The Druidenstein is an isolated basalt cone above the villages of Herkersdorf and Offhausen in the town of Kirchen (Sieg) in Druids.Witches.Siegerland and is one of the outstanding geological sights in Rhineland-Palatinate. It lies 450 m above sea level and rises about 20 m above its surroundings. It originated in the time of the Young Tertiary about 1 to 25 million years ago.
Through human intervention the size of the basalt cone was reduced in the course of time. Thus the topmost point was probably broken off for tactical reasons during the Thirty Years' War, so that enemy troops were made more difficult the orientation at this landmark visible at that time far away. The basalt cone was also used as a quarry. In 1979, the Druidenstein was struck by a violent lightning strike, so that since then it has had to be supported with six reinforced concrete beams.
The legends and myths surrounding the basalt cone are almost more exciting than the geological history of the natural monument, which has been a nature reserve since 1869. But what exactly happened at the Druidenstein has not been proven. There are legends of Gallic druids, "wild people" and others who are said to have performed sacred masses, rituals and other things on the Druidenstein. Probably the Druidenstein was also a religious place of the Chatti, who established a Thingstätte here and worshipped the sun. There is also the legend of the Herke, daughter of Celtic tribal princes, who was sacrificed because of a forbidden love for a young man and her lover was stabbed to death. Since then, at full moon, the moaning and lamentation of the sacrificed can be heard in the valley from the height of the Druidenstein. In the 1920s, the Druidenstein was integrated as a station into a Way of the Cross, to which processions take place every year on Ascension Day. In the 1950s, festivals were staged on the "Druidenstein-Freilichtbühne".
On 12 May 2006 the Druidenstein was awarded a prize in Hanover as a nationally very important geotope. Since then it has been called the "National Geotope" and can be found in a unique volume of pictures and texts entitled "Fascination Geology - the Most Important Geotopes in Germany".
In 2022, a new, unusual project was launched, which focuses on the Druid Stone itself and the legend of the druidess Herke. Since then, a musical production has been composed for "Druidenstein - Das Musical", which is to be premiered in a few years.
Well-known long-distance hiking trails, such as the Druidensteig and the Natursteig Sieg, as well as the very popular Druidenstein circular hiking trail (16 km) with start and finish at Kirchen railway station, lead directly past this natural sight.
The ideal starting point for a short walk (15 min.) to the Druidenstein is the hiking car park at the K 101 after the village of Offhausen in the direction of Dermbach.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
The Druidenstein is an isolated basalt cone above the villages of Herkersdorf and Offhausen in the town of Kirchen (Sieg) in Druids.Witches.Siegerland and is one of the outstanding geological sights in Rhineland-Palatinate. It lies 450 m above sea level and rises about 20 m above its surroundings. It originated in the time of the Young Tertiary about 1 to 25 million years ago.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
Contact and directions
Auf dem Druidenstein
57548 Kirchen-Herkersdorf
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