Balduinstein Castle

Balduinstein Castle
Balduinstein Castle via Balduinstein on the Lahn
Creation time :	from 1319
Castle type :	Höhenburg, rocky location
Conservation status:	ruin
Standing position :	archbishop
Place:	Balduinstein
Geographical location	50 ° 20 '39 "  N , 7 ° 58' 25"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 20 '39 "  N , 7 ° 58' 25"  E

The castle Balduinstein is the medieval ruins of a rock castle in Balduinstein in Rhein-Lahn-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate . It is privately owned, its outbuildings are used as a youth castle and the ruin is occasionally a venue for events.

location

The castle lies on a rock above Balduinstein and the lower Lahn . Not far from the castle is the Schaumburg Castle and the octagonal port tower .

history

The castle goes back to Archbishop Balduin von Trier , who began building a fortress below the Schaumburg in 1319 , where the Lords of Westerburg , who were enemies with him, resided. The town was granted town charter in 1321 by Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian . Baldwin elevated the settlement to office and handed over office and castle to the knight Dietrich von Staffel in 1335 . In 1339 Baldwin pawned the castle to Dietrich von Staffel. The Ritter von Staffel remained in possession of the castle until they died out in the male line in 1683.

With the construction of the Niederburg in 1443 within the city, Balduinstein Castle increasingly lost its importance. After several phases of expansion of the castle in the 14th and 15th centuries and the connection to the city fortifications, it began to decline in the middle of the 17th century. After the end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648, the Elector of Trier granted the demolition permit in 1665, and in 1680 only the walls were standing.

After the knights of Staffel died out, the castle was pledged to the knights of Reifenberg and the knights of Eltz-Rübenach . In the 19th century the castle ruins were used as a quarry.

Use as a youth castle

The 19th century villa on the castle grounds and its outbuildings have been used as the Balduinstein youth castle since 1974 . The youth castle is a self-catering house for scouts and bündische groups.

In 2013, it became known that minors had been sexually abused on the premises . Initially, a 37-year-old was sentenced to two years and six months for molesting several boys in the castle. A year later, a 54-year-old accomplice of the 37-year-old was convicted. In both trials, a system of abuse was revealed, the perpetrators of which came from the immediate vicinity of the occupation of the castle's sponsoring association.

investment

Balduinstein Castle is one of the spur castles and has an oval floor plan. The outer walls, which are up to 1.60 meters thick, have been partially preserved. The foundation walls of the three-story residential building are still standing . The remains of a small tower have been preserved in the southwest corner of the castle. On the north side, the castle was protected by a neck moat that has been preserved to this day , and on the north-west side by a lower-lying kennel . As is typical of the castles of the late Middle Ages, there is no keep .

literature

• Alexander Thon, Stefan Ulrich, Jens Friedhoff : "Decided with strong iron chains and bolts ...". Castles on the Lahn . Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-7954-2000-0 , pp. 22-27.
• Alexander Thon: “… di nante he alle after sime names.” Balduinseck and Balduinstein - two castles of Archbishop Baldwin of Trier (1307-1354) in comparison. In: General Directorate for Cultural Heritage (Hrsg.): Stadt und Burg am Mittelrhein (1000-1600). (Fascination Middle Ages, 1). red. by Beate Dorfey. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-7954-2072-7 , pp. 167-179.
• Gilbert and Christa Haufs-Brusberg: Balduin's castles . Spee, Trier 1999, ISBN 3-87760-059-X .
• Magnus Backes: Castles and palaces on the Lahn and in the Taunus . Neuwied 1962, DNB 450200078 .

Web links

Commons : Balduinstein Castle  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Balduinstein on the burgenwelt.de site
• Balduinstein youth castle
• Reconstruction drawing by Wolfgang Braun

Individual evidence

1. ↑ "Boys abused at Balduinstein Castle" . Rhein-Zeitung from June 6, 2014
2. ↑ “They called it a secret society” . taz from June 12, 2013