Lichtenstein Castle (Lower Franconia)
| Lichtenstein Castle | ||
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 The ruins of the north castle with the keep and the "arrow charter tower" |
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| Creation time : | First mentioned in 1232 | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Place: | Pfarrweisach- Lichtenstein | |
| Geographical location | 50 ° 8 '30.1 " N , 10 ° 46' 45.8" E | |
| Height: | 430 m above sea level NN | |
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The Castle Lichtenstein is a high- to-medieval hilltop castle on 430 m above sea level. NN . It is located in the village of the same name Lichtenstein , a district of Pfarrweisach , about six kilometers north of Ebern in the Lower Franconian district of Haßberge in Bavaria .
Of the former four sub strongholds of large Ganerbenburg still a Ansitz (Southern Citadel) is inhabited today. The north castle is only preserved as a ruin. In place of the missing third residence, the Protestant church "Zum Ewigen Licht" was built in the baroque period . In the south-western part of the entire complex are the ruins of a fourth Ganerbensitz.
Geographical location
The castle stands on the edge of the village of the same name on an elongated ridge of the Haßberge about 100 meters above the valley of the Weisach and the formerly lightly fortified tower courtyard Dürrnhof .
history
About 500 meters from today's castle is an impressive rock castle stable, the Teufelsstein, in the forest . It is possible that the headquarters of the Herren vom Stein can be found here. This Würzburg family of service men was probably originally of noble origin and seems to have split into two lines around 1200, the Stein von Lichtenstein and the Stein von Altenstein (at Altenstein Castle ). The “Teufelsstein” may also have been the seat of one of the vassals of von Stein, but the castle site was abandoned in the High Middle Ages .
Lichtenstein Castle was first mentioned in a document together with the neighboring Altenstein Castle in 1232 . Although the side lines of Lichtsteiner mostly as followers and bailiffs of the high pin Würzburg appear to Tayno the competing had by Lichtenstein in 1257 together with the family seat of the Bishopric of Bamberg submit. Bishop Adalbert paid the lord of the castle £ 100 Heller for this and promised him a further £ 100 if he would keep the castle open for him. The diocese needed the fortress as a base in the dispute over the legacy of Otto von Andechs-Meranien and in a smoldering conflict with Friedrich von Nürnberg and the Lords of Truhendingen . In addition, Tayno was supposed to marry his son, who was entitled to inheritance, to the daughter of one of the monastery's servants. The couple's descendants inevitably became Bamberg servants. However, the Würzburg monastery was able to quickly regain the castle.
In the 14th century, the Lichtensteiners were able to expand their property with some fiefs from the Würzburg diocese. In the following centuries the Lichtenstein developed into a typical Ganerbeburg , that is, different branches of the family and other families also owned shares and dwellings in the large castle. This development evidently resulted not only from inheritance and financial needs of the Lords of Stein zum Lichtenstein. The Würzburger Hochstift wanted to prevent a renewed transfer of ownership of the castle to Bamberg by deliberately enfeoffing members of its knighthood with shares in the rule.
The Bamberg influence in this area was often suppressed by the diocese of Würzburg by force. In 1323, Bishop Wolfram Wolfskeel von Grumbach besieged the Bamberg rock castle Rotenhan , located about six kilometers south on the slope of the same ridge, under the pretext of felony and counterfeiting. After conquering the castle, the Lords of Rotenhan had to submit to the Würzburg monastery.
Even the noble lords of the neighboring Altenstein castle to the north had to give up their independence as early as the 13th century. The forcible transfer to the bishopric, handed down in the castle saga, cannot be proven here in the written sources.
The fortifications - like those of the other Würzburg and Bamberg castles in the Hassberge Mountains - were expanded during the Hussite period (around 1420/30) and set up for the use of firearms. The hook box tower of the north castle, for example, dated to the High Middle Ages by older research, dates from this time. During the Peasants' War in 1525, the northern part of the castle was badly damaged and subsequently fell into ruin . The south castle remained largely intact and was expanded to its present size during the Renaissance . In the 16th century, the von Lichtenstein family managed to get the entire castle complex into their hands. In 1699, Wilhelm Ulrich von Lichtenstein, the main line of the family at the ancestral castle, went out.
