Reichenberg Castle (Württemberg)

Reichenberg Castle
	Reichenberg Castle (2005)
Creation time :	1230 to 1231
Castle type :	Hilltop castle
Conservation status:	Received or received substantial parts
Standing position :	Ministeriale
Place:	Oppenweiler
Geographical location	48 ° 59 '29.6 " N , 9 ° 27' 37.2" E Coordinates: 48 ° 59 '29.6 " N , 9 ° 27' 37.2" E

The castle Reichenberg is a Staufer castle above Oppenweiler in Rems-Murr in Baden-Württemberg .

history

The hilltop castle was built from 1230 to 1231 by Margrave Hermann V of Baden .

It is said to have had a close relationship with Ebersberg Castle, which was built at the same time in today's Auenwald, and the castle in Besigheim . The dimensions, facilities and existing stonemason marks of the three castles match.

In the Middle Ages , the administrative centers were mostly located in castles. Reichenberg Castle was also a so-called ministerial castle. The knights Wolfram and Berthold von Reichenberg are mentioned as early as 1230. Reichenberg was therefore the official seat and thus also the administrative center of the surrounding areas. From 1293 the Sturmfeder von Oppenweiler sat as ministerials at the castle.

In the 19th century, the castle was the seat of the Forestry Office of the Kingdom of Württemberg , including Karl Schiller - a son of Friedrich Schiller - who worked there as a forester from 1822 to 1833 .

In 1888 the castle was leased to the Samaritan Foundation, which operated a social institution there to care for disabled people. In 1929, the Samaritan Foundation acquired Grafeneck Castle near Gomadingen and relocated the home there.

In 1930 the castle was leased to the Evangelische Gesellschaft Stuttgart , which operated a reception center for Stuttgart prostitutes there until the 1950s (prostitution had risen sharply due to the general hardship in Stuttgart after the First World War ). The Evangelical Society of Stuttgart then converted the castle back into a home for people with disabilities.

The home has been run by Paulinenpflege Winnenden e. V. operated. Today's owner of the castle is the state of Baden-Württemberg .

Castle tours are possible for groups by prior arrangement. Reichenberg Castle is the best preserved Romanesque castle in the Rems-Murr district.

investment

The building of a castle was a question of representation and prestige. Nevertheless, the castle gives the impression of a fortification with the keep with four-meter-thick walls and the mighty shield wall with half-timbered walkway .

The second tower

Southwest side of the castle (valley side)

Older sources tell that there was apparently a second tower. It must have passed from the time the castle was built. It is not known when it was broken off, but it is said to have stood in the second half of the 18th century. It can still be seen on numerous old pictures (to be found e.g. in Kieser Forstlagererbuch 1685 HStAS H 107/14, No. 6).

Floor plan of Reichenberg Castle

The lock

In the years 1556 to 1562 the castle complex was expanded to include the south-west wing. It is called a castle . This extension is partially built with a cellar and in some places was carved out of the natural rock. It is said to have served to offer the forester a permanent residence and administrative seat.

Defense systems

North-eastern side of the castle with a half-timbered rampart

The moat , which is said to have led around the entire castle, is only vaguely recognizable today. It is believed that the building material for the castle was obtained from the excavation of the moat. In the past, the moat was crossed by a drawbridge in one of the turrets in front of the castle. In place of this turret there is only a simple bridge that allows access to the castle.

The north-east and north-west curtain wall , also known as the shield wall, which carries a half-timbered circuit covered with a gable roof , has not existed since the castle was built. In the past, there was a normal battlement in its place, of which a small approach on the southwest side has been preserved.

photos

Inner courtyard with tower (keep)
Castle chapel
portal

literature

Christian Ludwig Brücker: Castle Reichenberg (DKV art guide, issue 339). Munich / Berlin 2007.
Gerhard Fritz, Roland Schurig (ed.): The castles in the Rems-Murr-Kreis . Manfred Hennecke Verlag, Remshalden 1994, ISBN 3-927981-42-7 , pp. 90-94.

Web links

Commons : Burg Reichenberg - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Site of Reichenberg Castle
Reichenberg Castle on the side of the municipality of Oppenweiler
Paulinenpflege Winnenden e. V.