Greifenstein Castle (Greifenstein)

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Greifenstein
General view of the castle

General view of the castle

Creation time : before 1160
Castle type : Hilltop castle
Conservation status: Ruin, partially preserved
Standing position : Noblemen, counts
Place: Greifenstein
Geographical location 50 ° 37 '13.5 "  N , 8 ° 17' 41"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 37 '13.5 "  N , 8 ° 17' 41"  E
Height: 441  m above sea level NHN
Greifenstein Castle (Hesse)
Greifenstein Castle
Greifenstein - Excerpt from the Topographia Hassiae by Matthäus Merian 1655

The Greifenstein Castle is the ruins of a hilltop castle in the same place Greifenstein in the Lahn-Dill district in central Hesse . As a geopoint, it is part of the National GeoPark Westerwald-Lahn-Taunus .

location

Greifenstein Castle is located on the southern edge of the village on a mountain in the Dillwesterwald and offers a good view over the Dill Valley. At 441 meters above sea ​​level , it is the highest castle in the Lahn-Dill district. The castle is a landmark that can be seen from afar; There are tourist information boards on the federal motorway 45 .

history

The hill fort was first mentioned in a document in 1160 . In the 13th century, the von Beilstein lords expanded them to protect the Hohen Strasse , an important trade route between Frankfurt and Cologne . In 1298 the castle was destroyed by the Nassau and Solms counts , as was Lichtenstein Castle , which also belonged to the Lords of Beilstein and was no longer built. Kraft von Greifenstein sold the ruins of Greifenstein in 1308 to King Albrecht I without the consent of the overlord, the bishopric of Worms . Around 1303, Johann von Nassau-Dillenburg came into the possession of Beilstein through an inheritance division . The Worms part of the Kalenberger Zent , to which Greifenstein also belonged, was only given to him as a fief in 1308, with which Worms protested against the sale of Greifenstein to the king. In 1314 Johann von Nassau-Dillenburg Greifenstein got officially as a royal fief from Frederick the Fair , as a reward for having Johann elected him Roman-German king . Frederick the Beautiful pledged Greifenstein twice to Johann von Nassau-Dillenburg: In 1315 and 1321. The permit granted by King Ludwig IV in 1322 to Count Gottfried von Sayn to build Greifenstein Castle on Reichsboden and to build a fortified city below The castle with Frankfurt city ​​rights had no consequences, the Saynian castle construction was not realized. It was not until after 1382 that Count Johann von Solms-Burgsolms rebuilt Greifenstein Castle together with Ruprecht the Warrior of Nassau-Sonnenberg . The two characteristic towers inserted into the shield wall date from this time. In September 1408, when Count Johann von Solms was released, the castle became the open house of the Archbishopric of Trier .

After Greifenstein Castle fell into disrepair under various owners until 1676, Count Wilhelm Moritz von Solms-Greifenstein expanded it into a baroque castle. After the Count moved to Braunfels in 1693, the complex fell into ruin.

In 1969 the castle ruins were donated to the newly founded Greifenstein Association, which is still responsible for the maintenance of the publicly accessible facility, into which a restaurant is integrated, to this day. The castle is a cultural monument due to the Hessian Monument Protection Act . Its restoration has also been funded by the Federal Republic of Germany since 1995, as it was classified as a monument of national importance .

investment

The tour of the castle grounds leads to a prison with torture tools, weapons and wine cellars, living chambers and a spiral staircase to the double-towered keep . On the pointed roof of the brother tower there is a griffin as a weather vane, in the tower the bells ring with three bells ( chimes : f sharp 1 , a 1 and c 2 ).

In addition to the village and castle museum, one of the few double chapels in Germany is worth seeing : the St. Catherine's Chapel was built in 1462 as a fortified church in Gothic style. During the baroque renovation, the courtyard was filled with earth, so that the chapel is now underground. There are frescoes and loopholes as well as casemates with vaulted ceilings and defense chambers. The baroque church built from 1687 to 1702 above the fortified church contains extensive stucco decoration and can be classified in the period of the Italian early baroque. The upper and lower church are connected by a staircase.

Hiking trails around the castle and a herbal teaching garden make the facility a popular destination.

Bell Museum

Since 1984 the castle has housed the Glockenstein Glockenstein castle bell museum in the "Roßmühle" bastion (gun tower) . Visitors can view almost 100 bells and sometimes even make them ring themselves. The technology and history of bell making are explained.

Municipal institutions

The registry office of the municipality of Greifenstein has maintained a “Münze” wedding room at the castle since May 2005.

Image gallery

See also

literature

  • Elmar Brohl : Fortresses in Hessen. Published by the German Society for Fortress Research eV, Wesel, Schnell and Steiner, Regensburg 2013 (=  German Fortresses  2), ISBN 978-3-7954-2534-0 , pp. 91–98.
  • Georg Ulrich Großmann : Central and South Hesse: Lahntal, Taunus, Rheingau, Wetterau, Frankfurt and Maintal, Kinzig, Vogelsberg, Rhön, Bergstrasse and Odenwald. DuMont, Cologne 1995, ISBN 3-7701-2957-1 (= DuMont art travel guide ), pp. 45–48.
  • Rudolf Knappe: Medieval castles in Hessen. 800 castles, castle ruins and fortifications. 3. Edition. Wartberg-Verlag, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2000, ISBN 3-86134-228-6 , pp. 287-288.
  • Rolf Müller (Ed.): Palaces, castles, old walls. Published by the Hessendienst der Staatskanzlei, Wiesbaden 1990, ISBN 3-89214-017-0 , pp. 148-150.
  • Daniel Schneider: The urban policy of the Counts of Sayn in the late Middle Ages. In: Jahrbuch für Westdeutsche Landesgeschichte 41 (2015), pp. 33–49.

Web links

Commons : Burg Greifenstein  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Outdoor-Zentrum-Lahntal: Medieval project Greifenstein anno 1320
  2. ^ Greifenstein-Verein: Description of the building history of Greifenstein Castle (PDF; 81 kB)
  3. ^ Cf. Daniel Schneider: The urban policy of the Counts of Sayn in the late Middle Ages. Pp. 37-39.
  4. See hereditary office book of Peter Maier von Regensburg, f. 197 (LHA Ko Order 1C No. 19855)
  5. ^ Glockenwelt Burg Greifenstein on the website of the Greifenstein-Verein e. V.
  6. ^ Registry office of the community of Greifenstein