Altenwalder Castle
| Altenwalder Castle | ||
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| Creation time : | 8th century | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | Leftovers | |
| Place: | Cuxhaven - Altenwalde | |
| Geographical location | 53 ° 49 '22.1 " N , 8 ° 39' 35.1" E | |
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The Altenwalder Castle on the Altenwalder Höhe (above Karl-Grote-Platz) in Altenwalde , a current district of Cuxhaven in Lower Saxony , was a Germanic hilltop castle on an old Saxon burial ground that was covered with urns from the 3rd to the 8th century.
history
From the 3rd to the 8th century there was an old Saxon burial ground with urn burials. The cremation of the corpses was given up with the Christianization of the land of Hadeln ( Haduloha or Hatheleria ) around 790 and the deceased were then buried in body graves . In addition to numerous urn finds, a Roman silver bowl is significant, which is now in the Lower Saxony State Museum in Hanover .
The urn cemetery was built over. The Franconian- Carolingian Altenwalder Castle was then laid out on the raised area (37.5 m above sea level) based on the Roman model. It was probably the northernmost Frankish fortification. The castle was built during or after the Saxon Wars from 772 to 804, and was probably built around 797 at the time of the Frankish King Karl .
It was 60 × 90 meters in size and consisted mostly of wood-clad earth walls and a surrounding ditch. Presumably it served to ward off the Viking raids on the coast, which were frequent at this time (see also the history of Hadeln and Wursten ). It should also secure the now silted up port of Wolde , later Oldenwolde (mentioned in 1348), as well as the trade route to Holstein (North Albingia) and the Baltic Sea area.
During the reign (814-840) of Emperor Ludwig the Pious , the castle went to the Archbishop of Bremen ( Archdiocese of Bremen ). It is said to have only existed for a relatively short period of time. The castle was first mentioned in 1282 together with Wolde . The remnants of the rectangular ramparts on the Altenwalder Höhe were affected by the First and Second World Wars.
literature
- Winfriet Sievert: Chronicle of Altenwalde. Parish, large community, district , Cuxhaven 1994
- Ernst Künzl: The late antique bowl from Altenwalde . In: The customer . Journal of Lower Saxony Archeology. New Series, Volume 30 (1979), pages 133-149.
- Karl Waller: The cemetery of Altenwalde . Kreis Land Hadeln, publisher: Hamburgisches Museum für Völkerkunde, 5th supplement to the Atlas of Prehistory, Hamburg 1957.
Individual evidence
- ^ Maren Reese-Winne: Traces of early settlements on every square meter . In: Cuxhavener Nachrichten of May 24, 2012.
- ↑ According to excavations from around 1900.
- ^ Basis: Archaeological finds
- ↑ Cuxpedia: Altenwalder castle .
- ↑ Cuxhavener Nachrichten of March 1st, 2012: Altenwalder Burg: Maybe even a tower?