![Fraubillenkreuz ferschweiler plateau eifel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Fraubillenkreuz_ferschweiler_plateau_eifel.jpg)
The Ferschweiler Plateau, which is home to the villages of
Ferschweiler and
Ernzen
Ernzen () is a small village in the commune of Larochette, in central Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Gra ...
among others, is an extensive
highland
Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...
area made from
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
and is located in the collective municipality of
Irrel in the county of
Bitburg-Prüm
The Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm ( lb, Äifelkrees Béibreg-Prüm) is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) Luxembourg, Belgium and the districts of Euskirchen, Vulkaneifel, Bernkastel-Wittlich and ...
in the German state of
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
. From a landscape perspective the Ferschweiler Plateau lies within the
South Eifel, a region in the
Eifel Mountains
The Eifel (; lb, Äifel, ) is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Community of ...
.
The Ferschweiler Plateau is well known for its many
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
(
New Stone Age
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
) sites. Important sites include the
Fraubillen cross which was originally from the
megalithic culture
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea.
The ...
and, according to the
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
,
Willibrord
Willibrord (; 658 – 7 November AD 739) was an Anglo-Saxon missionary and saint, known as the "Apostle to the Frisians" in the modern Netherlands. He became the first bishop of Utrecht and died at Echternach, Luxembourg.
Early life
His fathe ...
, was re-fashioned by hand from a
menhir
A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be foun ...
over 4.50 metres high, but is now only 3.50 metres high. Also noteworthy are the Langstein ("Long Stone") and the ''
Druidenstein
The Druidenstein is a cone-shaped basalt rock in the northern Heller Upland above the town of Kirchen (Sieg), Kirchen on the Sieg River, Sieg in the parish of Herkersdorf, Landkreis Altenkirchen (Westerwald), Altenkirchen, Germany. The basalt ...
'' ("Druid Rock"). At the back of the plateau is the
Devil's Gorge as well as Neolithic and a
Gallo-Roman
Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...
grave field
A grave field is a prehistoric cemetery, typically of Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe.
Grave fields are distinguished from necropoleis by the former's lack of remaining above-ground structures, buildings, or grave markers.
Types
Grave fields can b ...
.
The Ferschweiler Plateau is an escarpment (like the smaller neighbouring plateaux of Bollendorf and Wolsfeld) that was formed rom the porous Luxembourg Sandstone from the
Jurassic
The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...
(Lias li2), most of which lies on the largely impervious layers of the
Upper Triassic
The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch of the Triassic Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch and followed by the Early Jurassic Epoch. Th ...
(
keuper
The Keuper is a lithostratigraphic unit (a sequence of rock strata) in the subsurface of large parts of west and central Europe. The Keuper consists of dolomite, shales or claystones and evaporites that were deposited during the Middle and Late ...
).
Literature
*
*
External links
*
{{Coord, 49, 51, 21, N, 6, 24, 32, E, type:landmark_region:DE-RP, display=title
Landscapes of Rhineland-Palatinate
Bitburg-Prüm
Regions of the Eifel
Natural regions of the Saar-Nahe Uplands