Eppstein Castle
| Eppstein Castle | ||
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 The ruins of the castle in 2002. |
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| Creation time : | 10th century | |
| Castle type : | Höhenburg, spur location | |
| Conservation status: | Keep, wing in the east half, enclosing walls | |
| Place: | Eppstein | |
| Geographical location | 50 ° 8 '25.5 " N , 8 ° 23' 35.3" E | |
| Height: | 200 m above sea level NHN | |
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The Burg Eppstein is the ruins of a hilltop castle on 200 m above sea level. NN above the Hessian town of Eppstein in the Main-Taunus district . Erected on the rocky spur of a mountain ridge and separated from the ridge by a neck ditch , it represents a typical spur castle . It was the main residence of the Lords of Eppstein , who named themselves after their ancestral castle.
By the beginning of the 14th century, a settlement had formed at the foot of the castle, which was granted city rights in 1318. The present-day town of Eppstein grew out of it.
Residents and owners
Building archaeological investigations carried out in the area around the palace show that the castle was founded in the 10th century. It was built as an imperial castle to secure the border and was first mentioned in a document in 1122. Only two years after it was first mentioned, Emperor Heinrich V donated one half to the Archbishopric of Mainz , which shortly afterwards was also able to bring the other half into its possession.
At the end of the 12th century the castle came to the Lords of Hainhausen as a fief . From then on, they called themselves Herren von Eppstein after their new residence and made the complex the center of their territory. After the Eppstein family split into two lines, the facility was owned by the Eppstein- Münzenberg line from 1433 .
As early as 1492, the Lords of Eppstein had to sell the western half of the castle to the Landgraviate of Hesse due to financial difficulties . This had its part expanded and rebuilt like a castle and set up an administrative center there. When Eberhard IV von Eppstein-Königstein, the last male representative of the family, died in 1535, the remaining eastern half of Eppstein Castle first fell to the Counts of Stolberg and then in 1581 to Kurmainz , who managed its numerous properties from the Eppstein heritage from here .
After the reorganization of Germany in 1803, Eppstein Castle fell to the Duchy of Nassau . Since the former Hessian half had been vacant since 1776, these buildings were derelict and no longer habitable. Nassau therefore auctioned the facility for demolition in 1804. The new private owner left the buildings until 1823 - with the exception of one building in the east, which was previously u. a. had housed the armory and was serving as a Catholic church at the time - lay down to use the stones as building material.
In 1824 the Austrian baron Franz Maria von Carnea-Steffaneo di Tapogliano zu Kronheim and Eppenstein bought the ruins because he mistakenly believed himself to be a descendant of the Lords of Eppstein. A descendant - Franz Maria von Carnea-Steffaneo died in 1825 - sold it to Count Otto zu Stolberg-Wernigerode in 1869 . His son Christian-Ernst zu Stolberg-Wernigerode had the remains uncovered and secured from 1906 under the direction of the architect Franz Burkhard , in order to donate them to the city of Eppstein in 1929.
Supported by the Main-Taunus-Kreis, the Hessian State Office for Monument Preservation , as well as sponsors and the Burgverein Eppstein eV , Eppstein's landmark has been continuously renovated by the city since 1968 in order to preserve it.
description
The structure of Eppstein Castle preserved today mainly dates from the 14th and 15th centuries.
Particularly striking is the round keep the plant. It has a square base and flat domes have been preserved inside . In the Middle Ages it was 33 m high, of which 24 m are still preserved today. Its two original high entrances can still be seen. Accessible they were over the roofs of adjacent buildings to the east and through the attic of the south subsequent Palas .
This hall had four storeys and, like the keep, dates from the 14th century. Only a few remains of the two lower floors have survived.
The so-called kitchen building , which is located east of the keep , is better preserved . Of the building built by Kurmainz around 1500 directly on the ring wall , its outer facade and the ground floor of the facade facing the courtyard are still standing. The bower , the women's room , was originally located on the ground floor .
The castle complex has two entrances. The eastern one can be entered via a neck ditch bridge , while the main gate in the west can be reached via a steep castle path.
The former strength of defense is documented by the remains of large kennels around the core castle . Part of this were also two flanking towers in the south, of which the so-called begging boy is still preserved today. The tower got its name from the fact that its cellar was used as a guilty prison.
The only completely preserved part of the castle is in the east. The Mainz Castle was built by Kurmainz and has had a chapel since 1765. It is thanks to the fact that this was still in use until 1903 that the building was not used as a quarry like the other buildings.
The castle today
In the preserved building of the castle there is now the town and castle museum, which was initially housed in the begging boy and moved to the current building in 1926. In 2007 it counted 8,825 visitors.
In addition, numerous cultural events take place in the ruins, for example the Eppsteiner Burgfestspiele once a year since 1913.
The back harnessed by a new roof and windows Kemenate can be rented for private events. Among other things, weddings can be organized through the registry offices of the cities of Eppstein and Kelkheim.
Fabulous
There are a number of legends about the founding of the von Eppstein family and the Eppstein Castle. In a chronicle written in 1583, the Eppsteiners trace their lineage back to a Roman Appia Claudia family. Since 1843 it has been speculated that the Eppstein family goes back to Duke Eberhardt . The story of the knight Eppo, who is said to have founded the castle, is often quoted. This figure, which is mentioned for the first time by the Darmstadt historian Helfrich Bernhard Wenck , is said to have freed the beautiful damsel Bertha von Bremthal from the power of a giant and plunged her to death in a ravine according to a version first printed in 1828 . The giant's rib was shown in the castle above the castle gate until 1854. Today the bone is in the Nassau antiquities collection in Wiesbaden. However, it is not the bone of a giant, but that of a whale from the 7th or 8th century AD. A copy of the bone is shown in the castle.
Culture
Recordings of the pop group ABBA were shot at Eppstein Castle in 1974 for the ZDF broadcast Drehscheibe . In their music video, the Swedes sing their song Waterloo , with which they won the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton on April 6, 1974 .
literature
- Bernd Brinken: Eppstein Castle. In: Old castles beautiful castles. A romantic trip to Germany. Abridged special edition. Das Beste, Stuttgart 1980, ISBN 3-87070-278-8 , pp. 64-65.
- Rudolf Knappe: Medieval castles in Hessen. 800 castles, castle ruins and fortifications. 3. Edition. Wartberg-Verlag, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2000, ISBN 3-86134-228-6 , p. 474.
- Magistrate of the city of Eppstein (ed.): 1000 years of Eppstein Castle. (Castle and museum guide). Eppstein 2002.
- Berthold Picard: Eppstein Castle in the Taunus . 2nd Edition. Eppstein 1986.
Web links
- Website of the castle association
- Floor plan of Eppstein Castle
- Entry of the castle ruins at Hessian Renaissance castles (project at the Germanic National Museum by G. Ulrich Großmann )
- View of Eppstein Castle, 1817. Historical views of the town, plans and floor plans. In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
- State Office for Monument Preservation Hessen (Ed.): At the castle 1 and 3 / Burg In: DenkXweb, online edition of cultural monuments in Hessen
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hartmut Bock: The Eisenberger Chronicle. Frankfurt 2001, pp. 40 and 543; quoted from Berthold Picard: Eppstein Castle in the Taunus. 2nd Edition. Eppstein 1986.
- ↑ Bertold Picard: A rib from the giant? In: Yearbook of the Main-Taunus-Kreis 2010. ISSN 0942-3419 , pp. 50–55.
- ↑ Pop group ABBA with "Waterloo" at Eppstein Castle. 1974, accessed January 18, 2020 .