Wolfskaut Ritterstein (No. 147)

The knight stone is supposed to remind of a wolf pit, that was a trap for catching wolves. The wolves tore sheep and there was a wolf premium for a caught wolf.

This is one of over 300 knight's stones of the Palatinate Forest Association. He stands by a tree, in the middle of a 5-way intersection. There is a nice rest bench opposite him.He "refers to a former wolf pit or also called wolf caw, which was used to catch wolves. In order to lure the animal into the trap, a pit was dug, covered with brushwood and a live animal, usually a sheep, was hidden in it as bait ( see also: Wolfskaut near Seibersbach). The wolf jumped into the pit and couldn't get out. It was easy to kill a wolf in such a pit. The animals caught in it were brought home by the so-called wolf carriers, who were responsible for them Respected performance received payment, the so-called wolf money (Weingart 2019).
Source (quoted verbatim): kuladig.de/Objectansicht/KLD-283463There are no traces of the former Wolfsgrube to be seen on site.

According to the wiki, the wolf was extinct in most regions of present-day Germany by the 18th century, but by 2018/19 there were again a total of 105 packs, 25 pairs and 13 territorial individuals in eleven federal states.
All Little Red Riding Hoods: watch out!

"Kaut" = Old German term for: depression, trough or depression (according to the Internet).