Collegiate church at the “Großer Graben” Hidden Anticline Tiefreichende Verkarstung ???? Claypit and gypsum Glossar 6 Hadmersleben and the “Großes Bruch” 7 Oschersleben and Hadmersleben 8 Kloster Gröningen und Erdfälle ??? 9 The “Kalkberg” at Westeregeln Geological development of the region Landmarks (“Landmarken”) are physically prominent We are driving first towards the collegiate church St. Having visited the municipal museum of Oschersleben Gröningen is situated at the southernmost edge of the Just across the boundary of the Landmark there is an The oldest rocks of the Landmark area are completely spots and/or well-known places which have been selec- Pankratius of the former monastery of Hadmersleben, we are driving to Hadmersleben which is now part of Landmark. The monastery of Kloster Gröningen with its outcrop of some importance for understanding the covered by younger rocks, but reach the surface in ted as being representative for a certain area. They are originally a collegiate foundation under the rules of St. Oschersleben. The village of Hadmersleben is situated church, St Vitus, is well known not only in the region and geological context. We follow the “Hadmersleberener the Flechtingen Ridge (“Flechtinger Höhenzug”) within name-giving for the area and may serve for a first ori- Augustine which belonged to the diocese of Halberstadt. at a ford crossing the river Bode on an old military thus became part of the touristic route “Romanesque Straße” northwest from Westeregeln towards the the area of Landmark 28 “Hundisburg Castle”. In entation within the second-largest geopark of Europe. Today it belongs to the diocese of Magdeburg and is part road from Halberstadt to Magdeburg and goes back Road” (“Straße der Romanik”). The church dates back to “Alte Ziegelei” (“Old Brickyard”). Here, we find the terms of the regional geologic situation the ridge is Landmark 27 21 of these landmarks and the areas arond have been of the touristic route “Straße der Romanik” (“Romanesque to a prehistoric settlement from the 4th century. The the 10th century and is characterized by its octagonal “Kalkberg” (=literally translated “lime mountain”) part of the Flechtingen-Roßlau-Block which extends described in detail by a flyer, such as the present one. Road”). buildings of the castle from the 16th century can central tower which was constructed in the 12th century. which is in fact built up by gypsum which was formerly from the Drömling in the NW to Magdeburg and Continuing south shortly before the village you will reach be found south of the village. Today they house the The interior shows Romanesque sculptures and wall known as sulfuric lime. A claypit in the northwestern Roßlau in the SE. This area represents one of the most Ummendorf Castle Geopoints (“Geopunkte”) are spots of special inte- the gravel pit “Kretzschmar” where meltwater sediments of teaching and experimental facilities of the “Saatzucht paintings of high quality such as the one showing Christ slope shows a steeply dipping alternation of reddish northern hardrock occurrences within North Germany rest within the areas of the landmarks. As prominent Saalian age are exposed. They are few meters in thickness and Hadmersleben GmbH”, a company producing seeds for as judge of the world with his 12 apostles. brown claystones, siltstones and sandstone below which is otherwise mainly covered by unconsolidated examples they illustrate the geological and cultural characterized by abrupt changes in grainsize due to rapidly agricultural purposes. A Benedictine convent west of There are many sinkholes in the surroundings of a cover of loess and dark-earth soil. Due to the Quarternary sediments. The Flechtingen Ridge itself changing velocity of currents. The main direction of transport the castle was founded by a donation at 1161. St Peter Gröningen at the northwestern edge of the Hakel- absence of oolithic beds (so-called “Rogensteine”) is composed of sediments and volcanic rocks of history and heritage of the respective areas. Identified has been from east to west, but detailed measurements and Paul, the church of the former convent, is now one structure. They have been noted as early as 1703 by and the direct neighborhood to gypsum of Upper Carboniferous and Permian age. The Carboniferous by consecutive numbers beginning with #1 for the land- show additional inflow from the northnortheast. The sand of the most important church buildings of the region. Georg Henning Behrens in his “Hercynia Curiosa”. The Permian Zechstein age they have been assigned to the rocks were deposited in the so-called Rheic Ocean mark they may be individually combined to Georoutes frequently contains pieces of lignite which are due to erosion Church and an impressive wall were constructed from large water-filled sinkhole “Grundlos” (=“Bottomless”) is lowermost Triassic Calvörde-Formation of the Upper and folded by the Variscan orogeny. The Variscan (“Geo-Routen”). of Paleogene lignites from the southwestern rim syncline of sandstone of local origin; the respective quarries are situated immediately southwest of the little settlement Bunter (=Unterer Buntsandstein) by Karl Wächter in mountains were eroded quickly and soon covered by the Helmstedt-Staßfurt salt wall. no longer accessible. of Heynburg between Gröningen and Kroppenstedt. 