Arnesvelde Castle

Arnesvelde Castle
Arnesvelde Castle, depiction from 1897 based on the model of the castle on the Rantzau board from 1587
Alternative name (s):	Arx Arnsburga, Arnesfelde Castle, Aarnsburga
Creation time :	probably 2nd half of the 11th century
Place:	Ahrensburg
Geographical location	53 ° 39 '28.8 "  N , 10 ° 13' 10.5"  E Coordinates: 53 ° 39 '28.8 "  N , 10 ° 13' 10.5"  E

The castle Arnesvelde (also Arx Arnsburga ) was a medieval Castle of the Counts. Their remains are near Ahrensburg , northeast of Hamburg in the nature and excavation reserve Stellmoor-Ahrensburg Tunneltal . The name of the castle is derived from the neighboring village of Ahrensfelde .

Archaeological excavations have not yet been carried out, which is why much information is fraught with uncertainty.

history

Contrary to what was previously assumed, there was never a refuge from the time of the Revolutionary Wars in the 10th century on the site . Arnesvelde Castle was probably built in the second half of the 11th century in order to manage the northeast of Stormarn by a Vogt and to secure the long distance route between Hamburg and Lübeck . The builder was probably Count Heinrich I of Hamburg , who presumably ruled from 1059 to 1098. The castle later became the property of the Counts of Holstein-Schaumburg.

The name Arnesvelde was first mentioned in a document in 1195. At this time, Count Adolf III gave away . from Holstein the village of Arnesvelde to the Hamburg cathedral chapter. Since the Danish king Waldemar II conquered the country in 1202 , the donation was never carried out. Count Adolf IV , other princes as well as the Hanseatic cities of Hamburg and Lübeck defeated Waldemar near Bornhöved in 1227 and ended the Danish occupation.

In 1295 the castle is the seat of a son of Heinrich I, Count of Holstein and Schauenburg, "Nicolaus de Arnesvelde". In the beginning of the 14th century, inheritance claims lead to disputes from which Count Johann III. emerges from the Plön line as the winner and settles at Arnesvelde Castle.

Around 1300 the catchment area of ​​the castle is at a high point: at that time it should have included the parishes of Alt Rahlstedt, Bargteheide, Kirchsteinbek, Sülfeld and Trittau, i.e. around 100 villages. In 1306, Lübeck and Hamburg join forces to destroy the castle, which, however, is not carried out.

In 1327, the Schauenburg count Johann III. his dominions with the Cistercian monastery Reinfeld and moves the seat of his bailiff to the newly built Trittau Castle . As a result, Arnesvelde Castle was probably given up.

In 1567 the Danish King Friedrich II bought the castle and the property belonging to it and two years later transferred it to his general Daniel Rantzau because of his excellent war aid against Sweden. However, he died only two years later.

From around 1575 onwards, his brother and heir Peter Rantzau had the mansion Ahrensburg Castle built several kilometers away - according to the story, from the stones of Arnesvelde Castle. At least he refers to the castle ruins in the Hagen Forest with the name of his estate Ahrensburg , the remains of which were probably demolished by this time at the latest.

construction

Arnesvelde Castle in the 11th century, attempt at a reconstruction

Arnesvelde Castle is a multi-part facility on a headland in the Hagen Forest on the east side of the Hopfenbach Valley . It was built on the edge of the now silted up Ahrensfeld pond, whereby the oval castle hill with the main castle was laid out like an island. On the west side there was a ramp in the direction of the Ahrensfeld pond, the exact function of which is unknown. The main castle was probably connected to the bank by a bridge.

On the bank side an outer wall with a moat was built around the castle hill. The area between the outer wall and the main castle was probably undeveloped and probably served military purposes. In the outer wall, which was presumably fortified with a palisade , there was a gate on the east side.

Only later was an outer bailey or an inner wall 80 meters in diameter to the east of the main castle and another hill to the north of the castle hill, on which there was probably a tower hill castle (Motte) . The outer bailey also had a gate on the east side and was probably fortified with a palisade. Boulders are only likely to have been used sporadically, the use of bricks in Arnesvelde Castle is documented by surface finds, but cannot be classified due to the lack of excavations. For fortifications in the region, bricks are only documented in the Danewerk for the year 1160 . For (later) above-ground buildings such as B. No reliable information is possible for farm buildings. Today the earth walls of the 6 hectare facility can still be seen.

Triva

The coat of arms of the city of Ahrensburg shows the Arnesvelde castle in the upper coat of arms.

Web links

Commons : Burg Arnesvelde  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Arnesvelde Castle in the Stormarn lexicon of the district archive

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Sign “Life after the Cold Age” on the moor bridge: “The name is derived from the neighboring village of Ahrensfelde, which is therefore older than the castle.” Set up in 2019, content: Archaeological Museum Hamburg, design: Nicole Laka and macrovector
2. ↑ Sign “Life after the Cold Age” on the moor bridge: “Archaeological excavations have not yet been carried out. Therefore, the structural structures and their function and the expansion phases are so far undefined. ” Set up in 2019, content: Archäologisches Museum Hamburg, design: Nicole Laka and macrovector
3. ↑ Günther Bock, Burkhard von Hennigs: Arnesvelde Castle. In: Stormarn Lexicon. Stormarn district archive, July 26, 2019, accessed on May 31, 2020 . 
4. ↑ Inscription on a former sign at the original location of the State Office for Prehistory and Early History of Schleswig-Holstein (LVF) - Upper Monument Protection Authority, established in 1995
5. ↑ Sign “A castle from the Middle Ages” at Arnesvelde Castle, set up: 2019, text: Kai de Graaf and Günter Bock
6. ↑ Günther Bock, Burkhard von Hennigs: Arnesvelde Castle. In: Stormarn Lexicon. Stormarn district archive, July 26, 2019, accessed on May 31, 2020 . 
7. ↑ Sign “A castle from the Middle Ages” at Arnesvelde Castle, set up: 2019, text: Kai de Graaf and Günter Bock
8. ↑ Inscription on a former sign at the original location of the State Office for Prehistory and Early History of Schleswig-Holstein (LVF) - Upper Monument Protection Authority, established in 1995
9. ↑ Günther Bock, Burkhard von Hennigs: Arnesvelde Castle. In: Stormarn Lexicon. Stormarn district archive, July 26, 2019, accessed on May 31, 2020 . 
10. ↑ Inscription on a former sign at the original location of the State Office for Prehistory and Early History of Schleswig-Holstein (LVF) - Upper Monument Protection Authority, established in 1995
11. ↑ Sign “A castle from the Middle Ages” at Arnesvelde Castle, set up: 2019, text: Kai de Graaf and Günter Bock
12. ↑ Sign “Life after the Cold Age” on the moor bridge: “Only a few boulders may have been used. Bricks were first detected north of the Elbe around 1160 for the Waldemars wall of the fortress “Danewerk” near Schleswig. ”Established in 2019, content: Archaeological Museum Hamburg, design: Nicole Laka and macrovector
13. ↑ Günther Bock, Burkhard von Hennigs: Arnesvelde Castle. In: Stormarn Lexicon. Stormarn district archive, July 26, 2019, accessed on May 31, 2020 .