2009-07-10

Mithras' grotto

The reason, of course, that there are chained stone fungi in the middle of the woods is that they decorate the path in front of a Mithraic temple.

The explanatory plaque beside the above scene reads:

Mithrashöhle - Heidenkapelle
In dieser Höhle wurde in römischer Zeit der Kult des persischen Lichtergottes Mithras zelebriert.
Im Mittelalter diente sie als Wallfahrtsklause. Hier soll Bischof Arnualdus das Christentum gepredigt haben.
Unterhalb des Gewölbes bedfindet sich eine Inschrift. Sie stammt aus dem 19. Jahrhundert, als die Familie Stumm den Halberg bewohnte. Der Text spricht von heidnischen Priestern und dem legendären Missionar Arnualdus.

Mithras' Cave- Pagen Chapel
In this cave in Roman times, the cult of Mithras, the persian god of light, was celebrated.
In the middle ages it served as a hermitage and place of pilgrimage. Bishop Arnualdus is supposed to have preached here.
Underneath the vault there is an inscription. This is from the 19th century when the Stumm family lived on the Halberg hill. The text mentions the pagan priests and the legendary missionary Arnualdus.

The chained fungi were presumably put there by the Stumm family.

2009-04-27

Medelsheim: This photo is taken from the cemetry in Medelsheim looking down onto the village. The cemetry contains a chapel that dates back to 1767. When the chapel received remains of the Holy Cross from Rome in 1804, 14 statues were created depicting the story of the crucifiction. They are in the little white huts in the photo. The spire in the centre of the village is from the church of Saint Martin, whose histroy goes back to Roman times.


Medelsheim is recognised an official part of the German branch of the Camino de Santiago.

2009-04-26