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Stone cross
Stone crosses (German: Steinkreuze) in Central Europe are usually bulky Christian monuments, some 80–120 cm (31–47 in) high and 40–60 cm (16–24 in) wide, that were almost always hewn from a single block of stone, usually granite, sandstone, limestone or basalt. They are amongst the oldest open-air monuments. A larger variant of the stone cross, with elements of a wayside shrine is called a shaft cross (Schaftkreuz).
These small monuments are found along old routes and crossroads, by trees and forest edges, on hilltops or on old municipal and territorial boundaries. They are especially common in the Upper Palatinate region of Bavaria and in Central Germany, whereas basalt crosses occur almost exclusively in the Eifel region.
Unfortunately, many of these stone witnesses to a bygone era have disappeared due to carelessness, ignorance or deliberate destruction. As Rainer H. Schmeissner writes in his 1977 monograph, Stone Crosses in the Upper Palatinate, there are still about 300 such monuments in the Upper Palatinate alone. Four hundred examples of them were still around the turn of the century, which is almost twice as many as in Lower and Upper Bavaria combined. In 1977-1980, the National Museum of Prehistory at Dresden issued inventories for Saxony that included a list of 436 stone crosses and cross slabs.
A large number of these coarsely hewn crosses have already been heavily weathered. On many, a picture has been carved; only rarely do they carry an inscription.
Apart from damage caused by weathering, willful or negligent acts, some damage to stone crosses also arose from popular belief. An old stone spell says that by cutting off a piece of a stone cross and throwing it into running water, sorcery and misfortune will be averted. In addition, it was sometimes believed that magical power was attached to the so-called "flour" obtained by scraping stone crosses.
The actual reason for setting up stone crosses is only known in a few cases. In others there is no clue as to their significance. The only thing that is certain is that the majority were erected between the 13th century and the time around 1530.
In spite of various opinions and intensive archival research, a touch of mystery and enigma still surrounds these rough, massive crosses. In some cases, legends and folklore are bound up in the history of stone crosses. Occasionally it is reported that moving an atonement cross (conciliation cross) would have led to subsequent accidents.
From 1300, it appears to have been common practice, following a serious crime, for a stone atonement cross to be erected by the perpetrator at the scene of the crime or other location specified by the victim's family. If anyone was killed in the course of a dispute or otherwise without intention, the culprit had to reach an atonement agreement with the family of the victim. An atonement contract would then be concluded between the two parties under private law. Most atonement crosses are associated with manslaughter or murder. At the very least, these have to bear an inscription describing the actual event, otherwise they cannot clearly be associated with any certainty with an atonement contract. Often, these stone crosses had pictures of weapons carved on them, which are taken to be the murder weapons. In the Upper Palatinate and Saxony, atonement contracts have survived that expressly agreed the erection of an atonement cross by the perpetrator of the crime.
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Stone cross AI simulator
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Stone cross
Stone crosses (German: Steinkreuze) in Central Europe are usually bulky Christian monuments, some 80–120 cm (31–47 in) high and 40–60 cm (16–24 in) wide, that were almost always hewn from a single block of stone, usually granite, sandstone, limestone or basalt. They are amongst the oldest open-air monuments. A larger variant of the stone cross, with elements of a wayside shrine is called a shaft cross (Schaftkreuz).
These small monuments are found along old routes and crossroads, by trees and forest edges, on hilltops or on old municipal and territorial boundaries. They are especially common in the Upper Palatinate region of Bavaria and in Central Germany, whereas basalt crosses occur almost exclusively in the Eifel region.
Unfortunately, many of these stone witnesses to a bygone era have disappeared due to carelessness, ignorance or deliberate destruction. As Rainer H. Schmeissner writes in his 1977 monograph, Stone Crosses in the Upper Palatinate, there are still about 300 such monuments in the Upper Palatinate alone. Four hundred examples of them were still around the turn of the century, which is almost twice as many as in Lower and Upper Bavaria combined. In 1977-1980, the National Museum of Prehistory at Dresden issued inventories for Saxony that included a list of 436 stone crosses and cross slabs.
A large number of these coarsely hewn crosses have already been heavily weathered. On many, a picture has been carved; only rarely do they carry an inscription.
Apart from damage caused by weathering, willful or negligent acts, some damage to stone crosses also arose from popular belief. An old stone spell says that by cutting off a piece of a stone cross and throwing it into running water, sorcery and misfortune will be averted. In addition, it was sometimes believed that magical power was attached to the so-called "flour" obtained by scraping stone crosses.
The actual reason for setting up stone crosses is only known in a few cases. In others there is no clue as to their significance. The only thing that is certain is that the majority were erected between the 13th century and the time around 1530.
In spite of various opinions and intensive archival research, a touch of mystery and enigma still surrounds these rough, massive crosses. In some cases, legends and folklore are bound up in the history of stone crosses. Occasionally it is reported that moving an atonement cross (conciliation cross) would have led to subsequent accidents.
From 1300, it appears to have been common practice, following a serious crime, for a stone atonement cross to be erected by the perpetrator at the scene of the crime or other location specified by the victim's family. If anyone was killed in the course of a dispute or otherwise without intention, the culprit had to reach an atonement agreement with the family of the victim. An atonement contract would then be concluded between the two parties under private law. Most atonement crosses are associated with manslaughter or murder. At the very least, these have to bear an inscription describing the actual event, otherwise they cannot clearly be associated with any certainty with an atonement contract. Often, these stone crosses had pictures of weapons carved on them, which are taken to be the murder weapons. In the Upper Palatinate and Saxony, atonement contracts have survived that expressly agreed the erection of an atonement cross by the perpetrator of the crime.