Hohenkrähen Castle

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Hohenkrähen Castle
The high crows in summer 2004

The high crows in summer 2004

Creation time : 1180 to 1190
Castle type : Höhenburg, summit location
Conservation status: ruin
Place: Hilzingen -Duchtlingen
Geographical location 47 ° 47 '56 "  N , 8 ° 49' 14"  E Coordinates: 47 ° 47 '56 "  N , 8 ° 49' 14"  E
Height: 644  m above sea level NN
Hohenkrähen Castle (Baden-Württemberg)
Hohenkrähen Castle
The high crows from the south-east
The high crows around 1900
Postcard from 1897

The castle Hohenkrähen is a high medieval hilltop castle in Mühlhausen-Ehingen near Singen in the district of Konstanz in Baden-Württemberg , Germany .

location

Today's ruin of the Gipfelburg is on the summit of the 644 m high Hohenkrähen ("Krayen"), a mountain of volcanic origin north of Singen im Hegau , located between the villages of Duchtlingen , Schlatt unter Krähen and Mühlhausen in the Duchtlingen district .

From the ruins you have a good view of the Hohentwiel Fortress , Mägdeberg Castle and the western Lake Constance area .

The mountain is overgrown, bushes and trees cover the area. The summit can be reached via a narrow path. The partly very old linden tree stands on the mountain flanks are currently the largest linden forest in West Germany. (The largest closed linden forest in Central Europe is the Colbitzer Lindenwald .) One of the largest dormouse populations in Germany lives in the forests on the mountain .

history

Archaeological finds suggest that the Hohenkrähen was first settled in prehistoric times thanks to its striking and strategically secure location. Some finds document settlement activity during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages . Individual finds indicate that the Hohenkrähen has been inhabited since the Neolithic Age . Romans and Alemanni used the mountain as a place of worship. Traces of Roman settlement are dated to the 2nd century AD.

The castle was built between 1180 and 1190 - it was built by the Lords of Friedingen , who were also called "de Craien" from 1191 onwards.

After an inheritance dispute and the Confederate War, Hans Wilhelm von Friedingen recruited around 20 former Swiss mercenaries around 1446. In the following six months, raids on Swiss territory were undertaken from Hohenkrähen, which led to a comparison between the lord of the castle and the confederates. In the years that followed, the Friedinger took advantage of the turmoil between Austria, the Swiss Confederation and the Swabian Confederation to increase their holdings through road robbery and looting. The actual triggering of the siege was the spurned courtship of a Swabian aristocrat, Stefan Hausner, to a beautiful bourgeois daughter in Kaufbeuren. So he attacked the merchants and retired to the allied Friedinger on the Hohenkrähen. Therefore, Emperor Maximilian took an army of the Swabian League under the command of Paul von Lichtenstein and Georg von Frundsberg , 8,000 men, together, equipped among other things with 10 pieces (big guns), which were brought from Innsbruck, including the Sharp Metz and Singerin, the Turntraxel, the Herzog Sigismund and the Ketterlin . The bullets often rolled back due to the steep height of the mountain, were collected and fired again. Frundsberg had the Pfisterei fired from a middle hill, so that flour and feathers blew up (November 9th). On November 12, 1512, after a three-day siege, the Hohenkrähen was captured, but the nobles were piled up during the night , the castle was burned and razed, it was later rebuilt.

Around 1560 the Hohenkrähen was acquired by Hans Jakob Fugger for 20,300 guilders from Wolf von Homburg , but the castle remained an Austrian fief. The building was expanded structurally for the last time after the purchase - Fugger had the palace built on the east side of the complex. The Fuggers sold the castle again as early as 1571 . Hans Ludwig von Bodman became the new owner. He was probably followed by Count Ernst Georg von Hohenzollern . On January 3, 1620, he in turn sold the castle and estate to his brother-in-law Caspar Ernst II von Rechberg - Illereichen . In the following years the castle fell into disrepair.

During the Thirty Years' War the Hohenkrähen and Mägdeberg castles were burned down in 1634 by the fortress commander of Hohentwiel Konrad Widerholt . From this point on, Hohenkrähen Castle was in ruins and was no longer used.

After many changes of ownership, the Grauer Reiter scouts leased the ruins in 1956 from Count Douglas Freiherr von Reischach. In return, she is obliged to maintain the buildings and facilities in the outer bailey.

In August 2007, a rock fall caused by heavy rainfall destroyed the ascent to the ruins. It has been possible to visit the castle again since May 1, 2010.

investment

Youth castle

The Hohenkrähen acquired a new meaning as a youth castle through the gray rider scouts , a meeting place and educational center for young people. The sponsors of youth castles mostly come from the Wandervogel and scout movement or are at least close to the youth movement .

In 1956, the year it was leased, construction began on one of the houses in the outer bailey. Later another house was built on the ruins of the former stables as accommodation, also for groups of guests. There is also a campsite available. The last few years have been characterized by major construction work, including a bio-sewage treatment plant, a new power supply and escape ladders - all done on a voluntary basis by the Grauer Reiter scouts. Since 1956, the castle ruins have served as the federal center of the Gray Rider Scouts.

In 1957, at the foot of the youth castle and on the surrounding meadows, the first cross-federation meeting of the youth movement took place, to which the gray rider scouts and Nerother wanderers had invited.

The legend of Poppele

Many local traditions deal with a castle bailiff and robber baron Popolius Maier, who lived in the castle around the beginning of the 15th century and, according to legend, has to roam the area restlessly as "Burggeist Poppele" as a punishment for evil acts. A field cross at the foot of the mountain is supposed to protect against the spirit. The figure appears in numerous legends and plays an important role in the Singen Carnival. In a successful children's book, Elisabeth Walter describes the “adventurous journey of little Schmiedledick with the gypsies”. As a Sunday child, Schmiedledick is supposed to relieve the gypsies of the popping spirit from the Hohenkrähen, after all he voluntarily stays with the travelers in order to redeem the popping spirit.

gallery

  • Hohenkrähen ruins.

  • The remains of the lower main portal.

  • The remains of the gate tower on the way up.

  • On the ascent, look over to the Hohentwiel

  • View through the entrance to the upper castle through the "Austrian Zwinger".

  • The remains of the kennel from above.

  • Unlocked upper castle.

  • Typical herringbone construction.

  • Photograph of the information board at the entrance.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Eberhard Dobler, Burg und Herrschaft Hohenkrähen, Jan Thorbecke Verlag, Sigmaringen 1986 p. 387
  2. ^ After: Fugger, mirror of honor of the ore house of Austria
  3. ↑ Ingeborg Meier: And Poppele is waiting upstairs . In: Südkurier from May 4, 2010
  4. ^ Aloys Schreiber : Poppele von Hohenkrähen . In: Badisches Sagen-Buch . 1st volume. Page 94-96. ( Full text on Wikisource )

literature

  • Eberhard Dobler: Castle and rule Hohenkrähen in Hegau (= Hegau library. Volume 50). Jan Thorbecke Verlag, Sigmaringen 1986, ISBN 3-7995-4095-4 .

Web links

Commons : Hohenkrähen Castle  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: The Destruction of High Crows  - Sources and full texts
Wikisource: Poppele von Hohenkrähen  - Sources and full texts