The real story behind the art on the spinning top, the plowing elephant on the spinning top, took place or is said to have taken place towards the end of the First World War in 1917. The tradition told here comes from the youngest son of the main protagonist of the story himself, namely the son of the master carpenter Schmitt. In 1917 the men were at war, the country was ailing and chaos reigned. In addition, the horses and animals were drafted for the military, at that time there were no high-tech weapons. In the municipality of Enkenbach-Alsenborn, a circus was making guest appearances, which broke up while trying to escape, so two elephants were stationed here. To be more precise, with the Moulier family. The master carpenter Schmitt was working for the Moulier family when the daughter came to him and said that the garden should be plowed up, but there were no animals to do that with. This is how Schmitt came up with the idea of using the elephants for this purpose. They made a harness that of course had to be much larger and sturdier than that for horses or oxen.

The elephant traveled from China to Enkenbach-Alsenborn
The elephant has come a long way. From far away Shanghai, the 15-ton colossus came to Germany in the municipality of Enkenbach-Alsenborn. The elephant was at sea for a full 5 weeks before it set foot on European soil for the first time in Antwerp. From there he traveled to the Rhine port in Ludwigshafen. With the weight, which is still only about half that of the original elephant, large equipment was required for loading. An 80 ton mobile crane was needed to load the elephant from its container onto the base of the roundabout. The base had to be covered with concrete beforehand, on which the elephant was attached. The spectacle took place under the observation of numerous spectators.
The dimensions are impressive for a human, although not quite the same as a real elephant. The elephant is 2.5 meters high and about 3 meters long. In the original dimensions, the elephant would probably have been less easy to transport and the sight would have been too impressive on the roundabout.

Source: kreiselkunst.com/2011/09/enkenbach-alsenborn

Translated by Google •

In the know? Log-in to add a tip for other adventurers!

Details

Informations

Elevation 300 m

Weather

Tuesday 30 December

1°C

-7°C

0 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 13.0 km/h

Most visited during

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

See rides here

Take Me There

Location: Enkenbach-Alsenborn, Landkreis Kaiserslautern, Palatinate Forest, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Other Popular Places to Check Out

Alsenborn Labyrinth

Legelbachtal Road (Elmstein–Weidenthal)

Labyrinth and Cross near Enkenbach-Alsenborn

Singletrail zum Altenhof

Müllerstisch

Eselsmühlweiher

Picnic Area at Schwarzweiher

Schwarzweiher

Mühlberg Trail

Menhir Im Greb

Start of Singletrail Technikparcours Hochspeyer

Elephant and Ploughman Statue, Enkenbach-Alsenborn

1. Eiswoog – Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge loop from Neuhemsbach

2. Göllheim Old Town – Eiswoog loop from Neuhemsbach

3. Schwarzweiher – View of the Alsenztal Hillside loop from Enkenbach-Alsenborn

Other Popular Places to Check Out

We value your privacy ⛰️

We value your privacy ⛰️