Irminsul pendant, bronze

The Irminsul (from irmin = mighty, divine, great and sul = pillar) or Irmen's pillar was an ancient Saxon main sanctuary, and is believed to have been a large oak tree or wooden column.

Its exact location is unknown, but it was probably near Eresburg, close to Obermarsberg, as suggested by the wording in the Annales regni Francorum ("Frankish Royal Annals") for the year 772. Other possible locations include the Externsteine ​​and the Velmerstot. The Irminsul was destroyed by the Franks in 772 during the Saxon Wars, on the orders of Charlemagne.

The Irminsul was apparently meant to symbolize the connection between heaven and earth. The monk Rudolf of Fulda, to whom we owe the only more detailed account of the Irminsul, writes in his Translatio s. Alexandri (Chapter 3): "Truncum quoque ligni non parvae magnitudinis in altum erectum sub divo colebant, patria eum lingua Irminsul appellantes, quod Latine dicitur universalis columna, quasi sustinens omnia." – "They (the Saxons) also venerated a wooden block (or tree trunk) of considerable size, erected high above, in the open air, which they called "Irminsul" in their native language, meaning "All-Pillar" in Latin, since it, in a sense, supports the universe."

A (remaining) version of an Irminsul, apparently of Roman origin, is located today in Hildesheim Cathedral. Its connection to "the" Irminsul is unclear. Incidentally, the places Irminseul/Irmenseul, Segeste, the Drachenberg (Dragon Mountain), and the Wormstal (Worms Valley) are located nearby, which could even allude to the Nibelungenlied.

Among other things, there is a memorial in Irmenseul in the district of Hildesheim (approx. 9 kilometers from Nordwelt Versand).