Frankenstein Castle (Odenwald)

Frankenstein Castle
Aerial view of Frankenstein Castle
Creation time :	First mentioned June 2, 1252
Castle type :	Höhenburg, Spornburg
Conservation status:	ruin
Standing position :	Men's
Place:	Nieder-Beerbach
Geographical location	49 ° 47 '36 "  N , 8 ° 40' 6"  E Coordinates: 49 ° 47 '36 "  N , 8 ° 40' 6"  E
Height:	370  m above sea level NHN

Residential tower of Frankenstein Castle at night

Frankenstein Castle is located southeast of the Darmstadt district of Eberstadt on the district of Mühltal and is the northernmost of a series of castles and castle ruins on the western edge of the Odenwald with a view of the Rhine plain. The ( old ) Hessian mountain road flanking the low mountain range runs around 1.5 km to the west and 225 m lower.

Frankenstein Castle owes its fame to the fact that for several years it has been portrayed as the namesake for Mary Shelley's famous book " Frankenstein or Modern Prometheus ", which has also been filmed several times. A connection between Mary Shelley and the castle is doubted by various authors due to the localities described - in addition, no castle is mentioned in the novel.

history

Frankenstein Castle stands on a 370 m high foothill of the Langenberg. It was first mentioned in 1252 in a document concerning Konrad II. Reiz von Breuberg and his wife Elisabeth von Weiterstadt . However, the wording of the document “super castro in frangenstein” (“on the castle on the Frankenstein”) shows that the castle had already been built and was in use at that time. The exact time of origin is uncertain; Conjectures go back to Franconian times . Most historians assume it was built around 1240.

Coat of arms of the Frankenstein family

The noble family of the Lords von und zu Frankenstein came into being as a result of the marriage of Konrad II. Reiz von Breuberg and Elisabeth von Weiterstadt. The Frankensteiner subsequently provided the overlords of Eberstadt , Nieder-Beerbach , Schmalbeerbach (today to Lautertal (Odenwald) ), Ober-Beerbach, Stettbach (both today to Seeheim-Jugenheim ), Allertshofen (today to Modautal ), Bobstadt (today to Bürstadt ) and Ockstadt near Friedberg.

By 1292 at the latest, the Frankensteiners declared themselves Burgmannen for Count Wilhelm I and Diether VI through Friedrich von Frankenstein . von Katzenelnbogen and granted this unrestricted access to the castle and support in the event of war. But such a case never happened. The castle itself was never besieged.

First mention of the document in 1252

Gate tower of Frankenstein Castle

Overview of the castle, on the right you can see the chapel and the stables

The castle chapel

Memorial erected by gymnasts of the Frankenstein mountain gymnastics festival for those who died in the World War near the castle

In the course of the 14th century, the Frankenstein family split into two lines. They then divided the castle after a meticulously described truce of 1363. Nevertheless, constant legal disputes between the two lines were the result.

Around the year 1400 the influence of the Frankensteiner increased. The castle, which had become too small, was massively expanded and modernized around the outer bailey. In 1402 the castle, together with Nieder-Beerbach, became an imperial fiefdom and thus independent of the powerful Counts of Katzenelnbogen. The remaining areas of the Frankenstein rule remained dependent on Katzenelnbogen to a certain extent, and from 1479 on Hesse .

The 16th century was characterized by brisk construction activity, evidence of the evidently good economic situation of the rule. During this time, the castle reached the dimensions it still has today. At the same time, however, the conflicts with the Hessian landgraves intensified, especially from 1567 when, after the division of the country, Landgrave Georg I made Darmstadt his seat of residence. In particular, the attempt by the Frankensteiners to hold fast to the Catholic faith caused conflicts. While Landgrave Georg concentrated large parts of his rule in a closed territory with some success, the Frankenstein rule remained a patchwork of a few villages. Only the area in the immediate vicinity of the castle, especially the imperial village Nieder-Beerbach, but also the non-imperial villages Eberstadt and Ober-Beerbach, can be regarded as a closed territory of the Frankensteiners.

Except for the castle itself and in Nieder-Beerbach, the Landgraves of Hesse also held the central right in all Eberstadt possessions. They soon extended this to Nieder-Beerbach, which is directly part of the empire, despite legal doubts. The Frankensteiners therefore filed countless legal disputes before the Reich Chamber of Commerce , but the political pressure from the Hessian landgraves was too great, and so the Frankensteiners ultimately had to accept the supremacy of Hesse-Darmstadt over their territory.

