Bierhügel

The Bierhügel is a listed burial mound in Salzmünde, a locality in the municipality of Salzatal in Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. It stands at the Straße der Einheit. The surrounding cemetery is entered in the local heritage register under the number 094 55134 as a protected monument area.

The mound is two metres high and measures twelve metres from north to south and eighteen metres from east to west, giving it an area of 210 square metres. A memorial stone to Elisabeth von Thüringen stands on top of it. The stone is a later addition to the ancient mound rather than evidence of its original use.

According to an information board of the Landesamt für Archäologie, the mound may be a prehistoric burial mound from the Late Neolithic period. Its dating is an estimate based on typological comparison, placing it broadly between 3500 BCE and 500 BCE. Older local tradition instead identifies the site as a medieval place of judgment.

The mound's name comes from a legend about Elisabeth von Thüringen. In 1222, the fifteen-year-old is said to have stayed overnight at the Hüneburg and, in return for the homage of villagers from surrounding settlements, granted them a tithe exemption and asked for the serving of “sieben Ring Eimer Bier” at Ascension. Friedrich Boltze suggested in the 19th century that this meant a barrel with seven iron rings. A yearly Herrentag festival has since honoured her with a barrel of free beer.

Bierhügel is a megalithic mound (tumulus with integral stones) in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. A typological estimate: 3500 BCE to 500 BCE. No English Wikipedia article exists for it; the full text below is the German article "Bierhügel", shown in the original language.