Bunkenburg
| Bunkenburg | ||
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 Part of the ring wall, the only remaining visible part of the Bunkenburg |
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| Creation time : | around 1300 | |
| Castle type : | Niederungsburg | |
| Conservation status: | Burgstall | |
| Standing position : | Lower nobility, knight | |
| Construction: | Lawn iron stone | |
| Place: | Ahlden | |
| Geographical location | 52 ° 45 '41.4 " N , 9 ° 33' 31.2" E | |
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The Bunkenburg was a low castle existing in the 13th and 14th centuries in the form of a ring wall , which was on the Aller opposite Ahlden . Today only a 60 m long and 3 m high wall piece is left of it. The castle name is probably derived from the building material used in the form of lawn iron stone , which was popularly referred to as Bunke.
location
The castle stable of the Niederungsburg is located on the northern bank of the Aller river on a flat elevation at an important crossing point in the Middle Ages. Over the centuries, the body of water shifted its river bed and thus became the Leine and is now the old arm of the Leine. Opposite the former castle complex on the other side of the river are Schloss Ahlden and Ort Ahlden. The fortification was built in the lower area of the Aller- Urstromtal . A state road has cut it since the 1980s .
description
The castle complex consisted of an oval ring wall around 150 m in diameter. Today a 60 long, 20 m wide and 3 m high section has been preserved. It has tall trees and is north of the state road. An earlier wood / earth construction with a height of 4 m is presumed to exist at the wall. Remains of buildings can no longer be found inside the wall; they are said to have been removed in the 17th century for the construction of the Ahlden Castle opposite. In terms of the ground plan, it was not a typical Niederungsburg , but rather a Burgmann settlement with several knight seats within the ring wall.
Long after the decline of the Bunkenburg, a brewery was built by the princely administration around 1700 on a southern wall piece . It was not privatized until the 19th century and served as a beverage company in the mid-20th century. Today it is a residential building.
Excavations
Due to the planned road construction right through the castle complex, archaeological excavations took place in 1976 and 1982 . A fortification trench and a post pit were discovered. The found pottery could be attributed to the 13th and 14th centuries. Inside the mound and shards from the time of the 9 were - 11th century and a storage building found. It could have been the Alt-Ahlden, mentioned in 1295, which fell in a desolate way and the castle wall was later built over the remains.
history
The development of the castle can be seen in connection with the expansion of the dominion of the Principality of Lüneburg in the 14th century to the west. At that time, Ahlden was owned by the diocese of Minden . The Bunkenburg was built on the state border and secured the waterway on the Aller. In 1431 Ahlden was taken by the dukes of Lüneburg.
There is only a sparse documentary record about the castle. 1310 Burgmannen from the lower nobility of the area are named on her , including those of Ahlden. The knight Johann von Escherde is named as bailiff . The castle was last mentioned in a document in 1340. In the course of the 14th century it apparently lost its importance and the castle men migrated to Rethem Castle , where the names of their families can later be found.
Similar fortifications in the vicinity
In the lower area of the Aller there were a number of other medieval castles, some of a similar design, which existed only a few kilometers apart. These include fortifications in Bierde ( Bierde Castle ), Essel ( Blankenburg Castle ) ( Uhlenburg ), Hodenhagen ( Hodenhagen Castle ), Rethem (Aller) ( Rethem Castle ), Grethem ( Blankenhagen Castle ).
literature
- Rainer Hendricks: History of the area Ahlden on the Aller . Ahlden 2006, ISBN 3-00-019428-2 .
- District of Soltau-Fallingbostel (Hrsg.): Castles in the river. Bad Fallingbostel 2005, ISBN 3-00-017281-5 .
Web links
- Entry by Stefan Eismann zu Bunkenburg in the scientific database " EBIDAT " of the European Castle Institute