Mellnau Castle

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Mellnau Castle
Mellnau Castle - south side of the castle complex (2007)

Mellnau Castle - south side of the castle complex (2007)

Alternative name (s): Elenhouch, Elnhoch
Creation time : around 1248
Castle type : Höhenburg, summit location
Conservation status: ruin
Standing position : Archbishops, Landgraves, Ministerials
Place: Weather - Mellnau
Geographical location 50 ° 55 '46.5 "  N , 8 ° 44' 54.3"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 55 '46.5 "  N , 8 ° 44' 54.3"  E
Mellnau Castle (Hesse)
Mellnau Castle

The castle Mellnau is the ruins of a hilltop castle on a mountain above the village Mellnau , a district of weather in Marburg-Biedenkopf in Hessen .

history

The castle was first mentioned in a document in 1263 as "Elenhouch" and was then usually referred to as "Elnhoch". The name "Mellnau" only came up for the castle around 1500. The Archbishop of Mainz, Siegfried III, is the builder . von Eppstein , who had the castle built to replace the destroyed Hollende Castle around 1248 to protect the Wetter monastery . The 19-meter-high dungeon was built in the years 1329-1331.

In an agreement between Hesse and the Archbishop of Mainz Werner von Eppstein in 1263, u. a. determined that the castle remained under the control of the archdiocese.

In the "Rhenish Customs War" between King Albrecht I and the Archbishoprics of Cologne , Mainz and Trier as well as the Count Palatine of the Rhine, the castle was conquered in 1301 by Imperial Bailiff Ulrich I of Hanau . As a result, the castle was pledged several times. In 1342 the Archbishop of Mainz Heinrich III. from Virneburg the castle again.

In 1381 there was an unsuccessful siege by Landgrave Hermann II of Hesse . As a result of the Mainz collegiate feud in 1464, the archbishop's share in the Wetter monastery and thus also Mellnau Castle was pledged to the Landgraves of Hesse. The castle then remained in Hesse and lost its military importance. It became a fiefdom of Messrs. Milchling von Schönstadt, but was no longer occupied by castle men from 1510 when the seat of the Hessian bailiff was moved to the city of Wetter. After that, the facility, which was no longer used, gradually fell into disrepair. With the allodification of the fiefs in the 19th century, the castle became Milchlingisches private property.

Building description

The curtain wall of the almost oval medieval core castle is still largely in place today. In the south-west, the ring wall is interrupted by a younger gate system; the original gate, which is now walled up, was immediately to the east of the keep . In the north - at the level of the keep - the curtain wall has been converted into a shield wall . The ruins of the palace are on the southeast side of the curtain wall .

The round keep - built around 1329 - is free-standing in the eastern part of the inner castle. It has a diameter of 9.5 meters with walls up to 3 meters thick and is now used as a lookout tower .

photos

  • South-west side of the curtain wall with younger gate area (2008)

  • West side of the keep with the high entrance (2008)

  • Remains of the shield wall (2008)

  • East side of the hall with the older gate system (2008)

  • Older side of the gate

  • Younger side of the goal

  • Tower of the castle ruins of Mellnau.jpg

literature

Web links

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