In 1845 the last offspring of a branch of this old line died, the castle finally came to their baronial line via the Counts of Rottenhan; The barons of Rotenhan own and live in the preserved southern castle to this day, the ruins of the northern castle were left to the care of the Haßberge district .
description
The castle complex presents itself today as a double castle, the well-preserved southern castle is still inhabited, the ruins of the northern castle can be visited. In place of the former third Ganerbensitz, the village church has risen since the Baroque period, a fourth one is located on the southwest corner of the circular wall (the surrounding walls have been partially preserved).
Since a change of ownership, the south castle can only be viewed from the outside. From the church you can see the large residential tower with the curtain wall in front , the interesting gate construction on the east side can only be seen from the outer bailey. The inner courtyard with its interesting original parapet walk is only accessible to the public as part of a group tour. The battlements are said to have served the well-known castle researcher Bodo Ebhardt as a model for the restoration of the Hohkönigsburg in Alsace .
The ruinous north castle is open on the weekends or by appointment. Here are mainly of, built on a rock outcrop, Romanesque keep and hussitenzeitliche falsely "arrow chart Tower" called hump square tower as an early example of an artillery attachment ( muskets ) of interest.
The north castle, which was previously freely accessible, was fenced in mainly because of the brisk esoteric tourism, which had already caused considerable damage to the building fabric. The Lichtenstein is - like some other castle ruins and rock formations in the Haßberge - in these districts as a prehistoric world cultural site, comparable to the Externsteinen or Stonehenge . So far, however, no scientific evidence has been found for a pre-medieval use of the facilities as places of worship or sacrifice. Interestingly, the only system in which such a (regional) cultic function is likely is Veitenstein, whom esotericism paid the least attention .
The north castle has been researched and carefully restored in recent years by the Burgenforschung (Burgenforschung) of the medieval archaeologist Joachim Zeune . The circular route through the ruins is equipped with several informative display boards that contain a lot of information and explanations on the history and details of the building.
The castle ruins are - like the south castle and the castle stables - a stop on the castle history educational trail in the Haßberge district.
Below the castle is an interesting rock labyrinth with a few caves and grottos . The area was transformed into a romantic landscape park in the 19th century.
The ruins of the north castle
The north castle is the oldest part of the entire complex. It emerged from 1200 on a previously uninhabited rock formation above the valley.
First construction phase (until around 1230)
The three castle rocks were cut off from the hinterland by a neck ditch up to five meters deep . Sometimes this trench had to be completely cut out of the rock. The area that was created in this way, approximately 45 × 35 meters in size, was secured by a high circular wall made of the existing Rhätsandstein material. The attack side was secured by a slender keep on the south rock. The very carefully executed masonry made of regular hump and smooth blocks without pincer holes is striking. The edge lengths of the square structure are only about 5.20 m. The tower is therefore one of the smallest German keep. Originally it was much higher. Around 1960 the east wall was reduced by seven stone layers for safety reasons. The obligatory high entrance seems to have been on the north side. With a wall thickness of around 1.7 meters, only a narrow, shaft-like room with a floor area of around three m 2 remained inside .
The Palas was applied across the Nordwesteck. The castle chapel, which symbolically protected the main gate, was housed in the southern part of the building. The chapel's Romanesque apse bay was only removed around 1900.
The original access to the main castle was from the south, here was originally a front castle . The narrow, angled doorway was only accessible by small handcarts. To the east was a stone house, perhaps a bower . The tiny courtyard was only roughly paved (sandstone, sand, clay) and accessible by ramps.
Second construction phase (from around 1345)
From around 1345 the Lichtenstein was converted into a large Ganerbeburg . Instead of the outer bailey, the south bailey was built with three bastions. The redesign of the old north castle was more difficult. The hall was separated from the rest of the castle by short side walls and received its own cistern system . Another Ganerbesitz was in the east, the third in the southwest corner. A six-part group of small windows in the wall indicates a wooden living room on the upper floor.
A new well was built for the central water supply . The well shaft under the former chapel is about 23 m deep and provided water for seven properties around the castle until 1962.
Third construction phase (1417–1436)
Probably for reasons of convenience, a new main gate was built in the south in 1417. For this, the bower with the block room had to be shortened somewhat. The small windows of the living room were walled up, the back wall reinforced. The new gate was protected by a low porch, but the neck ditch was filled in by half.
The north side also got its own gate. Before, one was forced to fill the endangered wall on the outside, so that one third of it has been stuck in the ground since then.
