Lindenholzhausen - Historical Hourstone

Historical Hourstone

About a 1/2 km (5/16 mile) southeast of Lindenholzhausen beside the B8 is a historical hourstone (Stundenstein). As opposed to a milestone, an hourstone informs travellers that they are a specific number of hours away from a particular location. Travellers of the day knew the time designated referred to a fully loaded cart being drawn by a single horse. This particular hourstone informs travellers that they are X (10) hours from Coblenz and XI (11) hours from Franckfurt. The 21 hour duration of the 105 km (65⅝ mile) journey from Koblenz to Frankfurt (am Main) implies that the average speed of a fully loaded horse-drawn cart was between 4 and 6 km/h (2½ and 3¾ m/h).

This hourstone is one of 14 that were erected between Koblenz and Würges (a district of Bad Camberg) following a decree issued in 1789 (date on the hourstone) by the last Bishop and Prince-elector of Trier, Clement Wenceslaus of Saxony. Although only 8 of the initial 14 hourstones remain, these monuments of Germany's more distant past are not under preservation order.

The inscription "CT" beneath the symbolised Elector's Crown stands for "Chur Trier", now known as "Kurtrier" (Electorate of Trier). The route from "Coblenz" to "Franckfurt" lead through different territories, including the Electorate of Trier, the Principality of Nassau-Oranien, the Principality of Nassau-Usingen, the Electorate of Mainz and the Imperial City of Frankfurt and it was not uncommon for a territory to have its own system of length units. In order to avoid laborious conversions between the different systems, the down-to-earth dimension of "average distance covered by a fully loaded horse-drawn cart per" hour was introduced, which was much more useful to the common traveller of the day. It also had the advantage that speed variations due to mountain crests and valleys could be incorporated.