The Sonnenstein von Horsten is an irregularly shaped slab of reddish-grey granite porphyry, approximately 1.1 metres high and slightly wider. Seventeen concentric circles (outer diameter 77 cm) are carved into the flat front surface. A hole with a diameter of 3 cm forms the centre point.
The stone was found west of Horsten in a field around 1900, where it was used as a threshold for a garden gate until 1963. It was not until 1963 that its significance was recognised and the stone, which dates back to the Bronze Age, was recovered. The Horster Sonnenstein was preserved and erected in the Horster primary school in 1981. It is the largest sun stone ever found in Germany.
Unfortunately, the stone shown in the pictures (location: junction of “Am Schmelzofen” and “Am Warfacker”) is only a replica; the original is located in the primary school in Horsten.
Visited September 2025