How eloquently put. So Hans-Georg Stump writes as a headliner to his highly accessible photgrapghic online album of Ancient Stones from around Europe.

This is the solitary menhir of Gollenstien in Western Germany, quite near Saarbrucken and the border with France.

Hans-Georg says: “this about 22ft tall menhir rules majestic over the hilly landscape. It was broken into four parts when German soldiers in 1939 tried to destroy it, because it was not to be a landmark for the French artillery. Twelve years later it was re-erected by the local inhabitants. To eleminate the pagan power of the stone Christians chiseled a niche into the stone to install a Christian image (image 3). The name “Gollenstein” derives from the Latin word “colus” which was the name for a spindle. This stone was used for rites we will never know about; maybe it was seen as a column between earth and sky or was used later as a court stone. Some yards away from the Gollenstein a small hill is to be seen (image 2), which could be the remnants of a motte-and-bailey”.