Heidenschanze, Heidenwuhr and Heidenmühle

The journey takes us north from Tiengen, through the Schlücht Valley and up into the Black Forest. The Schwarza river flows into the Witznauer Mill. There, steep rock faces rise to a height of almost 200 metres, impregnable for centuries, with only a narrow mountain path leading up to them. It was not until the 19th century that the current steep road was built using large quantities of explosives. Above it lies a large plateau, the Berauer Horn, popularly known as the ‘Heidentor’ or ‘Heidenschanze’. Depending on the density of the forest and the foliage, impressive ramparts can be seen. The entire complex covers around eight hectares and is divided into three sections. The uppermost third rampart is the most impressive, measuring around 200 metres in length and more than six metres in height. To protect the complex from the north, three deep ditches ran parallel to the rampart, but these have unfortunately been filled in recently. It is certain that this complex was built by human hands – but by whom? Archaeological investigations have never been carried out. A bronze sword from 1954 has unfortunately been lost. Systematic inspections were carried out in 2000 and 2009, during which finds from the Urnfield, Hallstatt and Merovingian periods were made.

The famous local historian, prehistorian and explorer Emil Gersbach (1885–1963) from Bad Säckingen writes (first published in 1969): “A local nobility appears in sources for the first time in the 11th and 12th centuries, but there can be little doubt that these enormous structures were built by the ancestors of these noble lords, who are not mentioned in any documents. These noble families may have lived in the remarkably small main castle since at least the 10th or 11th century, in wooden towers that must have stood on platforms directly behind the massive shield walls. The function of the extensive complex cannot be reliably determined from the floor plan alone. … However, it can be said with certainty that it was most likely the seat and at the same time the refuge of the noble lords of Berau. The first representative of this family, De pago Cletgouve Waltherus de Berouva, appears in documents in 1087, and the last descendant, Gottfried, donated the Berauer Berg to the St. Blasien monastery, which he himself entered, as early as 1100.”

Just a few years after this donation, a convent was moved to Berau under Abbot Rusten of St. Blasien. Construction of the first monastery began in 1110 and, including a Romanesque minster, was consecrated to St. Nicholas by Bishop Hermann of Constance. It was intended to be a noble monastery, with women from important noble families and patrician families entering and noble daughters being accommodated there. All of them were provided with rich dowries, which contributed to the wealth of Berau and St. Blasien. The history of this convent lasted over 700 years. Five major fires are reported, and there were repeated wars and looting, but also new beginnings. A picture in Bürgeln Castle shows the complex in the 18th century. After years of research, the Geschichtsverein Historisches Berau (Berau Historical Society) built a model of the convent, bringing convent life to life in a wonderful exhibition.

During secularisation, the convent was expropriated in 1806, and the last small religious community was finally dissolved by Grand Duke Leopold of Baden in 1834. The inventory was auctioned off and ended up in various churches in the surrounding area. A beautiful altar dedicated to the Virgin Mary from 1507 is now in the Badisches Landesmuseum in Karlsruhe. The buildings were purchased by a manufacturer from Tiengen for 4,300 guilders to set up a straw hat factory. However, in 1846, a final major fire raged through the buildings, after which everything was demolished. Only the former bailiff’s house remains, which has now been converted into a residential building. Above the entrance, a coat of arms with three bear heads commemorates the noble family and the founders of the von Berau family.

The monastery also included two grain mills, the upper and lower mills. But now comes the second great mystery – the entire plateau between Schwarza and Mettma is very dry, with no running water to operate such mills! An artificial canal was therefore used, which brought water from the Mettma over a distance of 8 km with a uniform gradient of 0.5%, the Berauer Wuhr. This weir certainly already existed when construction of the monastery began in the 12th century. It was probably decommissioned in the 17th century, along with the drastic decline of the monastery and its two mills. By the 18th century, the ‘old mill weir’ was no longer in operation.

Today, there are still several weirs in the Hotzenwald that are maintained and carry water: the first documented mentions are in 1453 for the Hochsaler weir (19 km), in 1457 for the Heiden weir (14 km) and in 1544 for the Hänner weir (12 km). They drove the water wheels for bellows and forging hammers in ironworks in Bad Säckingen and Laufenburg, with the iron ore coming from the Fricktal valley. The first mention of hammer smithies dates back to 1207, so the weirs must have been built in the 12th century. The construction of these weirs was an incredible technical, organisational and financial achievement – who was capable of this almost 1000 years ago? There are no reports whatsoever about the construction of any of the many weirs. The weirs are located in four different territories, and agriculture and crafts were only organised on a very small scale at that time. There is no evidence of a ‘strong organising hand’ such as Gerhard Endriß suspects for such a large construction project. The hypothesis of some researchers is therefore that the sluices were not built for monasteries and mills, but that monasteries and mills were built where the flowing water of the sluices was already available. It must be a much older irrigation system, perhaps from the Iron Age or Bronze Age, perhaps built by the constructors of the Heidenschanze. There is no water at the ramparts on the Berauer Horn either!

With the beginning of Christianisation, many buildings from earlier times were often labelled ‘pagan’, and so the Berauer Wuhr was also formerly known as the Heidenwuhr. A legend tells of a pagan miller in the Mettmatal valley who still made sacrifices to the old gods. He was driven out with his family because he did not want to convert to Christianity. They swore revenge and one night set fire to the entire village, which is now called ‘Brenden’. Since then, the mill in the Mettmatal valley has been called ‘Heidenmühle’ (pagan mill), and this is where the Heidenwuhr of Berau begins. The Historical Berau Society has worked hard to clear the weir of undergrowth. You can now walk along a history trail and reflect on this ingenious hydraulic structure, which is perhaps 3000 years old.