Glacial erratic in Sulechów, sometimes also called Schreck's Stone, is a granite

glacial erratic A glacial erratic is a glacially deposited rock (geology), rock differing from the type of country rock (geology), rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word ' ("to wander"), are carried by gla ...

located on a small square between Wojska Polskiego and Zielona streets in

Sulechów Sulechów (pronounced , ) is a town located within the Zielona Góra County, in Lubusz Voivodeship, western Poland. It is the administrative seat of the Gmina Sulechów. Established in the Middle Ages, the town features many historical monuments ...

. By decision of the Lubusz

Voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

No. 29 of 19 May 2006, the boulder was designated as a

natural monument A natural monument is a natural or cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities, or cultural significance. They can be natural geological and geographical features such as w ...

. The glacial erratic on Wojska Polskiego Street in Sulechów is one of 102 natural monuments located in

Gmina Sulechów __NOTOC__ Gmina Sulechów is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Zielona Góra County, Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland. Its seat is the town of Sulechów, which lies approximately north-east of Zielona Góra. The gmina covers ...

, and one of 14 such objects in the town (it is also the only glacial erratic in the town that has been recognized as a natural monument).

Characteristics

The glacial erratic is located on the small square at the junction of Wojska Polskiego and Zielona streets on plot number 464 in Sulechów. It has a circumference of 1,120 centimeters and a height of 165 centimeters, making it the second-largest boulder in the municipality. The erratic is made of medium-grained pink

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, 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 coo ...

. Its mineral composition includes transparent

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

, light gray

feldspar Feldspar ( ; sometimes spelled felspar) is a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagiocl ...

, isometric crystals, and small amounts of

biotite Biotite is a common group of phyllosilicate minerals within the mica group, with the approximate chemical formula . It is primarily a solid-solution series between the iron- endmember annite, and the magnesium-endmember phlogopite; more al ...

flakes.

History

The first written mention of the boulder appeared in the town chronicle from 1756. Initially, it was located on the northern section of the present-day Brzozowa Street in Sulechów. In 1938, aiming to improve the aesthetics of the town, particularly the area near military buildings, the authorities decided to relocate the boulder closer to the Sulechów barracks. To move the erratic, four wooden runners (with a

cross section Cross section may refer to: * Cross section (geometry) ** Cross-sectional views in architecture and engineering 3D *Cross section (geology) * Cross section (electronics) * Radar cross section, measure of detectability * Cross section (physics) **A ...

of 30 × 30 cm) were constructed, which slid on metal rollers with a diameter of 6 cm. Four winches were brought in to load the boulder, each with a

working load limit Lifting equipment, also known as lifting gear, is a general term for any equipment that can be used to lift and lower loads. Types of lifting equipment include heavy machinery such as the patient lift, overhead cranes, forklifts, jacks, buildin ...

of around 10 tons. During the lifting of the stone, its weight was measured at approximately 650 hundredweights. One machine and two tracked tractors were used for the movement, and wooden logs were placed under the metal rollers to facilitate the shifting of the boulder. In total, it was moved approximately 500 meters and placed on the square where it currently resides. In the 1970s, a miniature castle with a defensive wall, constructed from pebbles, was added to the top of the boulder. The creators intended it to decorate the erratic and its design was meant to resemble a building from the legendary era of Schreck. The legal basis for the protection of the boulder as a natural monument is the decision of the Lubusz Voivode, , numbered 29, dated 19 May 2006.

Legend

The boulder is associated with a legend about its origin and initial location, which was published in 1926 in the work ''Abriss zur Heimatkunde des Kreises Züllichau – Schwiebus'' by Gustav Zerndt.{{Cite journal , date=2007 , title=Co opowiadało się o olbrzymie Schrecku , trans-title=What Was Told About the Giant Schreck , journal=Biuletyn Informacyjny Miasta i Gminy Sulechów , language=pl , page=2 , issn=1642-4506 The legend tells of a giant named Schreck, who once inhabited the areas near Sulechów. Schreck is said to have carried the boulder in his shoe for a long time, until one day, during a walk, he noticed it was causing him discomfort. At that moment, he took off his shoe and shook out the stone, which landed on the northern section of the present-day Brzozowa Street in Sulechów. This tale gave rise to the boulder's unofficial name – "Schreck's Stone".

References

Glacial erratics Natural monuments of Poland