Irminsul

The Irminsul was a sacred pillar, perhaps a great tree trunk, venerated by the pagan Saxons of northern Germany. Frankish annals record that Charlemagne destroyed it in 772, at the start of the Saxon Wars, after capturing the fortress of Eresburg. Its exact location and meaning are uncertain, but the 9th-century monk Rudolf of Fulda described it as a universal column supporting all things.