it is a mountain whose basalt crown
(extinct volcano) has been abraded.
The
Sodenberg
is
worth exploring on a special excursion.
It offers a panoramic view of the region extending
from the
ranges of the High Rhön to the Kreuzberg,
as far as the Hassberge and the Steigerwald in the
east,
and the Spessart in the southwest.
A lodge with information boards stands close to the
former basalt quarry.
The Bad Kissingen district bought the crater and the
surrounding area
from the Freiherr von Thüngen.
Several vantage points have been cleared since.
They offer phantastic panoramic views of Morlesau, the
valley of the
Franconian Saale, the Rossmühle, the Spessart forest region,
the ranges of the High Rhön and the Kreuzberg
as far as the Hassberge and the Steigerwald.
Ochsenthal is situated right below these vantage
points
and thus is covered by trees.
However, our “Haus am Sodenberg”
can be seen.
“The Cross” still stands on the mountain top
above the
former basalt quarry.
As late
as 1892 it was protected by the Forest Chapel.
Philipp
von Thüngen had the cross erected at the place
where the inhabitants of the
castle were buried in 1517.
The cross later became the object
of pious devotion.
A few
years ago, the Forest Chapel with the Romanesque cross was restored.
Service is held at this place on Whit Monday every
year.
The way from the crater to the chapel has been
rebuilt.
The Sodenberg, which extends in a
north-south direction, towers above all other mountains in the region. It has
its highest peak at its northern end, a short distance
from the steep decline to the Saale valley towards Morlesau. It had the shape
of an animal lying down with its head raised, and used to be called the “Bavarian
Lion.”
The Sodenberg,
506 m high, formerly called Schottenberg, i.e. Scots Mountain, and Kiliansberg,
is a place of many legends. In prehistoric times it was a Germanic place of
sacrifice and a Celtic refuge. Kilian, apostle of the Franks, is said to have
erected the cross on its basalt hill.
After 1331, the Sodenberg
began to play an important role in history. It was the property of the Bishop
of Fulda, but was also claimed by the Würzburg cathedral chapter.
The grand knight’s castle
saw many owners: the Rieneck, Hutten and, finally, Thüngen who turned the place
into a castle of robber barons.
GÖTZ von BERLICHINGEN,
whose mother’s maiden name was Thüngen, spent his young years here with his
uncle Neidhart von Thüngen. In his accounts of his life he boasts of many
raucous deeds.
In 1525, the Sodenburg
castle and the Marienburg castle in Würzburg were the only Franconian castles
to withstand the insurgent peasants.
In 1608, the Sodenburg
castle, also referred to as Kilianstein castle, was pledged to the
University of Würzburg.
1660 was the last year Kilianstein castle was inhabited.
The place then decayed gradually. The keep collapsed in 1895.
The last remnants of the
stately ruins fell victim to the basalt works as late as after 1900.
Initially, the basalt quarry
was located below the Kilianstein ruin, but worked its way closer and closer to
the ruin until it reached the mighty basalt columns, the castle’s foundation.
The municipality of Morlesau is said to have tried to the very last moment to
preserve the ruin. However, one day the ruin was blown up.
Let me recount an episode
at this point:
A long time ago, one of the oldest men
in Morlesau at that time,
Wendelin Hartung, told me that, when he was a young boy,
his class once went on a school excursion to the Sodenberg.
They visited the Kilianstein ruin.
When they inspected the basement of the castle, the teacher
admonished
his pupils to take a close look as the castle would soon
cease to exist.
It was to be blown up.
* * *
The Sodenberg / Morlesau Basalt Works
The Sodenberg / Morlesau
basalt works were started in 1904. The area on the Sodenberg and around it was owned by the Freiherr von
Thüngen. The Thüngen family leased it to the Basaltstein GmbH company of Schweinfurt. Later the basalt
works were taken over by Hans Leimbach.
At that time, the Leimbach family lived at the beautiful Leimbach Villa
in Morlesau. The basalt quarry was located below the Kilianstein ruin, which
still existed at that time. In the vicinity of the quarry were the crusher
buildings, the machine hall with a steam engine and a cooling tower, and a
canteen building in which up to 200 workers lodged during the week. Dynamite
and pneumatic drills penetrated deep into the mountain to obtain the black
basalt needed for road and railway construction.
A cable car ran from the
crusher station at the Sodenberg to the loading point at the Morlesau railway
station. It carried all the gravel produced.
The
basalt works were shut down for good in 1958.
* * *
The Sodenberg,
Protected Nature Area since 1997.
The Sodenberg is the
southernmost elevation in the Saale valley. Former maps indicate an altitude of
506 m, modern maps show the highest point to be only 481 m. The Sodenberg is
separated into two parts, the largest area still being part of the Rhön nature
reserve while the Spessart nature reserve begins in the direction of
Weickersgrüben.
The Sodenberg is surrounded by the villages of
Morlesau/Ochsenthal,
Untereschenbach,
Obereschenbach, Aschenroth,
Weickersgrüben with the Rossmühle.
The
vegetation on the Sodenberg is unique. Daffodils introduce the spring season.
There are entire stretches of them along the hay path from Ochsenthal to the
Sodenberg. Of course, they must not be picked.
The rough
grass growing on the limey soil along the south side of the Sodenberg,
”die Gans” (the Goose), bears the rare, strictly protected Adonis
together with pasque flowers between pine trees from the end of March to the
end of April/early May. Hikers come in droves to admire the beautiful flowers,
which are guarded by volunteers of a nature conversation group.
Lilies of
the valley blossom on the way to the Sodenberg above Ochsenthal. There is a
pervasive smell of woodruff. Later in the year, unique orchids and gentian can
be admired. In late summer and in the autumn, the carline thistle, symbol of
the High Rhön, can be seen.
Nature is
still intact in this region of the world. Besides numerous rare plants there
are varieties of interesting birds and animals. Lots of butterflies and lizards
can be observed on a walking tour. The basement of the former basalt mine
serves as a home to bats in the winter.
I strongly recommend a walk along the top of the
Sodenberg guided by somebody
experienced in nature history.
Incidentally, the protected area referred to as “Gans” owes its name to a gooseherd from Obereschenbach
who used to let his geese graze on the top of the Sodenberg.
* * *
The Sodenberg area has two important
stone monuments, both the subjects of legends:
In the field towards Obereschenbach,
there is the leaning cross, also referred to
popularly as the Gisela Cross.
It is said to have been erected as early as in 1299.
Certainly
it was not built before the middle of the 16th century.
At the Sodenberg-Aschenroth-Hammelburg crossroads there is the
Spinner
Maids’ Cross, also called Spinner (Spinnmagd) ,
datint from the same period.
On the hill above the Leaning Cross the Rhön Club
built a nice resting place
with commemorative stones and
benches.
You may also enter your name in
the hikers’ book.
* * *
No excursion without
refreshment. Several signposts show the way to the former
Court Estate of the Sodenberg. The former forester’s lodge is now the Sodenberg Inn, whose
owners are also sheep breeders.
* * *