Birkenfeld Castle
| Birkenfeld Castle | ||
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| Creation time : | 13th Century | |
| Castle type : | Niederungsburg | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Standing position : | Noble | |
| Place: | Birkenfeld (Nahe) | |
| Geographical location | 49 ° 38 '23 " N , 7 ° 9' 58" E | |
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The Birkenfeld Castle is a castle in the town of Birkenfeld (Nahe) in Rhineland-Palatinate , Germany .
History and origin of name
The name goes back to a Franconian settlement that stood out for its birch population . The settlement was mentioned for the first time in 981 in a church document, which also shows that the place Birkenfeld already existed around 700. At that time the area belonged to the Archdiocese of Trier and was administered by the Counts of Sponheim . After the county was divided in 1232, Birkenfeld belonged to the rear county. The seat of the rear county was Starkenburg Castle on the Moselle .
In the 13th century there were clashes between the Archbishops of Trier and the Counts of Sponheim, which reached their climax in the first half of the 14th century. Birkenfeld Castle was first mentioned in a document dated February 26, 1293 during this period.
From 1307 to 1354 Baldwin of Luxemburg was Archbishop of Trier. At the time Loretta , the widow of Heinrich II , who died in 1322, was Countess von Sponheim. In 1328 she succeeded in capturing Baldwin in order to force him to give up the Birkenfeld area. She succeeded in doing this after spending five weeks in captivity.
Your son and successor Johann III. married the Countess Palatine Mechthild from the Wittelsbach family in 1331 , who was a great-granddaughter of the former German King Rudolf von Habsburg and a niece of the then ruling German Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian . Probably as a favor for his relatives, Birkenfeld finally granted town charter in 1332 .
The bailiff for the then Birkenfeld office lived at Birkenfeld Castle, while the counts continued to have their seat at Starkenburg.
In 1417, the front and rear counties were reunited under Johann V. Since Johann V had no descendants, after his death the county fell to his relative Count Friedrich von Veldenz and the son of his deceased Baden cousin, Margrave Jakob I of Baden , who jointly took over the rule. After the death of Friedrich von Veldenz in 1444, his inheritance fell to his son-in-law , the Wittelsbacher Stephan von Pfalz-Zweibrücken and later to his son Friedrich I.
In 1584 Birkenfeld finally became the seat of government of a Palatinate-Wittelsbach duke, because Karl von Birkenfeld , the youngest son of Duke Wolfgang von Pfalz-Zweibrücken , founded the side line Pfalz-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld and called himself from then on Karl von Birkenfeld. Later all Bavarian kings who reigned from 1806 onwards come from this line , including the fairy tale king Ludwig II. In addition, Karl von Birkenfeld is also the direct ancestor of the later Empress Elisabeth of Austria .
Under Karl, the medieval Sponheim castle was expanded into a mighty Renaissance castle . Under his son Georg Wilhelm von Birkenfeld , the Birkenfeld region experienced an upswing, which was interrupted by the Thirty Years' War . After the death of Christian II von Birkenfeld , his son and successor Christian III inherited . of Pfalz-Zweibrücken, the Duchy of Zweibrücken and left Birkenfeld. The Birkenfeld Castle lost its importance as a result; the court was dissolved around 1720. From this point on, the buildings served only as apartments for officials and as storage for taxes in kind.
In 1776, the joint rule of the Margraves of Baden and the Dukes of Pfalz-Zweibrücken in Birkenfeld finally ended completely. As a result, the rear county of Sponheim was split up, so that only the Margraves of Baden were responsible for Birkenfeld. However, this rule only lasted until 1795. The latter count in Birkenfeld was the later Elector Karl Friedrich von Baden . Serfdom was abolished under his government and the Birkenfeld region experienced a tremendous economic and cultural boom. When the French were awarded the areas on the left bank of the Rhine in 1795, the Baden officials had to leave Birkenfeld and the place became French.
During the French rule, the castle was mainly used as a shelter for French troops and officials. In the summer of 1799 there was an unsuccessful attack by the so-called Birkenfeld gang in the castle, of which eight members of the robber gang were later executed in Trier. The buildings of the Birkenfeld Palace were auctioned off by the French in 1807, whereupon a Parisian dealer bought them and sold them on to the locals. The stones of the now decaying structures were used to build houses in Birkenfeld.
Today only a few ruins remain from the castle, including the former castle inn "Zum single Waidsack" and the castle gate. A youth hostel was built on the foundations of the former rectory in 1926 , but it was closed again in 1976; since then the building has served as a community center.
Birkenfeld Castle was an independent village until 1933.
architecture
The still preserved castle gate is a witness to the eventful history of the castle. It has been completely renovated by private individuals in recent years and is now used as a residential building . Above the gate are the names of the fallen soldiers from Birkenfeld Castle from the First World War and the saying “Stand up grandchildren and read the names with reverence”.
The so-called observation tower also belongs to the ruins. This tower offers a wonderful view over Birkenfeld and the Black Forest high forest . It was planned several times to add to the tower, but this has not yet been realized for reasons of monument protection and the lack of funding.
There is also a fountain on the site. This was buried for decades and was only exposed and restored in 1985. The well, which is now 25 m deep, is said to have originally been almost 63 m deep.
literature
- Alexander Thon, Stefan Ulrich and Achim Wendt: Castles in the Hunsrück and on the Nahe. "... where a mighty tower still looks down defiantly. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-7954-2493-0 , pp. 32–35.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e History of Birkenfeld Castle. In: burg-birkenfeld.org. February 26, 2012, accessed February 3, 2017 .
- ↑ a b c d e History of Birkenfeld Castle 2. In: burg-birkenfeld.org. Retrieved February 3, 2017 .
- ↑ a b c Pictures from today 1. In: burg-birkenfeld.org. Retrieved February 3, 2017 .
- ↑ Pictures from back then 1. In: burg-birkenfeld.org. Retrieved February 3, 2017 .
- ↑ Pictures from back then 2. In: burg-birkenfeld.org. Retrieved February 3, 2017 .
- ↑ Pictures from today 2. In: burg-birkenfeld.org. Retrieved February 3, 2017 .