State archaeological heritage (State Inspection for Heritage Protection, No 818). The stone is located in the middle of an ameliorated field 150 m north-west of the Rožkalni homestead. Its height is 1.6 m and circumference at the ground of 10.5 m. The stone has not been artificially hewn, it contains no hollows. Nearby is the Krapa Hill Fort, the Cross Pine.
“In ancient times it was very remarkable in all the surroundings. People from both the nearby surroundings and remote places brought different offerings there for spirits and witches, hence the name of the stone appeared. This habit was so much practiced that once even the Gulbene priest of that time G. Schilling came to the Witches’ Stone. In former times people were afraid to pass this holy stone by at night as it haunted there. The nearby swamp is called the Devil’s Swamp.” (Urtāns, 1990) The name Witches’ Stone appeared most probably in Medieval Times, namely, during the witch-hunt, because at the stone since ancient times ancient magical rituals had been held and offering brought. (Nature Western Repository (Dabas Retumu krātuve), 2005, ER; Vietas Ltd., 2005, 2012e).
Tales narrated by I. Čabla:
- Under the stone a maiden was lying (buried), which, when the stone was rolled off, still looked as if being 20 years old;
- onto the stone slope poor people brought food, but the rich ones took it all away so that the poor did not get the feast. A woman-healer used to come to the stone; she said the stone had strong energy.
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