The Ensisheim Thunderstone
In 1492, a boy in Alsace saw a great stone fall from the sky with a crash of thunder. The town chained it up in the church.
What was reported
Around midday on 7 November 1492, a loud thunderclap was heard over Alsace, and a boy in a field near Ensisheim saw a large stone fall from the sky and bury itself in the ground. Townspeople dug it up: it weighed about 127 kg.
The future emperor Maximilian I came to see it, took pieces as good-luck charms, and ordered the rest to be kept in the church, where it was hung with chains so that it could not fly away again.
Explanations offered
It is the oldest meteorite in the Western world whose fall was witnessed and whose stone survives. At the time, few scholars believed stones could fall from the sky, and Ensisheim was seen as an omen. It is still on display in the town today.
- When
- 7 November 1492
- Where
- Ensisheim, Alsace, France
- Witnesses
- A boy and the townspeople of Ensisheim
- Status
- Confirmed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.