Liebenthann Castle

Liebenthann Castle
Creation time :	13th Century
Castle type :	Hilltop castle
Conservation status:	Burgstall
Place:	Obergünzburg
Geographical location	47 ° 52 '31.1 " N , 10 ° 24' 9.4" E Coordinates: 47 ° 52 '31.1 " N , 10 ° 24' 9.4" E

The Liebenstein Thann in Obergünzburg in Ostallgäu is as Postal preserved archaeological site. The castle, which dates back to the High Middle Ages and later became the palace, was for many years the main castle of the Prince Abbey of Kempten as well as the seat of the Liebentann Bailiwick, which was later restructured into a nursing office.

The former castle was considered the most powerful, safest and best armed of its kind in the Allgäu .

history

Change of ownership

The castle was first mentioned in the 1220s. In 1245 the castle became the property of the brothers Konrad and Heinrich Wolfsattel with Volkmar von Ronsberg . This grouping were possibly the successors of the Hohenstaufen. In 1370 ownership of the castle came to the Dukes of Teck and was conquered by Duke Stefan of Bavaria in the city war in 1389.

The rule of the castle changed again in 1439 when a Beros von Rechberg took it over and sold it to Hans Stein zu Ronsberg in 1442. Five years later, the prince monastery of Kempten bought the castle and established it as the seat of the monastery bailiwick.

Expansion into the main castle of Abbey

Under Prince Abbot Johann von Wernau , the small ministerial castle was expanded into the main castle of the prince monastery in 1479. In 1480 the castle chapel was inaugurated, in which sanctuaries and valuables of the monastery could have been in the troubled war years. Wernau's successor, Johann Rudolf von Riedheim , equipped the castle with fire guns.

On April 12, 1496, the Roman-German King Maximilian I visited the castle with a large retinue on one of his hunting trips.

Riots and wars

During a peasant uprising in 1491, the castle served as a refuge for Prince Abbot Johann Rudolf von Riedheim. In 1525, Prince Abbot Sebastian von Breitenstein sought protection within the castle walls during the Peasants' War . On April 10th and 11th, 1525 he handed the castle over to them after a brief siege by farmers. They granted him a free retreat from the castle. The value of the looted material from the castle was later estimated at 60,000 guilders. Unknown, probably farmers, set the castle on fire. Sebastian von Breitenstein then sought protection within the walls of the imperial city of Kempten.

After the damage was removed, the castle again served as the residence of the prince abbots. During this time the neighboring castle mill was built . In 1564 Prince Abbot Georg von Grafenegg fled to the castle in Kempten from the plague.

During the Thirty Years' War the castle was sacked by the Swedes in 1632 and destroyed in February 1633.

Bailiwick and nursing office

In 1642, the Prince Abbot Roman Giel von Gielsberg opened the Liebenthann Bailiwick and established a Liebenthann nursing office. The nursing office consisted of the localities Obergünzburg, Untrasried, Freien, Immenthal, Sellthürn, Upratsberg and Thal. After the castle was rebuilt, it served Eberhard Schenk von Castell zu Beuren, the keeper of Liebenthan, as a residence and later for the convent until the monumental monastery building, the prince abbot's residence in Kempten, slowly became habitable.

In 1688 the keeper moved from the castle-like castle to the Obergünzburg keeper's castle . In 1713, Andreas Eberhard von Stuben zu Dauenberg was named as a carer. In 1728, consideration was given to repairing Liebenthann Castle so that it could be used as a care office.

Secularization and destruction

In 1802/03 the castle was seized as the property of the prince monastery and sold in 1804 by the Bavarian Kingdom for 13,281 guilders. In 1807 the now ruined castle was granted for demolition. During this time only the building yard with the palace chapel was intact. 50 years later, the building yard was demolished and the area was subsequently reforested as a high forest. This hides the remains of the foundation wall in the ground. In 1870 the chapel was demolished as the last relic of the castle.

present

The current aim is to explore the castle more closely through archaeological excavations and other scientific measures.

In 2011, excavations were carried out on behalf of the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation. The area was probed, recorded and measured. The terrain was read digitally from a bird's eye view to get an overview of the terrain relief. With further technical means, the area was surveyed several times and repeatedly. Paving stones were exposed at eleven excavation sites.

Based on this information, reconstruction drawings are implemented in graphic form.

description

The castle is divided into three parts: main castle, inner and outer outer bailey.

The main castle stood on the outer mountain spur. It was separated from the rear area by a sturdy trench. The triangular main castle complex was surrounded by a wall ring with corner towers. The location of the former chapel is marked by a mound of rubble. To the south of this is the well, which is fenced in for security reasons. This is lined with sawn tuff and is 27 meters deep.

The inner bailey is separated from the outer bailey by a further section ditch. This trench is filled in the middle part and later served as the basement of a residential building. A vault allegedly lying there with tuff blocks in the ground resulted in a legend according to which an underground passage to Ronsberg Castle is said to have been occupied.

The outer bailey took up a lofty space. In front of her was a ditch that was later filled. The central unit of the area was the building yard. This consisted of a residential building and a long shed with three gates. To the west of this was a stable. In the middle was a fountain. Other farm buildings were a forge and other workshops.

Tuff, Nagelfluhr and bricks were used as building materials.

Individual evidence

↑ The excavation team is looking for the remains of Liebenthann Castle. In: allin.de, April 18, 2011 (accessed October 23, 2014)

Web links

[1] The excavation team is looking for the remains of Liebenthann Castle. In: allin.de, April 18, 2011 (accessed October 23, 2014)