History of Kerbscher Berg

The name ‘Kerbscher Berg’ is a shortening of ‘Kirchbergischer Berg’. The village of Kirchberg (also known as Kireberg, Kerberg) was once located at the foot of the mountain, facing the Unstrut. In 1420, the village was still mentioned with 14 houses and 15 ¾ hooves of land. In the Turkish tax register of 1545, the Kerbsche Mill has already been listed as belonging to Dingelstädt. The original function as a rampart castle, which offered protection to the inhabitants of the surrounding villages in times of war, can still be recognised by the ramparts built around the hill.

With the Frankish settlement after 531, St Martin’s Church was built on the Kerbschen Berg, which, along with St Martin’s Church in Heiligenstadt, is considered one of the original parishes of the Eichsfeld. A cemetery was built around the church, which was used by several villages in the surrounding area.

Reconstruction and monastery history

During the Thirty Years’ War, the church on the Kerbschen Berg fell into disrepair due to devastation and population decline and  eventually became a ruin. In 1707, a new chapel was built thanks to a donation from Anna Maria Eckardt, née Wundrach from Dingelstädt, which was given the name ‘Zum heiligen Kreuz’ (To the Holy Cross). This benefactor also had seven painted stones erected along the path from Dingelstädt to Kerbschen Berg to commemorate the suffering of Jesus.

The chapel was rebuilt in 1824 and enlarged again in 1866 when the Franciscan monastery was founded. The chapel served as a monastery church until 1889. This was followed by the construction of the current church, which was consecrated on 4 October 1890 and is dedicated to the Franciscans ‘Peter Baptista and his 22 companions’, martyrs in Japan. Two valuable works of art from the late Gothic period can be seen in the monastery church: the ‘Lamentation of Christ’ and the ‘14 Holy Helpers’, both carvings from the 16th century.
As part of the Prussian Kulturkampf against the Catholic Church, the Franciscans had to leave their monastery in 1875, but returned from exile to the Kerbschen Berg in 1887. In the following 107 years, the Franciscans were active in pastoral care, carried out missions in Eichsfeld and were particularly in demand as confessors. In 1994, the Franciscans gave up their branch. The diocese of Erfurt set up a family centre in the former monastery, which has established itself in the region and beyond.

 

Natural monument and pilgrimages

A special ornament of the Kerbschen Berg is the wreath of 140 lime trees that have been planted since 1763 at the suggestion of the Dingelstadt priest Cyriakus Frankenberg (at that time, a tree cost 6 pfennigs). Today, these lime trees are protected as a natural monument. The Way of the Cross, which was built by the Dingelstadt master builder Anton Heinemann and his brothers, was also erected under Father Frankenberg. The grottoes at the foot of the Kerbschen Berg were created in 1897. Since 1961, the women’s pilgrimage of the diocese of Erfurt has been held on the Kerbschen Berg, which has been an important religious tradition ever since.