Hilgensteen

Also known as:
Hilgenstein
Latitude:
53° 32' 21.77 N
Longitude:
7° 41' 37.61 E
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Hilgensteen

Nucleus
Nucleus Oct 12, 2025

Although the Hilgensteen (Low German for “holy stone”) is listed in Johannes Groht’s book “Menhire in Deutschland” and on the German Wikipedia in the list of menhirs in Lower Saxony, there is no written evidence that it stood upright in historical times. The stone is made of red granite and has a flat and a blunt tip. It is 1.3 metres long, 0.8 metres wide and 0.44 metres thick. Its shape reminds me more of an altar stone.

The Hilgensteen was originally located on the site of what is now Wittmundhafen Air Base. According to Wikipedia, when the airfield was rebuilt in 1939, the stone was initially considered lost, but was rediscovered in 1951 and moved to its current location in Ardorf.

The Hilgensteen is located on the northern outskirts of Ardorf, 200 metres south of the town limits on the eastern side of Heglitzer Straße in an inconspicuous small enclosure directly on the roadside.

Visited September 2025

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