Bienstand
mountain
The Bienstand, in several histories and novels called the Bistand, is a low mountain ridge, 865 m high, in the Bavarian Forest between the villages of Sankt Oswald-Riedlhütte and Grafenau, immediately south of the clearly higher mountains of the Rachel and Lusen, which lie within the Bavarian Forest National Park. Its name probably comes from the Middle High German ("bien"="near" and "stand"="forest pasture", see also Kirchlinger Stand) and means "near the forest pasture".
Description
On the flat summit plateau stands a great wooden cross. The view to the south is open and, on föhn days extends to the chain of the Alps from the Dachstein to the Kaiser Mountains. Several waymarked footpaths lead up to the Bienstand from the surrounding villages; the nearest being Reichenberg and Höhenbrunn.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Bienstand” as mountain. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as mountain. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q857693. Authority coordinates are 48.894, 13.394. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Bienstand”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Bienstand primary sources, Bienstand archive and Bienstand research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Bienstand”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Bienstand” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.