Altmühlzentrum
The Altmühlzentrum is a museum in parts of Dollnstein Castle and on the adjoining outdoor area, which is dedicated to the history of the place and the surrounding landscape.
Buildings
The museum is accessible via the lower courtyard. This is enclosed by a circular wall; access is only possible through a medieval gate tower. Its outer part dates from around 1490; Hook stones on the threshold of the archway indicate that there was once a drawbridge here. Its length of 3.40 meters can be made accessible through the height of the rectangular recess in the gate tower.
The inner part of the gate tower, which, like the curtain wall, dates from the first half of the 12th century, is older. The walls consist of carefully hewn stone blocks. The gate was once a chamber gate ; There are only four such buildings left in Bavaria . In 1419 the gate was transformed into a tower by adding two storeys. the time of this increase was determined dendrochronologically . It can be assumed that there was once a second outer bailey in the "Wehrwinkel" and, from today's Thorgasse, a corresponding entrance. The defensive walls of the two outer castles formed an oval around the entire complex. At the eastern end of the rock on which the castle is located, there was once a large farm.
The circular wall of the complex was created in several phases, which can be recognized through an "archaeological window". The foundation was placed on clay and made using a herringbone technique ( opus spicatum ) to prevent moisture from rising. Above this is the 11th century foundation of the first curtain wall, which in turn carries a block wall from the 12th century. A palace from the late 11th century was located on the site of today's Altmühl center. It was two stories high and eight meters wide; its original length of 13 meters was later extended to 21 meters. Parts of the eaves-side wall of this stone building have been preserved on the eaves side facing the Altmühl .
Dollnstein Castle, originally a low castle , later developed into a hilltop castle . It is not known what induced the Counts of Grögling / Dollnstein, who were in power until 1305, to undertake this transformation. The earliest known images of the hilltop castle were made at the time of the Lords of Heideck (1360–1440). This is a fresco of 1418 in the women's orchestra in Heideck and a seal of 1406. At that time the castle had a dungeon and a building whose gable end was facing the market. There was a stair tower in the courtyard.
Dollnstein was acquired in 1440 by Bishop Albrecht II for the Eichstätt Monastery. The castle was then expanded: the castle wall was raised and its battlements were bricked up. In 1444/45 the castle stables were added, in which the premises of the Altmühlzentrum are located today, and in 1490 at the latest the Kammertor received its porch to the market. The hilltop castle was now called a castle. The keepers of the prince-bishop's nursing and caste office in Dollnstein resided there before the hilltop castle was damaged in the Thirty Years' War and subsequently fell into disrepair.
After Dollnstein fell to Grand Duke Ferdinand of Tuscany in 1802, who was Elector of Salzburg , the castle complex was auctioned in 1804. Seven new owners used it as a quarry and building material supplier, only the stables escaped destruction because they could continue to be used. But even these buildings were threatened with decay towards the end of the 20th century. They were gradually bought by the market town of Dollnstein and expanded into the Altmühl center. On the upper floor, the old construction technology can be traced with the leafing of the framework and the slate roof .
Showrooms
The castles and manors of the Altmühltal Nature Park are documented in an exhibition room, and a section is dedicated to court offices and the medieval origins of various idioms as well as the architectural and local history of Dollnstein. Another room shows the castle's medieval heating system, which was used in the lower castle from 1250 to 1440. An old soot kitchen stands in contrast to this comfortable facility. Another part of the Altmühlzentrum is dedicated to the painter, photographer and architect Heinrich Ullmann .
The Dollnstein treasure trove takes up one room: In 2007 a pot was discovered in a floor of Dollnstein Castle, which contained 3742 silver coins as well as some jewelry and remains of fabrics. The majority of the coins are made up of hand-held coins , a considerable number also comes from Würzburg , other types of coins are less common. The Würzburg pfennigs, which were only struck around 1360, mark the earliest possible time for hiding the treasure. It is no longer possible to determine who has hidden the pot and why.
At a media station, visitors can find out about changes in the river valleys and traffic routes in the area. Bridge piles, among other things, are on display in the dendrochronology department. Josef Bauch was able to determine the year 167 AD for the Roman bridge over the Altmühl in today's Dollnstein. A medieval Altmühlbrücke was built in 1447. The age of various houses was also recorded using the dendrochronology method and documented in the Altmühlzentrum.
A river fish aquarium shows typical inhabitants of the Altmühl. The river was at times considered to be the river with the most fish in all of Germany; Fishing was a common occupation on the Altmühl. Other typical occupations in the area had to do with stone mining and the iron and steel works in the area. The Obereichstätter Hüttenwerk was in operation from 1411 and was not closed until 1932. Stove plates and a metal deer head from the rococo castle in Hirschberg testify to the work with metals in the Altmühlzentrum. The building materials of the Jura houses and lost monuments are also honored.
Another section of the Altmühlzentrum is dedicated to the poet Wolfram von Eschenbach and his criticism of the Dollnstein shopkeepers' carnival stalls. Replicas of Konrad Kyeser's war machines can be seen on a smaller scale in a glass building on the banks of the Altmühl, near a part of the Urdon valley that is also on display there.
literature
- Bernhard Eder, Sonja Hornung, Andreas Marggraf: Altmühlzentrum Burg Dollnstein. Selected objects. Lenting 2016.
Web links
- Museum website
- A lost castle. July 20, 2020, nordbayern.de
Coordinates: 48 ° 52 ′ 30.4 " N , 11 ° 4 ′ 22" E