If you are travelling in the Teutoburg Forest, you can’t miss them: the Externsteine. The striking sandstone rock formation is considered Germany’s largest natural sight and has been protected as both a nature reserve and a cultural monument since 1926. Many myths and legends have grown up around the Externsteine. Hermann Hamelmann, for example, interpreted them in 1564 as a Germanic sanctuary that had been destroyed by Charlemagne. However, neither these nor other legends have been proven. The approximate time of origin of the impressive 127-hectare nature reserve is estimated to be the so-called Lower Alb period, about 110 million years ago. The origin of the name has not been conclusively clarified.
