Nexus - 1205 - New Times Magazine-pages

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° THE BREITENWINNER CAVE EXPLORATION IN 1535 area, "Preden-" is not a word used; rather, it may come from Flat German, which is spoken in the far north of Germany. ¢ It is unclear if this text is the original, but, if so, the style and words used are not consistent with the time when it was pub- lished. For comparison, I also include a copy of a text published in 1552, which despite the archaic font can be read by most German-speakers but certainly is not even close to what the Buchner account provides. * Back to before Roman times and for a long time after, the area was settled by Slavic people called "Wendish" (Wenden in German), equivalent to "Sorbs" (Sorben). With the eastward colonisation of the Franks after 800 CE, Germanic peo- ple increasingly settled there too, living in reasonable coexistence and indicated by many place names ending in -thal, -dorf, -hausen, -ing, etc. However, typical Slavic names remained, such as those ending in -winn, -wind, -a, -is, -itz. It is interesting to note that the Romans called today's Augsburg "Augusta Vindelicorum", the Wendish "Augusta". Also the noble family of Windischgratz, royal in both the Austro- Hungarian Empire and the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, has its roots in exactly the same area. * These Slavic tribes were renowned for their mining skills and at the time of the Buchner publication in 1535 may have been marginalised and taken up living in caves and abandoned mines. This accounts for the encounter with the female "ghost". It is also undisputed that the Jura caves had been occupied even before Neolithic times; so, not surprisingly, even fossilised bones in great quantities may be found. I conclude by agreeing that the "ignorant will not believe this story" but equally also those who have some understanding of history. Best regards, Peter L. Zeidler, Richmond, Victoria, Australia ear Sir: Following your request for De information subsequent to the publication of this article in NEXUS June-July 2005 [12/04], I would like to provide some facts which may be helpful. Amberg is a medium-sized town (approximately 50,000) in northeastern Bavaria in Germany. Since the 13th cen- tury it has been a centre of trade to Bohemia (Czech Republic), the border of which today is about 100 km away. It is situated on the eastern border of the Frankonian Jura, a limestone formation well known for its many caves and mining activities back to prehistoric times. For more detailed infor- mation on the area, I have included a copy of a current road atlas. on the eastern border of the Frankonian Jura, a limestone formation well known for its many caves and mining activities back to prehistoric times. For more detailed infor- mation on the area, I have included a copy of a current road atlas. Historical/geographical background ¢ There is a cave called "Holloch" ("hol- low hole"), close to another one called "King Otto Cave", close (about three miles) to a village called Breitenthal and two vil- lages called Kirchenwinn = and Reicherstwinn, in an area about 12 km southwest of Hohenburg. With an early start from Hohenburg, these caves could be reached by early/mid-morning. Breitenthal Inconsistencies of the article *"...citizens of the town of Amberg set off to a mountainous area three miles dis- tant from Amberg." There is no village of Da ye Predenwind within this distance of the C°Ul!d have been called "Breitenwinn" in town, and one has to question why the the past. Alternatively, this may point to a good citizens had to stay overnight in simple mix-up of place names. : Hohenburg just to cover three miles. ¢ The caves are just outside a restricted * The cave is called "Breitenwinner Military training area which was estab- Cave", supposedly because it is near the lished in the first half of last century village of Predenwind. I think it is fair to (Hohenfels Trupperniibungsplatz), and I conclude that Breitenwinn and Predenwind — went to both caves when I spent time with are one and the same location, "Preden-"_ the military. Holloch is like an elongated being an old form or local dialect of the gate through the mountain, whereas the High German "Breiten-". However, from _ other is known to be quite extensive under- my knowledge of the dialect spoken in the ground. NEXUS = 61 AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2005 www.nexusmagazine.com