Frauenstein Castle (Ore Mountains)
| Frauenstein Castle | ||
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 Frauenstein castle ruins |
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| Creation time : | around 1200 | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | Tower and wall remains | |
| Standing position : | Margraves, nobles | |
| Place: | Frauenstein | |
| Geographical location | 50 ° 48 '14.2 " N , 13 ° 32' 21.8" E | |
| Height: | 680 m above sea level NN | |
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The ruins of Frauenstein Castle are located on a 680 meter high granite porphyry rock on the ridge of the Eastern Ore Mountains near the town of Frauenstein in the district of Central Saxony .
history
The hill fort, first mentioned in a document in 1218 , was built around 1200 as a border fortress between the Mark Meissen and Bohemia . It served to protect the trade routes and silver mining. The original inner castle was only 30 × 15 m in size and contained a residential tower .
In the following time a second residential tower was built. This was connected to the existing tower. In the late 13th century was Palas with chapel built. The large curtain wall was erected in the first half of the 14th century. The Meissen margrave pledged the castle and the rulership to the Burgrave of Meissen in 1329.
The municipality of Frauenstein was granted town charter in 1411. In 1438, the Wettins destroyed the castle considerably during a siege. The Margrave of Meissen fought over the successor rights of the Burgrave. The dispute began with the extinction of the Meinheringer family in 1426 and the takeover by the Plauen bailiffs . The noble family von Schönberg received the castle in 1473. They had a castle built between 1585 and 1588 according to plans by the electoral builder Hans Irmisch . The castle has remained uninhabited since the palace was completed. In 1615, however, the castle chapel was renewed.
The last Schönberg on Frauenstein sold his property to Elector Johann Georg I in 1647. The castle was first converted into a court office and later a forest office and district court . A fire in 1728 destroyed a large part of the town of Frauenstein and badly affected both the castle and the palace. Since the castle, unlike the palace, was not subject to any use, it was not rebuilt.
The "Dicker Merten" residential tower from the 13th century and the 1.50 m thick circular wall have been preserved to this day. Other preserved rooms are the cellar, kitchen, castle chapel, prison, two rooms and several vaults. From 1901 to 1939 the master builder Arthur Hugo Göpfert was in charge of excavation and securing work on the ruins. Restoration work on the ruin took place in 1968, 1990 and from 1992.
In 2007, an interest group was founded with the aim of keeping the castle accessible to the public and preventing an imminent sale in private hands. The Friends of Burg Frauenstein eV was founded in 2009 from the interest group .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Private website Saxon Castles , accessed on December 10, 2012.
- ↑ erzgebirge-explorer.de , accessed on July 24, 2009.