The Luisenburg Rock Labyrinth (german: Luisenburg-Felsenlabyrinth) is a

felsenmeer A blockfieldWhittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, 1984, pp. 66 and 190. . (also spelt block fieldLeser, Hartmut, ed. (2005). ''Wörterbuch Allgemeine Geographie'', 13th ed., dtv, Munich, pp. 107 and 221. ...

made of

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

blocks several metres across and is part of the ''Großes Labyrinth'' Nature Reserve near

Wunsiedel (; Northern Bavarian: ''Wåuṉsieḏl'' or ''Wousigl'') is the seat of the Upper Franconian district of in northeast Bavaria, Germany. The town is the birthplace of poet Jean Paul. It also became known for its annual Festival and the Rudo ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. For a long time its formation was believed to have been caused by natural disasters such as

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

s. Today it is known that processes such as

weathering Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials through contact with water, atmospheric gases, and biological organisms. Weathering occurs '' in situ'' (on site, with little or no movement ...

and

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is d ...

over a long period are much more likely to have been responsible for the formation of the rock labyrinth.

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

wrote in 1820 The well-rounded shapes of the individual blocks were formed by

spheroidal weathering Spheroidal weathering is a form of chemical weathering that affects jointed bedrock and results in the formation of concentric or spherical layers of highly decayed rock within weathered bedrock that is known as ''saprolite.'' When saprolite ...

(''Wollsackverwitterung'') in the tropical, humid climate of the

Cenozoic The Cenozoic ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterised by the dominance of mammals, birds and flowering plants, a cooling and drying climate, and the current configu ...

era. Over the course of time they were left behind as the ground around was eroded; they became unstable and began to shift. This resulted in the jumble of rocks with wild, romantic paths through the narrow clefts and steep steps.

Tourism

The jumble of rocks (a

blockfield A blockfieldWhittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, 1984, pp. 66 and 190. . (also spelt block fieldLeser, Hartmut, ed. (2005). ''Wörterbuch Allgemeine Geographie'', 13th ed., dtv, Munich, pp. 107 and 221. ...

) named after Queen Louise was already being exploited for tourism in the 18th century and it is also well-known today as a result of the natural amphitheatre surrounded by rocks as well as the annual Luisenburg Pageant that take place there. The concept of opening it up and exploiting it was heavily influenced by the Society for the Portrayal of the History, Customs and Rights of the Fatherland (''Gesellschaft zur Aufklärung vaterländischer Geschichte, Sitte und Rechte'') established in Wunsiedel in 1784. The local townsfolk began around 1790 to turn the rocky area into a landscape garden. The first construction phase lasted until about 1800 and, referring to remnants of an ancient motte nearby, resulted in the name ''Luxburg'', which was changed in 1805 to ''Luisenburg''. Visitors to the site had to stoop or even crawl if they wanted to explore its natural beauty. For the nobility of the time this was a rare posture that for many of them gave it an additional charm. In 1805 the Prussian queen visited the prehistoric, natural wonder with her husband,

Frederick William III Frederick William III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, wh ...

and, totally spellbound, told her son about the experience. A second construction phase took place between 1811 and 1815. The Luisenburg developed into a jewel of civic culture and landscape architecture. The terrain was used in 1794 for the

singspiel A Singspiel (; plural: ; ) is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with ensembles, songs, ballads, and aria In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plur ...

''Die kleine Ährenleserin'' by Johann Adam Hiller and

Christian Felix Weiße Christian Felix Weiße (1726–1804) was a German writer and pedagogue. Weiße was among the leading representatives of the Enlightenment in Germany and is regarded as the founder of German children's literature. Life Weiße was born as twin on ...

Today

Today the rock labyrinth is a popular destination and can be appreciated by anyone with stout footwear. Children also enjoy climbing and crawling over the rocks. In 2006 the rock labyrinth was awarded the status of a national geotope. The site is owned and maintained by Wunsiedel town council (forestry department). They charge an entry price of EUR 4.50 for adults (as of September 2017) (with reductions for children, etc.), which is used for the care and preservation of this

natural monument A natural monument is a natural or natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance. Under World Commission on Protected Areas guidelines, na ...

Sources

*Karl Braun: '. Jonas, Marburg 2005, * Dr. Hans Vollet und Kathrin Heckel: '. 1987.

External links

Illustrated description and map

Luisenburg Pageant
{{Coord, 50.01208, N, 11.99209, E, type:landmark_region:DE-BY, format=dms, display=title Fichtel Mountains Wunsiedel Rock formations of Bavaria