Static problems also faced static problems at the north-west corner due to the sliding rock formations. The hall had already partially collapsed. The renewal amounted to 600 guilders. For this purpose, the rock had to be partially removed and terraced.
The incursions of the Hussites caused the Hochstifte Bamberg and Würzburg around 1430 to strengthen the fortifications of their castles and city fortifications in the Haßberg Mountains. Apel von Lichtenstein therefore had a modern hook box tower installed on the endangered southeast corner of the castle. The three-storey shell tower looks very representative due to its humpback blocks. Older research therefore dated it to the High Middle Ages. The three meter high slits were interpreted as arched slits. However, the recesses in the wooden baffles in the embrasures clearly indicate the function as a light artillery tower . Wooden false ceilings made it possible for two shooters to shoot out of a notch at the same time. The shell tower, which was directed against the Hussites, but certainly also against the neighboring bishopric of Bamberg, is of particular interest for castle research as an early example of an artillery fortification. The builders used the most modern fortification innovations developed by the Hussites in Bohemia .
Fourth construction phase (16th century)
During the Peasant Wars and in the 2nd Margrave War, there was major damage. The von Lichtenstein family partially gave up the north castle, which was more severely affected, and expanded the south castle for it. Nevertheless, a battlement was built on the north wall and a kennel . The vault construction in the northwest also dates from this period. The poor execution of the masonry of these components is noticeable.
In 1691 the entire complex was attached to the Lichtenstein zu Lahm line. After 1710 the Protestant church was built between the halves of the castle.
Fifth construction phase (18th and 19th centuries)
During the 18th and 19th centuries, numerous parts of the castle were demolished. Others fell victim to the rock slides. The wild and romantic backdrop of the ruins attracted numerous artists in the 19th century. Drawings and paintings were created and some of them were engraved in steel . The romantic rock labyrinth was laid out below the castle . The interior of the castle was also changed in a romantic way. A grotesque mascaron from this period is revered today by numerous esotericists as a prehistoric "guardian head". However, the depiction is carved out of a foundation bench, so it could only have been created after the wall on top of it collapsed. The famous "Christenmarter" is also nothing more than a typical Franconian storage cellar, the well-preserved traces of which indicate its expansion in the 19th century.
The north castle in the 20th century
In 1920 static damage caused the wall to be rebuilt on the west wall of the keep. The replaced parts of the wall are clearly distinguishable from the original. Some cracks had to be secured with iron clips.
Around 1960 the uppermost stone layers of the east wall were removed for safety reasons. Up until 1988, some components had been re-grouted and partially renovated incorrectly (south gate construction).
In the sixties the rock castles and worked sandstone formations of the Haßberge attracted the attention of some esoteric lay researchers. These objects were reinterpreted as prehistoric places of worship and healing, some of which were of global importance. Around 1980 there was even a real esoteric tourism from home and abroad. Some signs and "runes" - which can be shown to have been used only after the Second World War - are supposed to prove a Celtic cult and healing place on the Lichtenstein. After the renovation and intensive research into the castle ruins, esoteric activities have declined significantly, but you can still meet some “believers” and those seeking help almost every day in the area. In 2005 another self- published corresponding publication was published.
The intensive "use" by this group of people caused numerous damage to the building fabric. The flora and fauna around the "cult objects" were also severely affected. The district therefore began in 1994 with systematic research, renovation and development of the north castle. The work carried out under the technical supervision of the medieval archaeologist Joachim Zeune did not provide any evidence of pre-medieval settlement or use of the castle square. The oldest of the numerous finds date from around 1200. Of particular interest is a “little tournament crown”, a replica of which is on display in a showcase in the castle courtyard. Apparently weapons exercises were held in front of the castle in the Middle Ages.
The castle ruins are now considered by experts to be one of the best-researched and didactically accessible medieval castle complexes in Germany through around 20 information boards. The careful renovation became the model for numerous similar measures.
The south castle
The south castle Lichtenstein is the only still inhabited medieval castle complex in Ebern Land. On the edge of the Haßberge, only Brennhausen Castle still offers a similarly well-preserved example of secular Gothic architecture.
The core of today's facility is the mighty residential tower , which is referred to as the " keep " in the inventory tape because of its wall thickness of around two meters (ground floor) . The four storeys are completed by a later hipped gable roof with half-timbered gables.
