Bramstedter Castle
The Bramstedter Castle in Bad Bramstedt in Schleswig-Holstein emerged from the noble estate of the same name . The main building of the castle was demolished in the 18th century, since then the name has been transferred to the former gatehouse of the estate, which was converted into a rococo-style residence in the 18th century. The building now serves as the city's cultural center.
historical overview
The Bramstedt estate developed out of a medieval manorial rule , the rights of a noble estate were given to the estate in Flecken Bramstedt in 1540. A special feature was that the estate was not originally owned by one of the Holstein nobles , but from the estate of Dirk Vaget or Dirick von Bramstedt, who owned various parts of the land, and later fell to the Chancellor of the Danish king named Caspar Fuchs. Another peculiarity was that not all of the land in the village belonged to the estate. The property was distributed in a patchwork quilt around Bramstedt and was not only managed by the landlord and his serfs, but also by free, so-called official farmers. This has led to repeated conflicts between the parties throughout the history of the property. Gerhard Steding succeeded Caspar Fuchs as the next owner, after whom the estate also became known as Stedingshof. In 1628 a fire destroyed the building stock of the courtyard.
The estate was sold in 1631 through the sale of Arend Steding to the Danish King Christian IV , who gave the property to his partner Wiebke Kruse in 1633 as a supply. The buildings were repaired for the king's mistress, and today's gatehouse also dates from this time. Whether and how often Wiebke Kruse stayed here has not been documented. After her death, the estate went to her daughter Elisabeth Sofie Christiansdatter Gyldenlöve as heir and through her to her husband and heir Claus von Ahlefeldt . The owners changed several times through sales or inheritance. Johann Gottfried von Kielmanseck , among others, followed the Ahlefeld . He attempted to force the free farmers of Bramstedt to labor on the estate, whereas they bought themselves out through the merger under the district manager Jürgen Fuhlendorf. Wiebeke Kruse's granddaughter sold the estate at the end of the 17th century and only retained the right to use the mill and the Gayen area for herself.
In the middle of the 17th century, the estate went to the Stolberg family , under whom the old castle and the building of the farmyard were largely demolished and the gate building was converted into a residential building instead. The Stolbergs sold the estate in 1797 to the poet lawyer Friedrich Ludwig Wilhelm Meyer , who lived there until his death. Until the estate was dissolved in the 19th century, the owners changed again several times, then the gatehouse, as a remnant of the former complex, went into the possession of the city of Bad Bramstedt.
The gatehouse is now used by the city administration as a meeting room, wedding room, city archive and as a cultural center where regular concerts and cabaret evenings are held.
The Bramstedt Castle
The destroyed old lock
The actual Bramstedter Castle was to the west of the gatehouse on the other side of the Hudau , which flows through the former farmyard in a north-south direction. It was a small castle, which was probably built in the 16th century and renovated for Wiebke Kruse around 1635 and the front was about thirteen meters wide. The exact shape of the building has not been passed down, only a few land maps of the area exist from the time up to its demolition in 1751. There are no more traces of the castle, at its location a few meters west of the Hudau there are houses today. Between the castle and the gatehouse to the east there was a farm yard with barns and stables, which were already demolished under the Stolberg counts in the 18th century. The former farm yard now forms the garden of the gatehouse.
Today's castle: the former gatehouse
The former gatehouse limited the castle grounds to the former village center Bramstedts, it is right on Bleeck, the anger-like central square. The gatehouse is a square, wide building made of brick, which was rebuilt around 1647 in the forms of the late Northern Renaissance . After the castle was demolished in the 18th century, parts of the equipment were installed in the gatehouse and the building, which was once used for agricultural purposes, was converted into a residential building, since then it has also been known as Bramstedt Castle. In contrast to the strict and largely undivided facades, the interiors were richly decorated in the Rococo style by the Italian plasterer CD Martini and a baroque staircase was built in. The ornate furnishings of the living rooms have largely been preserved to the present day.
literature
- Dehio: Handbook of the German Art Monuments Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein . Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-422-03033-6
- Henning von Rumohr: Castles and mansions in northern and western Holstein . Weidlich Verlag, Würzburg 1981, ISBN 3-8035-1135-6
Web links
Coordinates: 53 ° 55 '4.8 " N , 9 ° 52' 54.2" E