AWCH Externsteine

Photo by Osanna V We’ve heard of mysterious places like Stonehenge and other megalithic sites, but did you know that we have a natural formation of unusual rock pillars, which have become a centre for mystic experience within a two- hour drive from Hamburg?

Located close to Detmold off the highway connecting Hannover to Dortmund, in the area known as the Teutoburger Wald, the Externsteine is recognised as a place of natural power and a sacred site since ancient times. It was a major ceremonial centre for German pagan worship till Charlemagne, King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, made a concerted effort to suppress paganism and forbade worship there. Later on, monks from a nearby abbey in Padeborn used the cut-out chambers for their own Christian devotions. During the religious wars in the 17th century, the place was used as a military stronghold, while in more peaceful times it was a favourite site for artists and writers.

The collection of natural pillars are full of curiosities, such as stairways leading nowhere, small holes drilled in the rock for no apparent reason, unusual carvings and apertures the use of which are still a mystery. On the other hand, some features have significance – like the chapel. The chapel is roofless and accessible only via steps cut into the rock and a precarious bridge. It has a rounded niche with a pillar-altar of a type unknown in church architecture. Directly above it is a circular window through which the midsummer solstice sunrise and also the most northerly rising point of the moon can be observed. This kind of thing is quite common among ancient sites and curiously, the non-man-made Externsteine lies on virtually the same latitude as Stonehenge. William Teudt, an evangelical parson, conducted detailed archaeological and astronomical research there in the 1920s, discovering among other things that it lay on the network of what he termed Heilige Linien – equivalent to what are known as ley lines in Britain.

We took a trip down to the Externsteine on a beautifully clear, spring day. Unfortunately, being Good Friday, it was quite crowded, but we could still enjoy the sense of peace and worship that pervades the place. The monument itself is not very big and all the nooks and crannies can be explored in an hour probably. But the setting provides some very pleasant walks and sites for a picnic lunch, as does the whole Teutoburger Wald area, making a day outing a pleasurable experience.