The irregular quarry stone masonry is broken through by several window openings. The edges are accentuated by large, regular sandstone blocks. On the west side of the third floor there is a coupled window with two narrow pointed arches. The window opening, which probably dates back to the middle of the 14th century, was later made smaller by a rectangular wall.
The original entrance is on the first floor on the east side and was later made accessible by stairs from the courtyard. In the 16th century, a barrel vault was installed on the ground floor . The upper floors are separated by beam ceilings on beams with stands.
A few lavatory bays have been preserved on the east wall . The residential tower rises directly above the former moat , which today, however, has largely been heaped up. The curtain wall adjoins it to the east and west, whose battlements, largely preserved in their original form, already aroused the interest of Bodo Ebhardt.
The residential buildings are angled to the south-west. The large south-west building with its round tower was built in the 16th century. The narrow eastern connecting structure dates back to the 15th century. Here, too, a large lavatory bay opens into the trench on four corbels , to which a narrow kennel is placed. The picturesque half-timbered tower on the small east tower was only added in the 19th century. The half-timbered facades on the courtyard side also show shapes from this period.
The unusual, angled gate construction on the south side is of particular interest for castle history. The newcomer had to pass through four gates to get into the castle. The complex dates from the 15th century and can be seen from the outer bailey.
The spacious outer bailey itself is entered through a gate from the early 18th century. A coat of arms stone with the year 1709 is embedded above the arched portal .
An extensive ring wall connects the south castle with the inner gate of the ruin. In the southwest corner are the remains of another Ganerbesitz. These parts of the castle can only be seen from the circular path through the rock labyrinth.
Castle sagas
Heraldic saga
In the courtyard of the north castle rise two large sandstone rocks, which are separated by a narrow gap. According to tradition, the Lords of Lichtenstein are said to have designed their tribe coat of arms based on this rock formation. On a red background, this coat of arms shows two triangles (stones) with jagged edges that do not touch. The name of the castle is also derived from this space through which the light falls through the stones.
The legend goes on to say that the lords of the castle were only threatened with extinction after the rocks touched. In fact, the gap has existed to the present day, but the von Lichtenstein family already died out in 1845.
The tear rock
After the Reformation, an evangelical Fraulein von Lichtenstein is said to have sat on the "rock of tears" under the north gate, who wept hot tears for a Catholic youth whom he was not allowed to marry because of the religious difference . The lover lived only a few kilometers away in the Würzburg district castle Rauheneck near Vorbach. After the couple finally found each other, the groom passed away shortly after the wedding. The rock “weeps” for the Rauhenecker Junker to this day . Even on hot days, strata water escapes here and drips to the ground.
The Schneidersloch
In the "Schneidersloch" under the former Palas of the North Castle once allegedly lived an evil tailor who is said to have plundered and murdered travelers and castle residents. After the villain was captured, the culprit was tortured to death with glowing needles and scissors . However, the small cave was only expanded into a storage cellar in the 19th century. Until the renovation of the ruins, the “Schneidersloch” was one of the main goals of the esoteric activities around the Lichtenstein.
These legends are already documented in Ludwig Bechstein's Sagenschatz des Frankenlandes (1842) and the German Book of Legends from 1853. In addition, the author reports there on the history of the Lords of Lichtenstein, the "Christenmarter" and the village church.
A detailed version of the legend of the “Schneidersloch” can be found in the work “Das Schneidersloch… - Fifteen legends from Bavaria.” By George Winter, published in Nuremberg in 1849 .
literature
Castle complex
- The art monuments of the Kingdom of Bavaria III, 15, District Office Ebern . Munich 1916, pp. 128-146.
- Joachim Zeune: Lichtenstein Castle . Schnell & Steiner Art Guide 2364, Regensburg 1998.
- Joachim Zeune: Castles in the Eberner Land . Ebern 2003 (Eberner Heimatblätter, 2 issues).
Castle sagas
- Ludwig Bechstein: The treasure trove of the Franconian land . Wuerzburg 1842.
- Ludwig Bechstein: German book of legends . Leipzig, 1853 ( digitized ).
- George Winter: The Schneidersloch, the lost child, the founding of the monastery in Fürstenfeldbruck ... - Fifteen legends from Bavaria . Nuremberg, 1849 ( digitized ).
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