Elisabethstein

If you take your eyes off the traffic for just a moment at the intersection of Metjendorfer Landstraße and Alter Postweg, your gaze might be drawn to a beautifully carved sign that reads: “Elisabethstein.” Hidden behind the hedges bordering a green space is the “Elisabethstein” memorial complex, established by the local civic association in 2005. Grand Duchess Elisabeth, the wife of Grand Duke Nikolaus Friedrich Peter, who reigned from 1853 to 1900, frequently took carriage rides from Oldenburg Palace to the immediate and wider surroundings of the Oldenburg region. She must have been particularly taken with the small farming village on the edge of the Alexanderheide, for at times she even had herself driven daily in the early afternoon northward, far beyond the city limits, to the “Metjengerdeshaus” to linger a while in the charming natural surroundings. During these visits, she likely had brief conversations with the villagers, who, impressed by the Grand Duchess’s personality, erected a memorial stone in her honor and memory. Unfortunately, the year it was erected can no longer be determined. It may have been erected shortly after the Grand Duchess’s death in 1896. The site with the “Elisabethstein” was then lovingly maintained by the residents of Metjendorf over the years. After World War II, the local heritage association, founded in 1948, took over this task. As part of the widening of the Old Post Road, the “Elisabethstein” had to be relocated later on. On August 30, 1953, it was re-unveiled at its current location during a ceremonial event attended by Hereditary Grand Duke Nikolaus of Oldenburg. Afterward, the site seems to have fallen into obscurity once again. Ten years later, the Local Citizens’ Association—which had been founded in the meantime—took the memorial site under its care. As part of the “village beautification” initiative, the board of directors also took on the ongoing maintenance of the memorial site surrounding the “Elisabethstein” on a volunteer basis. In 2005, it was once again active members of the local civic association who cleared away the overgrown vegetation to reveal the memorial stone. In several work sessions, under the expert guidance of a landscape gardener and with the support of the municipality and local clubs, the memorial site was redesigned and restored. Since then, a bench has invited visitors to linger, and an information plaque commemorates the history of this cultural and historical monument located between Metjendorf and Heidkamp.