Hugofels Castle

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Hugofels Castle
Hugofels Castle - The rubble cone of the main tower from the west

Hugofels Castle - The rubble cone of the main tower from the west

Creation time : 1st half of the 13th century
Castle type : Höhenburg, hillside location
Conservation status: ruin
Construction: Nagelfluhquader, quarry stone filling
Place: Immenstadt in the Allgäu
Geographical location 47 ° 34 '12 "  N , 10 ° 12' 27"  E Coordinates: 47 ° 34 '12 "  N , 10 ° 12' 27"  E
Height: 860  m above sea level NN
Hugofels Castle (Bavaria)
Hugofels Castle

The few remains of Hugofels Castle lie on a wooded ridge above the Great and Small Alpsee near Immenstadt in the Allgäu ( Oberallgäu district , Swabia ). The fortress formerly formed a large double castle complex together with the neighboring Rothenfels Castle .

history

The hilltop castle on the highest point of the panoramic ridge above Immenstadt was built in the first half of the 13th century. The core was formed by a residential tower, unique in the German Alpine region, with four small corner rondelles (Tourelles), which probably goes back to older French or Swiss (Thun) models. The tower is believed to have originally been just a part of the Rothenfels Castle, which is about 170 meters south-west. This residence was built at the same time by the Lords of Schellenberg and acquired by the Counts of Montfort-Tettnang around 1332 .

Around 1440, Count Hugo XIII. von Montfort on the double castle and after a fire in 1462 initiated extensive renovations and extensions. The cellar of the donjon was vaulted and the south wall was partially redesigned. A new entrance to the residential tower was created here, protected on both sides by loopholes . At that time, the castle seems to have only been used as a storehouse. Apparently they preferred the more comfortable life at Rothenfels Castle, which is a little lower down.

Allegedly both castles were besieged unsuccessfully by the insurgents in 1525 during the German Peasant War . The tradition that counts Wolfgang von Montfort and his servants holed up in the residential tower for about 20 weeks during the siege is significant for castle history . Since the end of the 20th century, some researchers have questioned the function of such strong residential towers (donjons) and keeps as places of refuge during sieges.

In 1560 only one guard lived in the large main tower.

When the Rothenberg rule was acquired by the Counts of Königsegg-Aulendorf in 1567, the double castle began to fall into disrepair. The new lords of the castle resided in the city palace in Immenstadt. The first parts of the castle were demolished around 1600 and the roof structure was dismantled in 1626.

In 1875 the castle became the property of the city of Immenstadt. From 1932 to 1939 the cellar vault was exposed and the small tank cistern was discovered in the northeast corner of the tower.

In 1994 a construction study of the ruins was carried out. In the course of the expansion of the “ Allgäu Castle Region ”, the masonry was freed from its sometimes thick vegetation, a modern information board was set up in the castle area and the access route was renovated. Since then, the prohibition sign at the castle entrance that forbade entering the castle site in 2007 has also disappeared.

The ruin is in a desolate condition. The preserved cellar vault is only accessible (locked) via a round light or ventilation shaft in the vaulted ceiling.

description

Construction on the information board in the castle area
South view of the ruined residential tower

The almost square residential tower stands on the highest crest of a narrow ridge northeast of Rothenfels Castle. Between the two castles is the former outer bailey , which was formerly secured by an exterior door and is inhabited today.

To the west of the tower, the area suggests that Hugofels Castle had its own outwork. In the east there are three material pits on the ridge, which can probably be interpreted as quarries .

The formerly probably four to five-story residential tower (approx. 21 × 21 meters) is located in an approximately five-meter-high cone of rubble. The south wall is best preserved from large chunks of Nagelfluh . This conglomerate rock is everywhere in the area in large quantities ( Nagelfluhkette ). The two corner rondelles (diameter approx. 7.7 meters), which today serve as vantage points, are clearly recognizable .

Inside, a temporary roof structure protects the shaft in the barrel vault of the approximately five meter high cellar . The room, which is currently only accessible by means of a rope, has been partially buried. In the north-east corner is the rectangular tank cistern about three meters below , from which water could be drawn from the upper floors through a scoop . The original access to the cellar vault is still recognizable, but has been inaccessible for decades.

In the south, below the castle rock, an approximately 1.5 meter high embankment can be seen, which is accompanied by a V-shaped inner ditch. About 90 meters west of the main castle cone, the remains of a short transverse wall at the beginning of the ridge have been preserved.

literature

  • Toni Nessler: Castles in the Allgäu, Volume 1: Castle ruins in the Altlandkreis Kempten and Altlandkreis Sonthofen . 1st edition. Allgäuer Zeitungsverlag, Kempten 1985, ISBN 3-88006-102-5 , pp. 276-283.
  • Michael Petzet : Sonthofen district (= The art monuments of Bavaria. The art monuments of Swabia. Volume 8). Oldenbourg, Munich 1964.
  • Rudolf Vogel (Ed.): Immenstadt im Allgäu. Landscape, history, economy, cultural and religious life over the centuries. Verlag J. Eberl KG, Immenstadt 1996, ISBN 3-920269-00-4 .

Web links

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