Greifenstein Castle (Hohenstein)

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Greifenstein Castle
Masonry remains

Masonry remains

Alternative name (s): Greifenstein Castle near Hohenstein, Greifenstein Castle under Hohenstein
Creation time : unknown, probably 14th century
Castle type : Höhenburg in spur location
Conservation status: ruin
Standing position : Ministerial Loan
Place: Hohenstein - Burg-Hohenstein
Geographical location 50 ° 11 '40.9 "  N , 8 ° 3' 24.8"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 11 '40.9 "  N , 8 ° 3' 24.8"  E
Greifenstein Castle (Hesse)
Greifenstein Castle

The Greifenstein Castle is the ruin of a Spur castle in the Hessian Aartal in the Taunus . It is located in the immediate vicinity of the ruins of Hohenstein Castle and is historically interwoven with them. It is located in the district of Burg-Hohenstein , municipality of Hohenstein in the Rheingau-Taunus district .

Location and description

Wall edge
The masonry uses existing rock structures

The facility is located about 200 meters northwest of Hohenstein Castle, on the same, steeply sloping, wooded ridge. It is clearly dominated by Hohenstein Castle. The mountain slopes steeply to the west, north and east, the south side is occupied by Hohenstein Castle.

In the images of Merian from 1646 and Dilich from 1605 it is shown with a residential tower, the remains of a wall extending from it and the remains of a possible tower on the spur side. The ruins that can be found do not support this representation of the castle. Two adjoining residential buildings can be seen. In both works, the residential tower is shown with a gable roof running west-east to the south-west and in the gate area to the south-east with a tourelle in each corner.

Overall, the system was integrated into the existing rock structure. Today there are still pronounced remains of walls, stairs and worked rock. The area was probably largely secured, wing walls probably connected to Hohenstein Castle. From the residential towers that bordered towering rocks towards Hohenstein, about two meters high wall remains and traces of work on the rock have been preserved.

history

It is not known when the castle was built. What is certain is that it was a katzenelnbogisches fiefdom and was inhabited by ministries . In the fiefdom register of Count Eberhards von Katzenelnbogen from 1386, the transfer of the castle to his servant Heinrich Breder is mentioned as a man fief . It is mentioned as Griffinstein under Hoenstein in 1448. For the beginning of the 15th century further fiefdoms have been received. The last time it was directly mentioned in a document is a deed of 15 March 1585, in which the first Landgrave Wilhelm IV of Hessen-Kassel re-awarded the castle loan to four Ministeriale der Knebel von Katzenelnbogen , as was the case with two of his predecessors, including his father Philip I of the Landgraviate of Hesse .

It is assumed that the facility was destroyed at the latest during the siege of Hohenstein Castle in 1639/40. At the end of the 20th century, exploratory excavations were carried out on the complex by the local Heimatverein.

and display information about the image
View from Hohenstein Castle into the Aartal. The view from the towers of Greifenstein Castle was probably similar

Monument protection

The area of ​​the ruin is a ground monument according to the Hessian Monument Protection Act . Investigations and targeted collection of finds are subject to approval, and accidental finds are reported to the monument authorities.

literature

  • Wilhelm Lotz : The architectural monuments in the Wiesbaden administrative region . Wiesbaden 1880, Reprint Walluf 1973, p. 612.
  • Hans-Jürgen Hessel: Burghaus Greifenstein near Hohenstein In: Greifensteinbriefe, Volume 4 . No. 9, 1989.

Web links

Commons : Burg Greifenstein  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ View of Hohenstein, 1646. Historical town views, plans and floor plans. (As of March 28, 2007). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
  2. ^ View of Hohenstein, 1605. Historical town views, plans and floor plans. (As of March 28, 2007). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
  3. ^ Burg Greifenstein (Hohenstein), Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis. Historical local dictionary for Hessen. (As of February 17, 2014). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
  4. ↑ HStAM inventory document 96 No. 1361  ( Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg ). In: Archive Information System Hessen (Arcinsys Hessen), accessed on December 6, 2016.