Altenburg (Märstetten)

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Altenburg
Altenburg ruins

Altenburg ruins

Creation time : Beginning around 800
Castle type : Hilltop castle
Conservation status: ruin
Place: Märstetten
Geographical location 47 ° 36 '3 "  N , 9 ° 5' 4"  E Coordinates: 47 ° 36 '3 "  N , 9 ° 5' 4"  E ; CH1903:  723,765  /  two hundred and seventy-three thousand five hundred and thirty-six
Altenburg (Canton of Thurgau)
Altenburg

The Altenburg is the ruin of a hilltop castle in the Thurgau municipality of Märstetten in Switzerland . It is the oldest stone castle in the canton of Thurgau and is also one of the oldest stone castles in Switzerland. It was built around 800 to 1200 AD and expanded again and again. Two larger archaeological excavations (1901 to 1910 and 2014/2015) have brought interesting findings.

location

The remains of the castle lie on a small, wooded hill northeast of the community and east of the Klingenmühle just a few meters south of the Chemibach and can only be reached on foot via a wooden bridge.

history

The builders of the castle are not known. However, based on some finds, it is assumed that it was the sex of those of blades . The castle was abandoned around the year 1200 AD. It was precisely at this time that the headquarters of von Klingen, Altenklingen Castle , was built in the neighboring municipality of Wigoltingen .

Archaeological digs

1st excavation

Information boards at the Altenburg ruins

The first excavations were carried out in 1901 by advanced training students. They exposed the remains of the wall on the hill plateau. In 1910 the Swiss National Museum got involved and the excavations were completed under his direction. A detailed plan of the castle complex was drawn up. The few finds (broken glass, lid of a box, coin) were transferred to Zurich . The beautifully crafted lid, which was decorated with a lion, is worth mentioning. Since the lion was the heraldic animal of those of blades, it is assumed that these were builders and residents of the castle. The lid was later stolen from the museum and has not been found. The excavated parts of the wall crumbled over time and nature overgrown the complex again.

2nd dig

In 2014/2015, new excavations were initiated by the Office for Archeology of the Canton of Thurgau, supported by the political community and the community of Märstetten. Parts of the walls were restored and reconstructed. The few finds that were made during the excavations suggest that the castle was deliberately abandoned and cleared. The luxurious nature of the finds also led to the conclusion that the castle residents were important and wealthy contemporaries.

description

The castle, oriented north-south as an unequal rectangle with a rounded south-west corner, had a stone building to the east, which was probably used as a chapel and was decorated with paintings. A wooden pit house was found to the northwest . There was a well north of the stone house . In the south there was another small building, on the area of ​​which the keep was later built. A moat was dug to the east . A wooden palisade is assumed.

A second phase is evidenced with the erection of a stone castle wall . As is often the case, the east wall of the stone building was integrated into the castle wall.

In a further construction phase, a palas twice as large was added to the north of the stone building, which adjoined the castle wall to the north and east and integrated the fountain. The keep was built in the south in the south-east corner and this part was separated from the castle by an intermediate wall to the west as a forecourt or kennel . To the west along the castle wall in the Zwinger, further small stone buildings were built, the pit house was also set in stone. Presumably for structural reasons, the tower had to be reinforced, as the excavations showed.

In a final construction phase, the tower was enlarged with thicker walls and an almost double floor plan, moved just a few meters northwest into the castle, and rebuilt. The southern kennel was necessarily redesigned and enlarged. The exact location of the entrance to the castle has not been established, but it can be assumed in the south only a few meters from the keep. The ground level access to the Palas on the west side was walled up and upgraded with a wide staircase directly to the first floor.

literature

  • Albin Hasenfratz: The Altenburg near Märstetten TG - headquarters of the Lords of Klingen? In: Middle Ages: Journal of the Swiss Castle Association, 13, 2008, pp. 53–60. Digitized
  • A. Michel: Altenburg-Märstetten. In: Thurgauische contributions to patriotic history , Volume 52, 1912, pp. 72–75. Digitized
  • A. Michel: The excavation of the Altenburg near Märstetten. In: Thurgauische contributions to patriotic history, Volume 46, 1906, pp. 81–86. Digitized

Web links

Commons : Altenburg (Märstetten)  - Collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Information boards by the ruin
  2. ↑ Kreuzlinger Nachrichten , May 30, 2016: With the Altenburg ruins, Märstetten has one more jewel.