Mycenae on the Elbe – Prehistoric Hillforts at the "Rough Ford"

An informative and engagingly designed video recording by the MDR and the State Museum of Prehistory of Saxony, shown in the Haus des Gastes.

The wine villages of Diesbar and Seußlitz, situated about 10 km north of Meißen on a bend of the Elbe, are among the most attractive tourist destinations in Saxony. Most visitors, drawn by the romantic landscape and the wine, are probably unaware that they are in the midst of the most important ensemble of prehistoric fortifications in Germany. Three large Bronze Age rampart complexes guard the "Rough Ford" here in a very confined space. At low water levels the river could be crossed on foot here. Together the hillforts secured important long-distance trade routes. The rampart on the Göhrischfels on the western bank of the Elbe and its eastern twin, the "Löbsal Castle Hill", were built as early as the beginning of the Bronze Age around 2000 BC. Around 1200 BC the fort on the "Goldkuppe" was created. The 20-hectare plateau is the largest prehistoric fortification in Germany. The perimeter rampart is over 1 km long. The 18-metre-high barrier rampart at the eastern end of the plateau was once regarded as a natural hill and called "Goldkuppe". In the "golden age" of the Bronze Age, the lords of the "Rough Ford" were in contact with the elites of all Europe, including the kings of Mycenae sung of by Homer. It was an age of heroes who vied with one another in power and pomp. In the Middle Ages, Meißen took over the central role of the hillforts. Early Meißen is therefore also covered in our exhibition. Plans, photos and original finds, including showpieces from the treasure hoard of Weißig, transport visitors to the time of the early lords of the "Rough Ford".