Bilstein Castle (Lennestadt)
| Bilstein Castle | ||
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 Aerial view of the castle |
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| Creation time : | 1202 to 1225 | |
| Castle type : | Höhenburg, spur location | |
| Conservation status: | Receive | |
| Standing position : | Nobles | |
| Place: | Lennestadt - Bilstein | |
| Geographical location | 51 ° 5 '46.5 " N , 8 ° 1' 9.5" E | |
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The Bilstein Castle is a hilltop castle in the Sauerland . It is located in the Bilstein district of the city of Lennestadt . The building has served as a youth hostel since 1927 .
Origin of name
The word Bilstein (as well as linguistically related names such as Beilstein, Bielstein etc.) is not uncommon as a hallway and place name. According to Förstemann, it means something like "a steep or outstanding stone". This description undoubtedly applies to the rock tongue of the Bilsteiner Burgberg. Thus, the name of the mountain made of keratophyr (greenish volcanic rock) probably passed on to the castle and the adjacent settlement. Deviating explanations, however, lead the name back to a hunting ground, an idol or the Old High German name billi for sword.
Castle complex
Bilstein Castle is a spur castle on a foothill of the adjacent Rosenberg. This drops off steeply on three sides, so that the defenses of the castle had to be aligned to the mountain in a north-easterly direction. The look of the castle is therefore dominated by the two round towers, each about eight meters in diameter: the chapel tower in the northwest and the Hohnekampturm in the southeast. The towers are connected by a tunnel running under the courtyard , above ground an archway built at the beginning of the 20th century spans.
The north-western wing of the main castle and the central building in the south-west are historical buildings. The wing in the southeast, on the other hand, was built in 1978 to expand the youth hostel. In front of the central building there is a Söller on the valley side , on which a linden tree that can be seen from afar grows.
Nowadays, a brick bridge connects the main castle and the outer bailey over the partially filled, 15 m wide neck ditch . The latter comprises three buildings, which are known as the gatehouse , half-timbered house and celebration hall.
history
The beginnings
Bilstein Castle was built on the Rosenberg between 1202 and 1225 under the direction of nobleman Dietrich II von Gevore . The oldest known mention of Bilstein Castle can be found in a document from 1225. In it Count Gottfried II. Von Arnsberg testifies that Lord Dietrich von Bilstein sold his own Seringhausen estate near Erwitte to the Rumbeck monastery .
The seat of the Lords of Gevore was originally the Peperburg Castle in Grevenbrück , a few kilometers away , which, however, was abandoned in the middle of the 12th century for unknown reasons. One thesis says that the nobility had withdrawn to their hunting grounds. Dietrich II von Gevore called himself Dietrich I von Bilstein from then on .
In 1363 the castle became the property of the Counts of the Mark .
Kurkölner time
During the feud of Soest , Kurköln was able to take the castle without a fight on October 24, 1445 after a siege lasting several weeks. A truce had been concluded a week earlier. Archbishop Dietrich II von Moers confirmed the Bilsteiners' rights and freedoms on the day of the capture . The castle remained in the possession of Kurkölner until the secularization in 1802 and became the seat of the office of Bilstein . As a representative of the Archbishop of Cologne, the official rust resided there . The important Paderborn prince-bishop Ferdinand von Fürstenberg was born at Bilstein Castle in 1626 .
Prussian time
In 1802, after the dissolution of Kurköln , the area around the castle was initially assigned to the Landgraviate of Hessen-Kassel . Later, from 1816, it belonged to Prussia . The castle was the seat of the Bilstein district from January 16, 1817 to December 31, 1818 , before administration was relocated to Olpe in 1819 . The forest administration was housed there until 1920.
today
Since 1927 a youth hostel has been located in the castle building, which has been owned by the German Youth Hostel Association since 1979 . In 1978 the left side wing was completely rebuilt because it was devastated by a fire. It houses most of the guest rooms and two day rooms.
In addition to the youth hostel operation, fantasy role-playing events such as LARP , conventions and the like have also been held regularly for years at Bilstein Castle . These include, for example, events for the table role-playing game Das Schwarze Auge , in which characters from the role-playing game are embodied by game authors and amateur actors.
Surroundings
The castle is accessed by a road from the western entrance to Bilstein. A parking lot for cars and buses is at the foot of the castle. A walkway with a 99-step staircase leads hikers to the castle.
Several hiking trails lead past the castle, for example the Siegerlandweg (X5) and the Robert-Kolb-Weg (X6). Both routes are the main hiking routes of the Sauerland Mountain Association . There is also the Rosenberg circular route with the sign “O” and a hiking trail to the Jäckelchen with the sign “U”. Likewise, the Veischeder Sonnenpfad "V", which circles the Veischedetal for 36 km, leads along the castle (certified as a quality trail Wanderable Germany since 2013). The Dorfgemeinschaft Freiheit Bilstein eV has also published a leaflet showing six different hiking routes through the Bilsteiner Land.
literature
- Günther Becker and Hans Mieles: Bilstein - Land, Burg and Ort . Festival book for the 750th anniversary of Bilstein Castle, Lennestadt 1975.
- Günther Becker: Guide through Bilstein and the surrounding area , Tourist Association Bilstein-Kirchveischede eV, 1968.
- Günther Becker: Hiking guide Bilstein Youth Hostel, Westphalia-Lippe Youth Hostel Association, Hagen 1968.
- Herbert Evers: Bilstein and its surroundings , FX Rügenberg, Olpe 1950.
- Albert Kleffmann : Festival book for the seventh century of the freedom of the palace a. Herrschaft Bilstein - Westphalia, 1925 , published on behalf of the Festival Committee, Bilstein, 1925.
- Uwe Lobbedey: Bilstein Castle ( Westfälische Kunststätten , issue 19), Münster 1982
- Christiane Mirgel: Bilstein Youth Castle 1947–1954 - The Path to Democracy , publisher: the senior district director of the Olpe district, district archive , Olpe 1992, ISSN 0177-8153 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ E. Forstemann, Altdeutsches Namenbuch II, 1st half, Bonn 1913, Sp. 451ff.
- ↑ Günther Becker, Hans Mieles: The name "Bilstein", from Bilstein Land, Burg and Ort, p. 206ff., Lennestadt, 1975
- ↑ Theo Hundt: Bilstein over the centuries. In: Günther Becker, Hans Mieles: Bilstein Land, Burg and Ort, pp. 185ff., Lennestadt, 1975
- ↑ Günther Becker, Hans Mieles: The first documentary mention of Bilstein Castle, from Bilstein Land, Burg and Ort, p. 35, Lennestadt, 1975 and Münster State Archives, Rumbeck Abbey, document 14
- ↑ Markus Quast: The history of Bilstein Castle.
- ↑ Hans Mieles: Das Märkisch-Klevische interlude, from Bilstein Land, Burg und Ort, p. 67ff., Lennestadt, 1975
- ^ Entry by Jens Friedhoff zu Bilstein im Sauerland in the scientific database "EBIDAT" of the European Castle Institute
Web links
- Entry by Jens Friedhoff zu Bilstein im Sauerland in the scientific database " EBIDAT " of the European Castle Institute
- Bilstein Youth Hostel