Altenthann Castle

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Altenthann Castle
View of today's Sankt Veit church on the site of the castle stables

View of today's Sankt Veit church on the site of the castle stables

Alternative name (s): Thann Castle
Creation time : probably during the 11th century
Castle type : Höhenburg, spur location
Conservation status: Burgstall
Standing position : Reichsministeriale
Construction: Humpback cuboid
Place: Schwarzenbruck - Altenthann
Geographical location 49 ° 22 '5.7 "  N , 11 ° 18' 19.1"  E Coordinates: 49 ° 22 '5.7 "  N , 11 ° 18' 19.1"  E
Height: 432  m above sea level NN
Altenthann Castle (Bavaria)
Altenthann Castle

The castle Altenthann even Burgthann called, is an Outbound hilltop castle on 432  m above sea level. NN in Altenthann at the location of today's Ochenbrucker Straße 4 at the site of today's church in the municipality of Schwarzenbruck in the district of Nürnberger Land and is considered the headquarters of the Reichsministeriale von Altenthann.

history

One can recognize several phases of an early onset of castle construction. That was the result of excavations carried out in 2005. There are traces of a first castle, built from wood in the 11th century, which was replaced by a second castle, also made of wood, in the same century. This second castle was destroyed by fire. The finding coincides with the role of Altenthann Castle as one of the earliest (imperial) castles in the region, postulated by historical research. Hermann von Thann , the first tangible representative of the family, appeared as early as 1140 on a court day of King Conrad III. in Nuremberg under prominent Reich ministers like Otnand von Eschenau and Leupold von Gründlach . The family remained in service until after the interregnum and founded Burgthann Castle at a point in time that has not yet been clearly proven. The thesis of a castle built in Altenthann by order of the empire receives further nourishment from the excavation findings, which allow a residential tower with the internal dimensions of 9 by 10.5 meters to be reconstructed. This was built after stones that were found occasionally and in re-use from carefully hewn humpback blocks, as they were particularly popular with the empire for its representative buildings in this geographical area in the decades after 1160.

Today's church tower, repeatedly interpreted as the keep of the old castle, has nothing in common with the Hohenstaufen complex and, according to the excavation results, was supposedly built after the 15th century. The transition from the use of castles to chapels in the course of the 13th or 14th century can not be dated . The archaeologically proven Nikolauskapelle had a modest floor space and did not tie in with the previous castle phase. Rather, the valuable humpback cubes must have been removed, as this was the only way to create space for the small chapel. Several years or decades may have passed between the end of the castle's use and the construction of the first chapel. A chronological succession of Altenthann and Burgthann cannot be proven archaeologically; a temporary juxtaposition of the two castle complexes remains conceivable.

The building is designated by the Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments as an architectural monument (D-5-74-157-17) and ground monument (D-5-6633-0047).

literature

  • Volker Alberti, Toni Boesch, Horst Holz: Castles and palaces in Altdorf and the surrounding area, Schwarzachtal - aristocratic residences in Franconia . Published by the Altdorf City Archives, Altdorf 2004, ISBN 3-9809311-0-2 , pp. 56–59.
  • Robert Giersch, Andreas Schlunk, Berthold Frhr. von Haller: Castles and mansions in the Nuremberg countryside . Altnürnberger Landschaft, Lauf an der Pegnitz 2006, ISBN 978-3-00-020677-1 , pp. 27-28.

Web links

Commons : Parish Church St. Veit (Altenthann)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Source history: Robert Giersch, Andreas Schlunk, Berthold Frhr. von Haller: Castles and mansions in the Nuremberg countryside , p. 27 ff.