Heiligenburg Castle

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Heiligenburg Castle
Heiligenberg with Heiligenburg Castle

Heiligenberg with Heiligenburg Castle

Alternative name (s): Heiligenberg Castle
Creation time : 12th Century
Castle type : Hilltop castle
Conservation status: ruin
Standing position : Count
Place: Felsberg - Gensungen
Geographical location 51 ° 7 '58 "  N , 9 ° 27' 30"  E Coordinates: 51 ° 7 '58 "  N , 9 ° 27' 30"  E
Height: 393.3  m above sea level NHN
Heiligenburg Castle (Hesse)
Heiligenburg Castle
View of the tower of the partially restored Heiligenburg ruin on the Heiligenberg

The Heiligenburg Castle or Castle Heiligenberg is the ruins of a hilltop castle on the Holy Mountain in Felsberg in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse .

The 393.3  m above sea level. NHN high basalt cones lies east above the Felsberg district of Gensungen an der Eder . The name of the mountain comes from one of the oldest churches in Hesse. From the mountain and the ruins you have a wonderful panoramic view, so that the Heiligenberg is a popular destination. The ruin with tower is freely accessible.

The demonstrably oldest pictorial representation of Heiligenberg Castle can be found in Wigand Gerstenberg's chronicle of Thuringia and Hesse .

prehistory

For prehistoric times, a possible fortification can already be established during the Iron Age (La Tène B). During excavations, u. a. Two temple yoke brooches (La Tène A / B) found, on the other hand, excavations of the prehistory and early history seminar in Marburg were able to document a possible rampart structure from this time and ceramics from the late La Tène period (La Tène B). In the early Christian period there was an All Saints Chapel on the mountain. This is evidenced by the discovery of an old bell clapper occupied, which could come from the small church.

construction

Before it was built, the mountain belonged to the nobles or vice counts of Felsberg from the nearby Felsburg . From the 12th century, the Thuringian and Hessian landgraves fought with the Archbishops of Mainz over possession of the mountain. Archbishop Konrad I built a strong castle on the strategically located basalt cone between 1180 and 1186 to protect against Landgrave Ludwig III. Shortly afterwards, the building sparked bitter fighting, because the fortress was located between Felsberg, Gudensberg , and Melsungen and, together with the heavily fortified Fritzlar , the center of Electoral Mainz power in northern Hesse, threatened the geographical heart of the Landgraviate of Hesse . In 1193 a Heinrich von Heiligenberg is mentioned in a document, probably a descendant of the Lords of Uttershausen , and from 1196 until it died out in 1263, the Isfried von Heiligenberg family lived in the castle as Mainz Burgmannen , with the task of protecting the fortress and the surrounding area.

Destruction, reconstruction, decay

Felsberg (middle), Heiligenberg (right), Kartause Eppenberg (right back) - Excerpt from the Topographia Hassiae by Matthäus Merian the Younger 1655

1232 conquered and destroyed Konrad von Thuringia , who had exercised lordship rights for the Landgrave of Thuringia in the Hessian parts of the Ludowingers , both the city of Fritzlar and the Heiligenberg Castle. In 1247 the castle was rebuilt by Mainz castle men from Wolfershausen . In 1273, Landgrave Heinrich I of Hesse destroyed the castle again. At first it was not rebuilt and was left unused lying in ruins.

It was not until 1401 to 1403 that Landgrave Hermann II built a smaller castle . This fell into disrepair until 1471, when his grandson, Landgrave Ludwig II , transferred the castle to the nearby Carthusian Monastery of Eppenberg and obliged the monks to pray weekly for his soul's salvation in a chapel to be built on the mountain. Nevertheless, the walls of the castle and finally the chapel fell into disrepair. In the 15th century this chapel was mentioned as a mountain chapel.

Modern times

In the Seven Years' War on Heiligenberg several small skirmishes took place. French troops camped on the Heiligenberg for seven weeks in 1761. Her allies had set up camp on the rock castle. Two jumps on the slope of the mountain are reminiscent of the French camp.

Around 1860, forester Faber began to reforest the Heiligenberg. A shelter and a farm building were built. The so-called Heiligenberg Club was founded to preserve it. In 1885 a larger refuge was built and soon afterwards a small restaurant was added. From 1902 to 1922 there was a wooden observation tower on the mountain. In 1934 the plan matured to excavate the remains of the ruins, and from 1935 to 1939 the Heiligenberg was excavated and partially restored under the direction of government building officer Georg Textor . By order of the Gau leadership, the Heiligenberg Gauehrenmal in Gau Kurhessen .

Todays use

The preserved castle gate

In 1952 a bell was inaugurated in the castle gate for those displaced as a result of World War II. From 1956 to 1960, the Heiligenbergverein continued the restoration. A hotel and restaurant were set up on the festival meadow. In 2002, an Ars Natura art hiking trail with works by local artists was created, which leads around the Heiligenberg. A rock festival takes place once a year at the Heiligenburg.

In the years 2002 to 2012, the castle complex was subjected to a systematic restoration by the Heiligenbergverein in cooperation with the Hessian Monument Preservation . In 2008 the castle tower was repaired, which is now accessible as a lookout tower and offers a good view of the surroundings.

literature

  • Rudolf Knappe: Medieval castles in Hessen. 800 castles, castle ruins and fortifications. 3. Edition. Wartberg-Verlag, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2000, ISBN 3-86134-228-6 , p. 80f.
  • Rolf Müller (Ed.): Palaces, castles, old walls. Published by the Hessendienst der Staatskanzlei, Wiesbaden 1990, ISBN 3-89214-017-0 , p. 113.
  • Heinrich Ruppel: Humor in School. 3. Edition. A. Bernecker Verlag, Melsungen 1983.

Web links

Commons : Burg Heiligenburg  - Collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Map services of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation ( information )
  2. ↑ http://www.uni-marburg.de/fb06/vfg/forschung/eisenzeit
  3. ↑ Memorial plaque on the history of Heiligenberg Castle on the website of the Heilgenberg Association
  4. ↑ Castle restoration 2002-2012 on the Heilgenbergverein website