2002 (Geotope #4034 as listed for Sachsen-Anhalt). the sea again. The accompanying map may help for planning your Starting with the Upper Permian Zechstein Sea the individual Georoute. KunerslebenKunerslebeKune n area was covered by diverse marine and terrestrial LMSTEDTLMSTEDDDTT MorslebenMorslebeebeneben Alleringers-ngers ErxlebenErE lebene IngerslebenIngeg eb sediments of considerable thickness until Upper pppplpplingenplingenplingpl UhrsUhrs-ss- OstingerslebenO en Cretaceous times. With increasing thickness B244 4 lebenlebbenbeb (and weight) of the sedimentary cover the Upper Belsdorf sdorf 5 Harbke Permian Zechstein salt started becoming plastic and 3 Wefensleben accumulated in salt-structures, such as, e.g., the Neu EichenbarEicchenbarc ar B 245a 4 Ummen- B 246a Allertal-Structure, the Helmstedt-Staßfurt salt wall and EsbockEEs k Büddenstedtd the Hakel-Structure. The proto-North-Sea reached the Sommersdorf dorf 1 B245 EilslebenEilslebE bbeene area in Paleogene times and left marine sediments CHÖNINGENCHCHÖNCHÖNHÖNÖNINGENNIN Badelebenben again; lignites of considerable thickness formed in DreilebenD Völpke 2 Großes Bruch bei Neuwegersleben Schrägschichtungen in der Kiesgrube Kirche Hadmersleben Heimatmuseum Oschersleben Erdfall Grundlos bei Heynburg Kloster Gröningen – St. Vitus Alte Ziegelei Westeregeln Höhlenbildung im Gips von Westeregeln an estuary opening towards the sea. The Quarternary SiegerslebenSiegegegererslebener Wormsdorf Groß glaciations left thick layers of gravel and formed the Barneberg RodRodensRodensleodenensleens genen 2 Driving farther south and passing through Geologically, the area is situated in the southeastern There are more sinkholes around here, many of them Gypsum has been quarried here south of the buildings “Großes Bruch”. Ongoing karstification started and led 244 HötenslebenF Seehausenehauseusesenen Neuwegersleben we reach the “Großer Graben” (literally prolongation of the Helmstedt-Staßfurt salt wall also filled by water, such as the “Faule See” (=”Foul Lake”) most probably since medieval times. The Kalkberg is to the development of caves and sinkholes. B 246a translated “Big Ditch”) within the “Großes Bruch” (literally which has been mentioned before. The anticline of at the northwestern edge of the town of Gröningen, a speciality for the Helmstedt-Staßfurt salt wall with SöllingenSöllingSö B245 Klein translated “Big Swamp”). The “Großes Bruch” is an Oschersleben, which is hidden beneath the depression the 200 X 300m large and 5m deep “Luttersee” (Lake respect to the fact that the anticline has not been fully Ohrsleben Ausleben WanzlebenWanzlebezlebenbenen xheim extended low-lying wetland which formed in a wide of the Bode valley, forms its continuation towards the Lutter) at the northern edge of Kloster Gröningen and eroded on top and reaches the surface with its “hat of Hamersleben meltwater valley of Saalian age between Oschersleben anticline of Staßfurt where mining of potassium salt was the impressive depression of the Leth 2 km southwest of gypsum” (“Gipshut”). Little caves remain as evidence WacWackersleben Hornhausen m 6 in the east and Hornburg in the west. It is part of a initiated in the 19th century. The river Bode is largely Gröningen (Geotopes #4033/1 to 5 as listed for Sachsen- of karstification, some of them filled by fossiliferous GunslebeGunsleben stretch of meltwater valleys starting in the valley of the following the rim synclines of the salt wall. Anhalt). Gerald Patzelt described these sinkholes in his Quarternary sediments. A hand-axe originating from B246 Elbe at Torgau running along Köthen and Oschersleben The so-called Kalkberg which is described below in more 2003 geological guidebook “Nördliches Harzvorland Neanderthals’ has been discovered and clear crystals eleben 6 7 B246 Großen through the “Großes Bruch” and the valley of the river detail is surface expression of the anticlinal structure on (Subherzyn), östlicher Teil”. He stated that they are found of gypsum (“Marienglas” = “St. Mary’s glass”) can be Pabstorfbstort f AderstedtA Bruch OSCHERSLEBENBEN Oker towards the valley of the river Aller. The low-lying top of the salt wall. It has been levelled here by erosion along faults and have traditionally been