Geroldstein Castle

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Geroldstein Castle
View from the Wisperstraße in Geroldstein to the castle rock with the Geroldstein castle ruins

View from the Wisperstraße in Geroldstein to the castle rock with the Geroldstein castle ruins

Alternative name (s): Gerolstein, Gerhartstein, more rarely: Schwarzenberg
Creation time : Late 12th century
Castle type : Niederungsburg
Conservation status: ruin
Place: Heidenrod - Geroldstein
Geographical location 50 ° 6 '25 "  N , 7 ° 56' 16.2"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 6 '25 "  N , 7 ° 56' 16.2"  E
Height: 223  m above sea level NN
Geroldstein Castle (Hesse)
Geroldstein Castle

The castle Geroldstein is the ruin of a castle at Geroldstein , a district of Heidenrod in Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis .

Geographical location

The Niederungsburg is located in the locality on a boulder that was originally surrounded by the Wisper like a mountain on three sides . Finally, the low mountain saddle north of the castle was pierced in 1589 in order to shorten the course of the river and to use its height of fall to operate an ironworks as an energy source. Haneck Castle is located above to the east .

history

Almost no information is available about the origins of Geroldstein Castle. It is the older of the two Geroldsteiner castles, the name probably derives from a nobleman named Gerhart, since it was first mentioned as Gerhartstein around 1215 . The Geroldsteiners acted as fiefs for the Counts of Katzenelnbogen and were able to build up a small lordship around the place Geroldstein. In 1353 the castle was besieged unsuccessfully by troops of the Elector of Trier . In 1479 it fell to the Landgraviate of Hesse together with the County of Katzenelnbogen .

In 1551 a branch of the family still lived in the ancestral castle, it fell back to Hessen as a settled fiefdom in 1569 when the line was extinguished. As a result, the complex fell into disrepair and was already described as a ruin in 1585. The name Junkerburg is documented around 1840 , also at a later time, but much less often Schwarzenberg . In recent times the names of the two Geroldsteiner castles have been confused, so that until recently the name Burg Haneck can be found on some maps for the older castle, actually called Geroldstein. Only a round tower, remains of a gate system and some remains of walls are preserved from the former castle complex.

literature

  • Helmut Thomä: The castles Geroldstein and Haneck in the Wispertal. In: Rheingau home letters. No. 130, 1984.
  • W. Pollmann: Castles, Citizens and Authorities. Medieval and contemporary times using the example of the Geroldsteiner castles. 1997.
  • M. Backes: Castles and palaces on the Lahn, in the Taunus and in the southern Westerwald. 1970.
  • Rolf Müller (Ed.): Palaces, castles, old walls. Published by the Hessendienst der Staatskanzlei, Wiesbaden 1990, ISBN 3-89214-017-0 , p. 169.
  • Rudolf Knappe: Medieval castles in Hessen. 800 castles, castle ruins and fortifications. 3. Edition. Wartberg, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2000, ISBN 3-86134-228-6 , p. 489.
  • Dagmar Söder: Cultural monuments in Hessen. Rheingau-Taunus district. Volume 2: Altkreis Untertaunus. Published by the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments in Hesse . Theiss, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-8062-1649-5 , pp. 184f. ( Monument topography Federal Republic of Germany ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rudolf Knappe: Medieval castles in Hessen. 800 castles, castle ruins and fortifications . Gudensberg, 2000, p. 489f .; Dagmar Söder: Cultural monuments in Hessen. Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis Vol. 2, Altkreis Untertaunus. Stuttgart 2003, pp. 184f. According to information from the Hessian State Office for Soil Management and Geoinformation , the wrong designation will be corrected on newer maps from 2010.