etching of Aargletscher
glacial striation
movement of glaciers during the last ice age
glacial transportation
stones in north germany moved by glaciers
edges of glaciers during different ice ages
granit from sweden used as counter at Mc Donald's in Hamburg
closeup picture of granit
glacial flow
ice movement north pole
The „Alter Schwede“ was transported to Germany by glaciers from eastern Småland around 320,000 to 400,000 years ago during the Elster glacial period.
The boulder was discovered in 1999 during dredging work to deepen the Elbe at a depth of around 15 meters. The first attempt to lift the stone failed and it fell back into the water. The second attempt succeeded in placing the stone on the banks of the Elbe. On 06.06.2000, the stone was christened “Alter Schwede” and became an official citizen of the city of Hamburg.
The stone was regularly smeared, which is why it was finally provided with a special sealant.
The boulder was transported near to Heiligendamm by glaciers during the last glacial period. The stone was transported to Heiligendamm in 1843 for the 50th anniversary of the founding of the seaside resort. From July 13 to October 19, 46 workers and 230 horses worked twelve hours a day on the 11 km long transport. The site manager Georg Adolf Demmler erected a small wooden hut on the boulder to monitor the transportation. He later described the transportation of the boulder as one of the most worrying and difficult tasks of his service.
Allegedly, Russian soldiers tried to push the boulder into the Baltic Sea with the help of tanks at the end of the Second World War. However, the boulder was too heavy.
An attempt to move the stone for the G8 summit in Heiligendamm also failed in 2007.
There were three large Markgrafen stones. The large Markgrafen stone was originally 700-750t heavy and nearly eight meters high. In 1827 it was cut into several slices. A bowl weighing 70-80 tons was cut from the middle one and transported to Berlin at great expense. There it is still today as the largest granite bowl in the world in the Lustgarten in front of the Altes Museum. The remains of the stone still lie with the smaller Markgrafenstein in the Rauenschen Bergen. The small Markgrafen stone is now the largest erratic boulder in Brandenburg.
In the 19th century, the third of the Markgrafen stones became the Friedenssäule on today's Mehringplatz, the Siegessäule in Babelsberg Park and the Adlersäule in front of Berliner Schloss. At the example of the Markgrafen stones the cultural value of the erratic boulders in the 19th century becomes clear. The german national movement claimed granit as the german stone. For them it was a symbol of power and a way to connect back to the nordic tribes wich stone graves still remain.
The stone probably came to Altentreptow from southern Sweden during the last ice age. It is now the largest erratic boulder lying on land in northern Germany. The once larger stones were destroyed, especially in the 19th century, for the construction of national cultural sites. The granite boulders were particularly popular for this purpose, as granite was claimed as the “German” stone during the 19th century. This is why the powerful men of the empire, such as Bismarck or the emperor Wilhelm, were often referred to as erratic blocks or boulders in general. Conversely, many boulders were dedicated in their honor. This also applies to the large stone near Altentreptow. A relief of Otto von Bismarck was carved into the stone in 1915. The GDR state security authorities had it removed in November 1959.
The boulder was lifted in 2021 on behalf of the town. The total cost of the lifting amounted to 244,00 euros. The Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Taxpayers' Association accused the city of wasting taxpayers' money.
The Giebichenstein was transported here by glaciers from Sweden around 200,000 years ago during the Saale complex.
There are many traces of early human coexistence around the stone. For example, a megalithic tomb lies just a few meters away from the erratic boulder. In addition, during an excavation around the stone in 1967, around 300 finds were discovered, such as flint knives. These are probably the remains of a Stone Age hunting camp.
The name of the stone comes from the legend that the dwarf king Giebich once lived under the stone. According to the story, the giant Hans Lohe tried to hit the Wölp church tower with the stone. However, the dwarf Giebich caused the stone to fall first and thus protected the people.
The stone was probably transported from the island of Bornholm to Kobbeln during the last ice age.
The stone was mentioned in writing as early as the second half of the 17th century. It was completely uncovered in 1925. Since 2011, the Kobbeln Stones Association has been dedicated to the care, collection and documentation of the village and the great stone of Kobbeln.
The stone was transported from Bornholm to Rügen around 10,000 years ago during the Weichselian glacial period.
Large pieces of the boulder were split off several times and used as building material. The stone was probably originally three times the size it is today. In 1854 and 1855, for example, six column drums weighing around five tons and parts of the pedestals for the Prussian Column near Neukamp and Groß Stresow weighing up to two tons were cut from the stone.
The erratic boulder in the Tonnenheide was transported to its present location around 200,000 years ago by the glaciers of the Saale complex from the Swedish region of Blekinge.
Initial attempts to recover the stone failed. In 1981, however, the stone was successfully lifted and moved 70 meters to its current location. Before that, a 300-year-old half-timbered granary had to be moved about 80 meters to make room for it.
An estimated 20m³ piece of the stone was once blasted off and probably used for building purposes.
This page is about the movement of stones. It's about glaciers and humans, time and distance, weight and size.
It tells stories of specific erratic blocks in north germany and how the human interacted with them. How we tried to move them, to use them and how we gave them a symbolic and cultural meaning mostly based on monarchical national thinking.
The research of this website is not finished jet. There is more to the stories of the stones...
Concept, research and design: Johann König
Contact: koenig_johann@gmx.net
Font: ABC Diatype by Dinamo
Supervised by: Konrad Renner and Christoph Knoth