Hattstein Castle

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Hattstein Castle
The remains of Hattstein Castle in 2004 with a moat in the foreground and the piece of a wall on the top right of the hill

The remains of Hattstein Castle in 2004 with a moat in the foreground and the piece of a wall on the top right of the hill

Alternative name (s): Hazechenstein, Hatzechinstein
Creation time : around 1150
Castle type : Höhenburg, spur location
Conservation status: Remnants of the shield wall, ditch
Standing position : Nobles
Place: Schmitten im Taunus - Oberreifenberg
Geographical location 50 ° 15 '33.1 "  N , 8 ° 26' 5.3"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 15 '33.1 "  N , 8 ° 26' 5.3"  E
Height: 533  m above sea level NHN
Hattstein Castle (Hesse)
Hattstein Castle

The castle Hattstein (also called "Hazechenstein" or "Hatzechinstein") the residue of a Spur castle on a wooded mountain spur to the north of Sängelberges between the South Hessian municipality Schmitten in the Taunus and their district Oberreifenberg . Apart from a noticeable ditch around an elevation, only a few remains of a shield wall can be seen today .

history

Detail castle wall

It is not known exactly when Hattstein Castle was built. It is believed that it existed before the nearby Reifenberg Castle . The "Walsdorf founding document" from 1156 already mentions a "Guntramus de Hazechenstein" who was probably lord of the castle there.

The Hattstein knights often acted as robber barons in the 14th century . As part of an execution of the peace , the castle was conquered in 1379 by troops from the Free Imperial City of Frankfurt and its allies. The Hattsteiners undertook to refrain from further raids and in return were given back control of the castle. Despite this oath, raids continued, including in 1387 on the throne monastery . Two further punitive expeditions against Hattstein Castle in 1393 and 1428 failed and the castle was not captured.

Although the Hattsteiners were related to the Reifenbergers, feuds broke out between the residents of both castles. During the "Hattsteiner Feud", which lasted from 1428 to 1435, the Reifenbergers together with Frankfurt and Kurmainz conquered Hattstein Castle in 1432. The castle was managed as an inheritance until 1468 with the participation of Frankfurt and Mainz. In 1467 it was captured and razed by Walter von Reifenberg . In the following year the Hattsteiner got their property back. However, it took thirty years for the castle to be rebuilt. As a result, it was less and less maintained and gradually deteriorated. The rule of Hattstein remained in the possession of the Hattsteiner Knights, but in modern times they increasingly oriented themselves geographically to the Wetterau .

In contrast to the feudal castle Reifenberg, half of Hattstein Castle was an Electorate of Trier . The feudal half was sold in 1614 by Philipp Georg von Hattstein to Johann Heinrich von Reifenberg . Since the purchase price was never paid in full, this led to a lawsuit that remained fruitless until the Hattsteiners died out in 1767.

Access

Marked hiking trails from the Weiltal (parking lot at the L3025 at the level of the fishing ponds), from Oberreifenberg and from Schmitten lead to the Sängelbergweg , which leads around the mountain past the ruins that are barely recognizable in the forest in summer. A narrow path runs sideways around the wall to a small terrace (no view).

literature

  • Heinz Peter Mielke: The lower nobility of Hattstein: their political role and social position. On the history of a family of the Middle Rhine Imperial Knighthood from their beginnings to the end of the Thirty Years War, with a view of the year 1767 . Wiesbaden, Historical Commission for Nassau , 1977. ISBN 978-3-922244-29-5 .
  • Beatrice Träger and Eugen Ernst : The Lords of Hattstein and their feuds . In: Ingrid Berg (Ed.): Heimat Hochtaunus, Frankfurt am Main 1988, ISBN 3-7829-0375-7 , pages 80-85

Web links

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