Mühlhäuser Schlößchen

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Mühlhäuser Schlößchen
West side - view of the Weiherhaus, preserved wall on the west side. In the foreground collapse of the shell tower.

West side - view of the Weiherhaus, preserved wall on the west side. In the foreground collapse of the shell tower.

Creation time : unknown
Castle type : Fixed house / pond house
Conservation status: Ruins
Standing position : Gentry
Place: south of the village of Mühlhausen , municipality of Breuberg
Geographical location 49 ° 47 '48 "  N , 9 ° 3' 5.2"  E Coordinates: 49 ° 47 '48 "  N , 9 ° 3' 5.2"  E
Height: 170  m above sea level NN
Mühlhäuser Schlößchen (Hesse)
Mühlhäuser Schlößchen
View of the building, northeast side.

The so-called Mühlhäuser Schlößchen is the ruin of a small medieval castle-like building, which is interpreted as a low-nobility seat in the type of a so-called fixed house or pond house . It is located south of the village of Mühlhausen , municipality of Breuberg in the Odenwald district in Hesse . There are no written sources about the history of the facility, the existence of which is now seriously endangered.

location

The facility is located between Breuberg and Lützel-Wiebelsbach near the L 3259 at the foot of the 311 m high Obersberg. The castle itself is located in the narrow basin between this and the neighboring Breitenbacher Kopf at an altitude of about 195 m above sea level. NN. It is difficult to access today because it is located in the damp floodplain of the Breitenbach , a tributary of the Mümling in the middle of a cattle pasture.

exploration

There are no written sources about the residents or about the complex itself. The history of the complex can only be deduced from observations on the few remaining wall remains, similarities to other buildings of this type, the location and a few archaeological investigations.

In the spring of 1988 two smaller search cuts were made inside the building, which yielded some ceramic shards. The walking horizon of the preserved stone basement consisted of a tamped clay floor , no traces of stone slabs were found.

investment

The historical classification and clarification of the function results mainly from observations on the preserved substance of the ruin. Since this is largely exposed to decay and parts have repeatedly collapsed over the past decades, old records of the condition are also instructive.

The building takes up an almost square area of ​​about 8.80 m by 10 m. The 60 to 70 cm thick masonry is almost only preserved on the west side. Remnants of the foundation are still visible on the other sides. There was a small ledge on the east side. The wall was reinforced here to up to 1.20 m, possibly an indication of an entrance above the stone basement, which was reached via a drawbridge. At the southwest corner was the rest of a half-shell tower . Since the masonry is deeply rooted by trees, it fell over a few years ago. The tower could have served as a stair tower to the upper floor. This should have been built in half-timbered construction.

Parts of a surrounding ditch can still be seen in the meadow area.

interpretation

Street view to the ruins of the Mühlhäuser Schlösschen

The construction of the stone basement is very similar to the Templar House in Amorbach and the Topplerschlösschen below Rothenburg . It is very likely that the Mühlhäuser Schlößchen is the seat of a low nobleman, possibly a castle man at the nearby Breuberg Castle . Other, very similar buildings are also not far from this: the so-called Bacheburg , the remains of the former moated castle at Neustädter Hof between Mömlingen and Eisenbach , which had a predecessor castle on the Schneirersbuckel only about 100 meters to the southwest , which had long been destroyed and abandoned .

Buildings of this type are widespread in the Franconian region. In terms of fortification, the so-called pond houses were limited to the location in a body of water and a drawbridge or an elevated entrance above the stone basement. The storey or storeys above were usually designed in half-timbered construction.

literature

  • Rudolf Knappe: Medieval castles in Hessen. 800 castles, castle ruins and fortifications. 3. Edition. Wartberg-Verlag, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2000, ISBN 3-86134-228-6 , p. 554.
  • Waldemar Stauth: The "Mühlhäuser Schlößchen". In: City of Breuberg (ed.): 1200 years of Rai-Breitenbach 798-1998. Breuberg, 1997 pp. 121-133.
  • Thomas Steinmetz: Late medieval residential towers in the Odenwald area. In: The Odenwald . Journal of the Breuberg-Bund vol. 41, 1994 pp. 87-90.
  • Hans Teubner and Sonja Bonin: Cultural monuments in Hesse. Odenwaldkreis, published by the State Office for Monument Preservation Hessen , Vieweg, Braunschweig / Wiesbaden 1998 ( Monument topography Federal Republic of Germany ) p. 224. ISBN 3-528-06242-8

Web links

Commons : Mühlhäuser Schlösschen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files