Despite a will from the then boss of the Frankenstein family, not to sell to Hessen and to hope for help from Kurmainz (who, however, was not interested in buying the Frankenstein rule), it was finally sold to Hessen-Darmstadt in 1662.

Landgrave Ludwig VI. von Hessen-Darmstadt bought the castle including the Frankenstein rule for 109,000 guilders . The Lords of Frankenstein, barons since 1670 , withdrew to Franconia ( Ullstadt ), where they had bought a new rule. Your descendants still live there today.

Since the Landgrave was less concerned with the castle than with the territorial possession of the Frankensteiners, the castle, which must have been in good condition when it was sold, visibly fell into disrepair in the period that followed. Up until the 18th century it served as a house for the disabled and a place of refuge during the wars of conquest of Louis XIV of France, but rumors about hidden treasures soon afterwards caused considerable damage, as walls and cellar ceilings were torn down in order to get hold of these supposed treasures . In the middle of the 18th century the outer bailey was largely in ruins. The core castle was finally destroyed in the following period by the wife of the castle administrator at the time, who turned everything into money that could be turned into money. In addition to the entire inventory, this also included the lead from the roofs, the bricks and the wooden stairs. The farmers in the neighboring villages also used the castle as a cheap quarry until there was hardly one stone left on the other.

It was not until the middle of the 19th century that Grand Duke Ludwig III. partially restore the castle in the spirit of the castle romance of the time. In doing so, however, you proceeded very clumsily and imprecisely and destroyed more than you built up. The most obvious restorations, the two towers, were also carried out incorrectly. The gate tower was given one story too many, and the inner residential tower probably never had a tower dome.

In the 20th century, the castle increasingly became a destination for excursions. In the 1960s, a restaurant was built on the grounds of the outer bailey, but it was criticized for its architecture that did not match the overall appearance of the castle. In the 1970s, US soldiers launched an annual Halloween festival , which is now the largest of its kind in Germany.

architecture

Panorama of the Rhine plain photographed from Frankenstein Castle

Frankenstein Castle, 1813, Karl Philipp Fohr

The castle complex of the Spornburg is divided into different sections, each of which was built in different epochs. The southern core castle , which is protected by thick walls with battlements and battlements , is the oldest part. Most of the timber-framed commercial and residential buildings were located here around a narrow courtyard. Since the outer walls of the houses also represented the outer walls of the castle, they were very thick. Neck trenches can still be seen in the south in front of the castle . In order to better protect the kennel , another curtain wall was built later. The gate tower was long the main entrance to the castle itself.

Later the main castle was extended by an outer castle , which is also surrounded by a strong wall to get more space. At the beginning of the 16th century the castle was rebuilt and expanded again until it got its final shape in the middle of the 16th century. Apart from the chapel built in 1474, there is nothing left in the outer bailey today.

Before the castle was expanded to include the outer bailey, there was a moat with a drawbridge in front of the gate tower . This is filled in today. In the gate tower, however, the rollers and support stones of the drawbridge can still be seen.

On the endangered south side, an upstream battery tower was built, which is open to the castle so that the enemy can continue to be fired should he take the tower.

The castle's well house was located in the inner courtyard. Today the well that is still preserved is covered.

Castle restaurant

In the newer part of the castle there is a restaurant with a viewing terrace, which was inaugurated on September 9, 1970 after five years of construction.

Cenotaph for those who fell in the world wars

A memorial was erected by Turnern near the castle, next to the parking lot, and inaugurated on September 4, 1927. This is where the fallen are remembered every year during the Frankenstein mountain gymnastics festival . It is constructed in the form of a sword , which leans against a stone pedestal. On the crossguard is the inscription Remembrance of the dead and what they died for, including 1914–18 ( First World War ) and 1939–45 ( Second World War ). The gymnast's cross is located above the booklet .

Myths, sagas and curiosities

Knight George and the dragon

In the quarry below the castle, knight Georg von Frankenstein is said to have defeated a lindworm . This Lindwurm is said to have terrorized the village of Nieder-Beerbach near the castle and was only appeased by the flesh of young girls. Finally, the knight Georg decided to fight the monster (in a variant of the legend he did this because his secret lover Anne-Marie was to be sacrificed to the dragon). After a long struggle he finally killed the dragon, but in agony he injected a deadly poison into his leg, whereupon the knight died together with the dragon.

The variant with the young lover Anne-Marie also combines an originally independent legend about three mysterious lights in an abandoned house, which in this variant was used by Anne-Marie and the knight Georg as a secret symbol. After Georg's death, the lights are said to have burned again in the Advent season and you could see Anne-Marie's pale face, who stared longingly up at the Frankenstein.

