Mythology / Magical places

As people of the modern age, we have become accustomed to seeing the world through the eyes of contemporary science. We observe nature's most striking phenomena, such as earthquakes, storms and solar and lunar eclipses, without experiencing the profound fear felt by the ancient societies when faced with the unfathomable. For them the world was one great mystery, a bewildering riddle. Our pagan ancestors gathered together at springs, mighty trees, woodland clearings and mountain peaks to be closer to their gods and spirits, whom they placated with sacrifices, or to drive away devils and demons. To honour their deities they burnt and sacrificed animals. Even fellow humans were sacrificed on the craggy rocks and in the dark caves. People held mystical festivals to celebrate the solstices and conducted fertility rituals at the sites of megalithic standing stones or on hilltops that were visible for miles around. They buried idols and even living human beings in the moorland. Places where ancient communities practised their cults still possess a distinctive lure. Ancient relics and traces of the religious rituals practised by early societies can still be found in modern-day Germany.