Ehrenstein Castle (Thuringia)
| Ehrenstein Castle | ||
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 Ehrenstein Castle |
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| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Standing position : | Count | |
| Place: | Ehrenstein | |
| Geographical location | 50 ° 45 '16 " N , 11 ° 10' 38" E | |
| Height: | 420 m above sea level NN | |
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The castle Ehrenstein is the castle ruins of the former Counts castle above Ehrenstein of the city, a district Stadtilm , in Ilm-Kreis in central Thuringia . The ruin of the hilltop castle is 420 m above sea level. NN on the western foothills of a limestone rock spur, the Buchenberg.
investment
The system is around 36 meters long and mostly around 11 meters wide, but only around 8 meters on the narrow west side. At the western end of the palace are the remains of a square tower. Whether it was actually a tower is disputed, as there are no remains of the final tower wall inside the palace. At the eastern end of the palace there is the well-preserved, massive keep , which was built in a particularly solid manner. This has the dimensions 7.0 × 10.5 meters, wall thickness 1.7 - 2.5 meters and is 25 meters high. In the lower part, the walls are up to 2.5 meters thick. The tower was accessed via the living rooms on the top floor of the central building. On the south side of the keep, the art-historically valuable outlet of a toilet dungeon located inside the keep ("internal toilet dungeon") is well preserved. The outer wall surrounding the kennel area is around 13 meters high. The interior of the palace building is divided into two residential parts by a wall. The hall is four stories high. The walls in the basement are up to 2.5 meters thick. In addition, there are remains of defensive structures in front, such as a circular wall with loopholes in the area of an internal gate at the keep, and a total of three round bastions. In the west, south and east it runs right along the edge of the rocky dome, in the north, where the terrain drops less steeply, it seems to have included the outer bailey and a farm yard. In the northwest, after part of the curtain wall fell, a short wall with two round bastions was built . The castle complex was shielded from the Buchenberg, which rises higher to the east, by a ditch and another wall.
The castle has structural similarities with the Ehrenburg and Liebenstein Castle , which are also located in the Ilm district.
Building history
Most of the remains of the wall today come from a construction phase in the 14th century. However, there are indications that the castle was built in the 12th century and that a weaker fortification existed before that.
Presumably the castle was owned by the Counts of Schwarzburg from the beginning . In 1275 it became the property of the Blankenburg line. A major expansion occurs in the middle of the 14th century, when Count Günther VVVIII. was imperial court master and court judge and his family experienced a high point of their importance. Nevertheless, Ehrenstein Castle was probably only the residence of the respective prince for a short time, it served as a border fortress against the Counts of Gleichen . The castle was besieged and taken in 1448 as part of the Black Castle House War and the Saxon Fratricidal War . Presumably it was the only act of war that took place in the castle. In the first half of the 16th century, under Wolf I, there were still a few modifications before the castle was pledged in 1587 and from then on fell into disrepair.
When the castle returned to Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt ownership in 1610, it was in poor condition: windows and metal parts were missing, roofs and walls were damaged, and the draw well was filled with rubble. The castle was uninhabited at the time. Only the Vorwerk served as the seat of the bailiff for the Ehrenstein office . In 1645 the main building was restored to be used as an office clerk's apartment. The first more precise description of the castle complex dates from this point in time: The entrance to the castle courtyard was in the northwest. Through it you first passed several farm buildings (horse stable, bakery) before you got to the main building, the top floor of which housed the clerk's office and living quarters. It is no longer possible to say exactly which of the buildings described were older and which were built in 1645. Presumably the entrance in the northwest was only created around this time, as the castle was previously entered through a portal in the north.
In 1661 the office was moved back to the front building, in 1686 the roof of the main house was repaired again, but in 1692 the castle was completely cleared. In the middle of the 18th century the roof structure was completely demolished in order to recycle the building material.
At the end of the 18th century a rethink began. Initially, the castle hill was embellished by planting trees and a new path to the castle was laid on the south side. A pavilion was built and the east tower made accessible as a lookout point with ladders and platforms. Around 1900 a castle community was founded to look after the ruins. Among other things, she repaired a room in the main house so that meetings could take place in it. The native and dialect poet Hugo Greiner wrote numerous literary works in 1903 that play around the Ehrenstein castle ruins and the village of Ehrenstein: "The Song of Ehrenstein", "The Gänseliesel von Ehrenstein" and "The Witch".
Ongoing repairs are still being carried out on the ruins. More followed at the end of the 20th century.
In 1995 it was transferred to the Thuringian Palaces and Gardens Foundation.
literature
- Thomas Bienert: Medieval castles in Thuringia. 430 castles, castle ruins and fortifications . Wartberg-Verlag, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2000, ISBN 3-86134-631-1 , p. 122: Ehrenstein .
- Michael Köhler: Thuringian castles and fortified prehistoric and early historical living spaces . Jenzig-Verlag Köhler, Jena 2001, ISBN 3-910141-43-9 , p. 90–91: Ehrenstein .
Web links
Remarks
- ^ Friedrich-Wilhelm Krahe: Castles of the Middle Ages. Floor plan lexicon. Bechtermünz-Verlag im Weltbild-Verlag, Augsburg 1996, ISBN 3-86047-219-4 , p. 165.
- ↑ http://www.thueringerschloesser.de/index.php?id=24