A stone lindworm near the quarry still reminds of this legend. The legend itself is based on a knight Georg von Frankenstein who died in 1531. His tomb shows him fighting a dragon. The legend of the fight with the lindworm, however, originated much later, the motif of the tomb probably alludes to the patron saint of the deceased, Saint George , who was usually depicted fighting a dragon.

The old castle

Below Frankenstein Castle, east of the state road that connects Nieder- and Ober-Beerbach, is a place that has always been called the "old castle". According to local folklore, it is said to be either an old ring wall from the Bronze Age or the old seat of the Frankensteiners.

Research assumes that the "old castle" is merely a tower castle from the late Salier period that is only preserved today in the last remnants .

The old castle

Behind the Nieder-Beerbach church in the direction of Frankenstein there is a mountain cone, which is known on old landmarks as the "old castle" and popularly as " Die áld Bejje " (although the dialectal " Bejje " is not known outside Nieder-Beerbach). A predecessor to Frankenstein Castle is said to have been located there. This old building is said to have been connected not only to the “new” Frankenstein Castle via underground passages, but also to the Nieder-Beerbach church and the former Martin's chapel in Bessungen . In these corridors there is said to be a great treasure trove of gold, silver and wine.

In fact, the remains of a fortification can be found at this point, which probably dates from the middle of the 11th century. The origin of the plant is not clear. Assumptions are based on the seat of an aristocratic dynasty, which died out in the Middle Ages and which ruled over the Beerbach Valley before the Frankensteiners.

Treasure hunter

As a result of this legend, a real gold rush broke out in the 18th century. In 1763 a large-scale, but apparently very chaotic and haphazard excavation took place, which, in addition to the old legend, was also based on the statements of crystal ball readers. The pastor of Nieder-Beerbach at that time tried to prevent the action, which led to insults and demands for his removal.

In the end, the treasure hunters are said to have left behind a single mess of holes, shafts and caves. They hadn't found a secret passage or treasure. However, the gold fever had seized the people so much that it was only an accident, the death of a treasure hunter who was buried in one of the makeshift shafts, that the treasure hunt temporarily ended.

A few years later, in 1770, another treasure hunt took place, but only two small pieces of wall, probably remnants of a former settlement, were found. A third attempt in 1787/88 ended with another fatal accident, whereupon any further excavations were forbidden by the authorities.

The Frankenstein donkey loan

The Frankenstein donkey loan is less of a legend than a historically guaranteed curiosity. Until the late 16th century, the Frankenstein knights lent a donkey and a squire to the surrounding towns for pillory purposes (mainly to Darmstadt). This particular punishment was given to women who beat their husbands.

There were two variants: if the woman had beaten her husband "through insidious malice" without him being able to defend himself, the Frankenstein squire led the donkey. But if he had been beaten in an "honest feud", he had to lead the donkey himself (this was supposed to express that it was a shame for the man too if he could not defend himself against his own wife) .

At the end of the 16th century, the Frankenstein donkey loan disappeared, allegedly because the Darmstadt landgrave had not paid the agreed expense allowance for the Frankenstein knights for some time. The actual reason, however, may have been the attempt to extend the donkey fief that actually only existed with the city of Darmstadt to all cent districts of the Landgraviate. A consent of the Frankensteiners to send the donkey to other places would therefore have been tantamount to an acknowledgment of the cent rulership over all Frankensteiner possessions.

Witch cult

On the Ilbes-Berg (Magnetberg) near the castle there are magnetic stones. The magnetism is said to have originated from witches . In addition, this mountain is said to be the second largest witch cult site in Germany after the Brocken . Historically, this close connection to the Ilbes mountain as a witch cult site is likely to be more recent and, like the legends about Johann Konrad Dippel (see below), only came into being in the last few decades. In the contemporary documents of the witch persecution in the Landgraviate of Hessen-Darmstadt , the Ilbes mountain does not play a role. Back then, Griesheim was the main meeting place for witches.

Johann Konrad Dippel

According to local folklore and today's castle administrators, the theologian , alchemist and doctor Johann Konrad Dippel, who was born at the castle in 1673, is said to have carried out various alchemical experiments here, for example experiments with nitroglycerine , which is used as an explosive or medicament depending on the dosage. This is doubted by historians, as there are no documents showing that Dippel ever returned to the castle after completing his studies in Gießen in 1693. In the case of the alleged experiments with nitroglycerin, it is actually an anachronism , since nitroglycerin was not yet discovered in Dippel's time. Incidentally, Radu Florescu does not locate Dippel's laboratory in Frankenstein Castle, but in the "Zum Löwen" inn in Seeheim.

