What was the Ensisheim meteorite?
The Ensisheim meteorite is a stone of about 127 kg that fell into a wheat field near Ensisheim in Alsace in November 1492, making it the oldest European witnessed fall whose meteorite survives; about 55 kg of it remains in the town.
In November 1492, only weeks after Columbus first reached the Caribbean, a thunderous explosion echoed across the Upper Rhine valley. Near the small town of Ensisheim, in Alsace (then part of the Holy Roman Empire, now in eastern France), a large stone buried itself in a wheat field. Contemporary accounts say a boy saw it land, and the townspeople soon dug it out of the ground. It weighed roughly 127 kg.
The fall caused a sensation. People began breaking off pieces as charms, until the authorities stopped them and moved the stone into the parish church. Maximilian, soon to become Holy Roman Emperor, was passing through the region and interpreted it as a divine sign in his favour during his struggles with France. The poet Sebastian Brant wrote verses about the event, and illustrated broadsheets spread the news across Europe, making Ensisheim one of the first natural events to be reported widely in print.
The stone was hung in the church for centuries. During the French Revolution it was taken to Colmar, and pieces were removed for scientific study, but it was later returned. Over the years so many fragments were chipped off for museums, collectors and dignitaries that only about 55 kg of the main mass remains. It is displayed in Ensisheim today, and the town has a society of meteorite enthusiasts who celebrate it.
Scientifically, Ensisheim is an LL6 ordinary chondrite, a stony meteorite poor in metal, from an asteroid that was heated and recrystallised long ago. Its real importance is historical. When scientists debated around 1800 whether stones truly fall from the sky, Ensisheim was one of the old, well-recorded cases they could revisit. It remains the oldest witnessed European fall from which material is preserved.