Altenstein Castle (Bad Liebenstein)
| Altenstein Castle | ||
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 The Altenstein around 1500 |
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| Creation time : | around 1250 | |
| Castle type : | Höhenburg, spur location | |
| Conservation status: | Ruin, remains of the tower and cellar | |
| Place: | Bad Liebenstein | |
| Geographical location | 50 ° 50 '7 " N , 10 ° 20' 57" E | |
| Height: | 450 m above sea level NN | |
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Altenstein Castle was a medieval spur castle at 450 m above sea level. NN near Schweina and Bad Liebenstein in the Thuringian Forest .
history
The name Old stone and some still below today's Castle Altenstein existing and parkland building remains recall a powerful medieval castle, one of the first stone-built castles in the middle Werra arose and around 1120 from the monastery of Fulda to the urfränkischen knights of stone (de Lapide) was taken.
The location was on the edge of the Breitungen mark and at the same time at the beginning of Schweinaer Straße, an old road across the Thuringian Forest . Both gave the castle a strategic importance. Against the family of Frankenstein, which flourished in the 12th century, the Altensteiners were defeated and left the castle to them; on what occasion is unknown.
The Franconian Stein Castle
Even during the Christianization of the Thuringians by the Apostles Kilian and Bonifatius , a Franconian fortification is said to have existed at the same place as the northern neighbor of the Frankenstein castles near Bad Salzungen and Frankenberg Castle near Helmers in the Rosatal . Archaeological evidence for this assumption has not yet been found.
Markgrafenstein opposite castle
Opposite the Stein Castle, the Ludowingers forced the construction of another castle, also known as the "New Stone" , on the Bonifacius rock in the 13th century . The name " Markgrafenstein " indicates that the later Landgraves from the House of Wettin were also Margraves of Meissen at the time the name was created.
The name Altenstein (de aniquo lapide) used for the first time in 1225 for the older castle complex and the associated burgraviate Altenstein , known to the population as the "Dornheckenamt", has remained in use to this day, while the counter-castle "Neuenstein" was rarely mentioned. Via the Lords of Frankenstein, Altenstein came into the possession of the Landgraves of Thuringia in 1346, who also owned Neuenstein Castle.
When the reformer Martin Luther passed Altenstein Castle on May 4, 1521 on his way home from the Reichstag in Worms , there was a castle complex already known as "Altenstein Castle", but apparently still medieval.
Destruction in the Markgräflerkrieg
During the Peasants' War, the "Markgrafenstein" was captured and destroyed by rebellious peasants. The Altenstein, however, remained untouched. The lords of the castle of Wenckheim had taken the side of the peasants as a pretense. Thirty years later, the castle, which had long since become militarily out of date, became the scene of the Second Margravial War .
In 1554 a marauding mercenary troop from the Margrave of Ansbach attacked the castle, plundered and devastated the complex. Reconstruction began three years later, on a more modest scale and in the Renaissance style . As part of the Wenckheim inheritance, the Altenstein office fell to the Dukes of Saxony-Meiningen in 1680 . The Altenstein went up in flames on March 27, 1733 as a result of an arson. From 1736 the dukes had the new Altenstein Castle built.
Archaeological research
- In connection with construction work in the cellars of the castle, a buried cistern was uncovered to a depth of 7 meters starting in 1995 . The most recent discovery of a bottle from around 1900 only proved that it was backfilled in the 20th century.
- Further excavations took place in the area of the outer bailey - now part of the terrace. Remnants of scorched grains and pottery came to light. One suspects the location of a grain drought as an accessory to the brewery.
- In 2000 it was possible to dig again under the dismantled eastern balustrades.
- In 2004 and 2005 it was possible to dig north of the terrace. The finds recovered there document the remains of buildings and phases of use from the 13th to 15th centuries.
literature
- Thomas Bienert: Bad Liebenstein, Altenstein Castle In: Medieval Castles in Thuringia, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2000, ISBN 3-86134-631-1 , p. 315
- Ludwig Hertel: Der Altenstein In: Lehfeldt, Paul / Voss, Georg (eds.): Architectural and art monuments of Thuringia, Duchy of Saxony-Meiningen, Booklet XXXV District Court District Salzungen Jena 1909. P. 31–40.
- Johann Georg Brückner: Regional Studies of the Duchy of Meiningen - Part Two - P. 3–68
- Werner Eberhardt: The Hohe Strasse between Salzungen and Gotha (Schweinaer Strasse) . In: Museum of Prehistory and Early History of Thuringia (ed.): Prehistory and local research . Issue 24. Weimar 1987, p. 27-33 .
- Walter Börner: Where did the old pass road near Bad Liebenstein run across the Thuringian Forest, where Luther's capture took place? In: Museum of Prehistory and Early History of Thuringia (ed.): Prehistory and local research . Issue 24. Weimar 1987, p. 34-44 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Michael Köhler: Thuringian castles and fortified prehistoric and early historical living spaces . Jenzig-Verlag, Jena 2001, ISBN 3-910141-43-9 , Altenstein, Stein, p. 54-55 .
- ^ Restored the eastern balustrade wall at Altenstein Castle . In: Thuringian castles information . No. 26. Weimar 2006, p. 13 .
- ^ Wartburg district, south . In: Sven Ostritz (Hrsg.): Archaeological hiking guide Thuringia . No. 12. Beier & Beran, Weimar 2011, ISBN 978-3-941171-41-1 , p. 60-61 .