The Richelsley, also written Richel Ley, is an 80-metre-long and up to 12-metre-high

rock formation A rock formation is an isolated, scenic, or spectacular surface rock outcrop. Rock formations are usually the result of weathering and erosion sculpting the existing rock. The term ''rock formation'' can also refer to specific sediment ...

on the edge of the

High Fens The High Fens (german: Hohes Venn; french: Hautes Fagnes; nl, Hoge Venen), which were declared a nature reserve in 1957, are an upland area, a plateau region in Liège Province, in the east of Belgium and adjoining parts of Germany, between the ...

, part of 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 ...

, in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. It bears a large cross and is a well-known pilgrimage site. ''Ley'' is a German word for "crag" or "rock".

Name

The name is supposed to have been given to it in the 12th century by Richwin, the founder of Richwinstein Castle, today Reichenstein Abbey.

Geography

Location

The Richelsley is located in

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

region, in the

Liège Province Liège (; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is the easternmost province of the Wallonia region of Belgium. Liège Province is the only Belgian province that has borders with three countries. It borders (clockwise from the north) the Du ...

multi-language municipality of

Waimes Waimes (; german: Weismes, ; wa, Waime) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, Waimes had a total population of 6,728. The total area is 96.93 km2 which gives a population density of 6 ...

, close to the German border near Reichenstein/Monschau Abbey.

Geology

The rock formation is a

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...

conglomerate, formed over 400 million years ago. It is incorrectly described in various documents as a

megalith 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 ...

. It is however made of

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...

that contains

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...

, whose present shape and extent are a result of the natural erosion of the surrounding sediment.

History

The cross was erected in 1890 by the priest, Gerhard Joseph Arnoldy, who worked from 1869 to 1914 in Kalterherberg and was the builder of the present Eifel Cathedral. He had it built at his own expense for 800

gold marks The German mark (german: Goldmark ; sign: ℳ) was the currency of the German Empire, which spanned from 1871 to 1918. The mark was paired with the minor unit of the pfennig (₰); 100 pfennigs were equivalent to 1 mark. The mark was on the ...

to commemorate the monk, Stephan Horrichem. Horrichem, known as the "Apostle of the Fens", was the

prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...

of the nearby

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...

abbey of Reichenstein from 1639 to 1686 and worked tirelessly for the people of the High Fens who were endangered during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

. The novel ''Das Kreuz im Venn'' (''The Cross in the Fens'') by

Clara Viebig Clara Emma Amalia Viebig (17 July 1860 – 31 July 1952) was a German author. Life Viebig was born in the German city of Trier, the daughter of a Prussian civil servant. She was related to Hermann Göring. At the age of eight, her father was t ...

, appeared around 1908, made the Richelsley, which lies in the middle of woods, and its cross well known beyond the

Eifel 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 ...

mountain region in which they are found.

Cross

The Richelsey has become well known not least because of the great 6-metre-high cross, weighing roughly 1.4 tonnes, which is anchored in the rock on the Richelsley. 31 steps lead up to the cross, in which cross-shaped ornaments are cut.

Pilgrimage site

The Richelsley, at the statue of St. Mary in a niche on the huge rock, is a popular place of prayer. Burning candles and fresh flowers bear witness to the many

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...

s who make their way today to the Richelsley and find encouragement and renewal in the stillness, peace and solace of the place. For decades pilgrims have taken part in processions on 1 May from the surrounding villages to St. Mary's Grotto in order to celebrate the May service.Frieden finden auf der Richelsley

Aachener Zeitung ''Aachener Zeitung'' ( Aachen Newspaper, AZ) is a daily newspaper published in Aachen, Germany. It is printed, alongside the daily ''Aachener Nachrichten'' (AN), by Mediahuis in the Rhenish (format), Rhenish format. History The AZ was founded ...

]

References

External links

Pilgerweg zur Richelsley

Den Frieden auf der Richelsley gefunden – grenzecho.net

Richelsley at flickr.com
Rock formations of Europe Geography of Liège Province Waimes {{Coord, 50.535935, N, 6.191225, E, type:landmark_region:BE-WAL, display=title