Hohenrangendingen Castle

Hohenrangendingen Castle
Creation time :	13th century, built within a prehistoric fortification
Castle type :	Höhenburg, spur location
Conservation status:	Castle stable, neck moat and a rampart preserved
Standing position :	Ministerial Headquarters
Construction:	probably wooden construction
Place:	Rangendingen - "stronghold"
Geographical location	48 ° 23 '17.4 "  N , 8 ° 53' 44.3"  E Coordinates: 48 ° 23 '17.4 "  N , 8 ° 53' 44.3"  E
Height:	511.7  m above sea level NN

The Castle High Rangendingen is an Outbound Spur castle on the 511.7  m above sea level. NN high hill "stronghold" about 1100 meters northeast of the church of the community Rangendingen in the Zollernalbkreis in Baden-Württemberg .

history

To this day, no documentary evidence is known about this castle , it is considered the ancestral seat of the Lords of Rangendingen. It was built probably during the 13th century, in 1277 the local nobility with Burkart von Rangendingen was first mentioned. In addition, a Konrad in 1289 and a Dietrich von Rangendingen in 1294, presumably sons of Burkart. In 1311 the local nobility of Rangendingen and Konrad died out, and the castle was abandoned by this time at the latest.

description

The castle stable of the hilltop castle lies on a south-facing spur of the so-called stronghold, which slopes steeply to the valley on three sides and was therefore very well protected by nature. To the north, the stronghold rises about 30 meters further, elevating the castle grounds, here the castle had to be protected by three neck ditches . The outermost, arched ditch crosses the mountain spur above the transmission tower, about 200 meters from its top. It is up to seven meters wide and up to two meters deep. It is followed by a 1.50 meter high wall five meters away. A second ditch over the mountain runs 100 meters further in the direction of the Spornspitze, followed by a 1.50 meter high wall. However, these two trenches should not come from the medieval fortification, but from a predecessor of the early Middle Ages or prehistory .

The third ditch from the castle is 40 meters from the end of the spur, it is 35 meters long and four to six meters deep. On the western slope, it turns into a railing channel, so that it is probably partly of natural origin and was deepened and expanded when the castle was built. On the inside there is a 2.50 meter high stone wall.

The castle area is triangular in shape and measures around 40 meters in length and up to 27 meters in width on the wall. Towards the tip of the spur, the terrain drops down about 3.5 meters. The western slope is formed by a steep slope, partly interspersed with rocks, here part of the castle area has slipped through rocky slopes. The east side forms a sloping slope edge, where the earlier entrance to the castle was probably also. There is a small slope terrace under the Spornspitze; it is not known whether it once belonged to the castle area. Remnants of former buildings can no longer be identified; Since there are no remains of the wall or traces of mortar, the castle could have been built in timber or half-timbered construction.

literature

• Günter Schmitt : Castles, palaces and ruins in the Zollernalb district . Published by the Zollernalbkreis district office, Jan Thorbecke Verlag, Ostfildern 2007, ISBN 978-3-7995-0186-6 , pp. 282–285.
• Christoph Morissey: Guide to Archaeological Monuments in Germany, Volume 43: Zollernalbkreis . Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-8062-1763-7 , pp. 196-198.

References and comments

1. ↑ Even if a memorial stone speaks of a Celtic refuge. The outer ditch system is likely to come from an early medieval or prehistoric site, but has not yet been archaeologically investigated.
2. ^ Günter Schmitt: Castles, palaces and ruins in the Zollernalb district. P. 283ff.
3. ^ Günter Schmitt: Castles, palaces and ruins in the Zollernalb district. P. 285.