These "new" legends about Dippel were spread through a book published in 1999 by the author and self-proclaimed castle scribe of Frankenstein Castle, Walter Scheele, in which it was also claimed that Dippel was the historical model for Mary Shelley's book Frankenstein or the modern Prometheus , a thesis which is rejected due to a lack of evidence and information from historians of the Eberstadt-Frankenstein History Association.

The sources of the Burgschreiber Scheele were repeatedly described as faulty or simply invented.

Regular events

Halloween Castle Festival

One of the biggest Halloween festivals in Germany has been taking place at the castle since 1977. This festival was founded by the Americans stationed in Darmstadt and the surrounding area . It takes place regularly on three weekends in October / November (around Halloween ) on the grounds of the castle. The numerous visitors are frightened and entertained by dressed up actors and special effects . Due to the large number of visitors, the access roads to the castle are closed on the corresponding weekends and a bus transfer is set up.

Frankenstein Trophy

The Frankenstein Trophy is a 2.74 km long, permanent time trial course for cyclists, on which 218 meters of altitude must be overcome. It lies on the Eberstadt side of the mountain. The beginning and end of the route are each marked by a red line on the edge of the road.

Frankenstein mountain gymnastics festival

→ Main article : Frankenstein mountain gymnastics festival

Every year in August / September since 1902 - southwest of the castle and visitor parking lot - the gymnastics and athletics- oriented Frankenstein mountain gymnastics festival has been held on a specially designated open competition area . Numerous competitions drew tens of thousands of people to the Langenberg, for example the long-distance runs. The elevation on which the voluntary sports facility is located is also known as the Magnetberg.

Hiking trails

Markings of the Alemannenweg and the former Castle Path

The long-distance hiking trails Burgensteig Bergstrasse and Alemannenweg pass Frankenstein Castle.

There are several hiking trails around the castle :

• Magnetberg-Weg (approx. 1.1 km), entry: parking lot below the castle, destination: Magnetberg with the magnetic stones
• Burg-Weg (approx. 1.2 km), entry: car park below the castle, destination: the castle itself
• Rock path (approx. 2.5 km), entry: car park below the castle, destination: small refuge on the Magnetberg
• Untere-Burgweg (approx. 1.3 km), entry: car park below the castle, destination: the castle itself
• Forest adventure trail (approx. 3 km), entry: car park below the castle, circular route
• Himmelsleiter , entry: Nieder-Beerbach (Frankenberger Mühle stop), destination: the castle itself
• Herrenweg ( Prince Bismarck is said to have once driven down to the valley here), entry: Nieder-Beerbach (Frankenberger Mühle stop), destination: valley

Neighboring castles and palaces

Old Castle (Nieder-Beerbach) , Old Castle (Nieder-Beerbach) , Castle Tannenberg , Castle Alsbach , Castle Auerbach , Starkenburg , Castle Heiligenberg (Jugenheim) , Motte Castle Wellberg , Castle Jossa (Dagsberg) , Weilerhügel

literature

• Art. Frankenstein. In: Hessen. Edited by Georg W. Sante, Stuttgart 1960 (= Handbook of Historic Places in Germany, 4th volume), p. 117.
• Nieder-Beerbach. In: Georg Dehio: Handbook of the German art monuments: Hessen. edit v. Magnus Backes, 1966, p. 622.
• Hellmuth Gensicke: Investigations into the genealogy and property history of the lords of Eschollbrücken, Weiterstadt, Lützelbach, Breuberg and Frankenstein.
• Rudolf Kunz: Village regulations of the Franckenstein rule from the 2nd half of the 16th century.
• Wolfgang Weißgerber: The gentlemen of Frankenstein and their women: landscapes, people, stories. Schlapp, Darmstadt-Eberstadt 2002, ISBN 3-87704-050-0 .
• Roman Fischer: Frankenstein feudal certificates. 1990.
• Breuberg Bund e. V. Historical association for research into the Odenwald and its peripheral landscapes: cultural, economic and social history of the Odenwald in the 15th century.
• Breuberg Bund e. V. Historical association for research into the Odenwald and its peripheral landscapes: Contributions to the research of the Odenwald and its peripheral landscapes.
• (Ed.) Geschichtsverein Eberstadt / Frankenstein: Reader on the history of Frankenstein. Burg - Herrschaft - Familie , Darmstadt-Eberstadt 2018.

Web links

Commons : Burg Frankenstein (Odenwald)  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Frankenstein Castle, Darmstadt-Dieburg district. Historical local lexicon for Hesse (as of July 29, 2014). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS). Hessian State Office for Historical Cultural Studies (HLGL), accessed on December 4, 2015 . 
• Historical facts about Frankenstein Castle on the website of the Eberstadt-Frankenstein e. V.
• Reconstruction in 1545. Eberstadt / Frankenstein History Association (PDF; 260 kB)
• Neither robber barons nor scary monsters - a short history of Frankenstein castle and rule Private website of a local history researcher (†)
• Heinrich Eduard Scriba : History of the former castle and rule Frankenstein , Darmstadt, 1853.
• Historical reconstruction drawing
• Website of the Burg Frankenstein restaurant
• Frankenstein Castle: Halloween

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Map services of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation ( information )
2. ↑ http://www.eberstadt-frankenstein.de/content/063_Any_Monsters-at-home.pdf Any Monsters at Home , p. 4 ff.
3. ↑ http://www.gg-online.de/html/frankenstein.htm
4. ^ ^{A b c} Wolfgang Weißgerber: The Lords of Frankenstein and their women: Landscapes, people, stories, Darmstadt-Eberstadt, Schlapp 2002; ISBN 3-87704-050-0 .
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e} http://www.eberstadt-frankenstein.de/content/014a_herrschaft_frankenstein_lat.pdf Battenberg, Friedrich: “Burg and Herrschaft Frankenstein in premodern times, lecture at the ceremony for the 750th anniversary of the first documentary mention of Frankenstein Castle from August 16, 2002 "
6. ↑ ^{a b} http://nature2000.tripod.com/Umwelt/heimat.htm#weg2 ( Memento from April 24, 2001 in the Internet Archive )
7. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} http://www.muehltal-odenwald.de/geschich/franknst/index.html
8. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from October 31, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
9. ↑ See picture on the right
10. ↑ ^{a b c} Heinrich Eduard Scriba : "History of the former castle and rule Frankenstein and their masters", 1853
11. ↑ http://www.gg-online.de/html/frankenstein.htm In the section "Ritter Georg und der Drachen"
12. ↑ http://www.muehltal-odenwald.de/gemeinsc/sagen/rittergg.htm ( Memento from October 31, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Ritter Georg and the Lindwurm
13. ↑ http://www.muehltal-odenwald.de/geschich/nb/altschls.html The old castle
14. ↑ http://burgenarchiv.de/seiten/burg-frankenstein-he.html Burg Frankenstein on Burgenarchiv.de
15. ↑ http://www.muehltal-odenwald.de/geschich/nb/altburg.html  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. The old castle  
16. ↑ Wenck, Helfrich Bernhard: The Frankensteiner Eselslehen from 1536. In: Deppert, Fritz (ed.): Darmstädter Geschichte (n). Darmstadt 1980, p. 31f., ISBN 3-87704-010-1 .
17. ↑ http://www.gg-online.de/html/frankenstein.htm in the section "Hexenkultplatz Ilbes-Berg"
18. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original dated August 24, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Witch madness in Darmstadt  
19. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
20. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from June 15, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
21. ↑ Walter Scheele: Burg Frankenstein: Myth, Truth, Legend . Societätsverlag Frankfurt, 1999, ISBN 3-7973-0786-1 .
22. ↑ "Frankenstein's Monster" - the "Nessie" of Bergstrasse. (pdf, 130 kB) Eberstadt-Frankenstein eV history association, January 13, 2008, archived from the original on June 17, 2009 ; Retrieved October 26, 2017 . 
23. ^ Bernhard Lauer: Brothers Grimm sites today. Authentic places, old and new myths . In: Yearbook of the Brothers Grimm Society, Volume 13/14 (2003/2004), p. 47.
    Jörg Heléne: Burg Frankenstein, Shelley and the construction of a myth. www.renegadenation.de, archived from the original on July 19, 2011 ; Retrieved October 5, 2011 . 
24. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from July 20, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
25. ↑ http://www.frankenstein-trophy.de/pageID_3326997.html
26. ↑ http://www.walderlebnis-frankenstein.de/index.php/erlebnispfad
27. ↑ http://www.burg-frankenstein.de/index.htm?http://www.burg-frankenstein.de/burg/01_himmelsleiter.htm~inhalt  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.