Rotenburg Castle (Wümme)
| Rotenburg Castle | ||
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.jpg) The elevated castle area with the local history museum from the west |
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| State : | Germany (DE) | |
| Location: | Rotenburg | |
| Creation time : | Around 1200 | |
| Castle type : | Niederungsburg | |
| Conservation status: | Burgstall, small remains of the fortress | |
| Standing position : | Diocese of Verden | |
| Geographical location: | 53 ° 6 ' N , 9 ° 24' E | |
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The Rotenburg was a high medieval castle of the Diocese of Verden , which became the nucleus of the Lower Saxon district town of Rotenburg . Today only a mound of rubble can be seen from the castle on the raised castle square and in the east the remains of the last fortification ditches.
story
The Rotenburg was built by Bishop Rudolf I of Verden between 1192 and 1198 as a border fortress against the Bremen castle Ottersberg and against the county of Hoya . It developed into a secondary residence for the bishops and an important administrative center. The bishops there often eluded the proximity and thus the influence of the Verden cathedral chapter .
In the 14th and 15th centuries, the castle also served as a pawn object and was gradually expanded. Under Bishop Nikolaus von Kesselhut (1312–1332) it was renewed and provided with a solid tower and a new curtain wall. During the tenure of Bishop Daniel von Wichtrich (1340-1359) the fortification was strengthened. Bishop Johann II (1381–1388) was responsible for further construction work . Under Bishop John III. von Asel (1426–1470) the trenches were restored and the fortifications reinforced again. In addition, he had a large and a small castle chapel, two round towers and a library built. His successor Berthold von Landsberg (1470–1502) continued the expansion with the erection of a gate tower and a new building on the east side and the renewal of ramparts and ditches.
In 1547 the castle was stormed and damaged in the Schmalkaldic War . The first Protestant Prince-Bishop of Verden, Eberhard von Holle (1578–1586), had some buildings renewed in the Renaissance style and the tower of Bishop Nikolaus torn down and rebuilt elsewhere. Under the next bishop, Philipp Sigismund von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel , the entire complex was rebuilt from 1587 to 1610.
In the Thirty Years War Rotenburg fell under Swedish rule and became the official residence. In 1648 the first official courtyard was created by adding a few rooms to a garden house. After the war, Queen Christina of Sweden awarded the office and the Rotenburg Palace to Field Marshal Hans Christoph von Königsmarck, who had been raised to the rank of count . In 1681 both fell back to the Swedish crown. During the Swedish rule, which existed until 1719, the castle was converted into a modern, bastion -style fortress in the Dutch style. From 1680 the fortifications and buildings were put down. On the castle grounds belonging to the Electorate of Braunschweig-Lüneburg , a building serving as a prison and office was erected in 1719. In 1745/46 the official courtyard was demolished because it was in disrepair and the building that exists today was erected. During the Seven Years' War in 1757 the fortifications were restored in a simplified form. In the course of the Napoleonic Wars , the fortress was put back into operation and changed hands several times. In 1841/43 a new official building was built on the horse market using the stones from the last remains of the fortifications. As a result, the old official building on the castle grounds was demolished and in 1845 the remains of the ski jump were leveled. Since 1954/55 the Rotenburger museum is in a Low German on the castle grounds Hallenhaus housed from 1779 that the grounds translocated was.
description
.jpg)
The Rotenburg was on the Wümme in the swampy estuary of the Rodau and Wiedau streams . Little is known about their appearance in their various stages of construction as a castle, chateau and fortress. The brick buildings were built on piles on which horizontal beams and foundations were placed. The 2.35 m thick walls of a tower with a diameter of approx. 14 m were excavated in the gate area of the medieval castle. It had already been torn down when a massive rectangular structure - probably a gate house - was erected next to it.
The Amtshof, north of the bridge over the Wümme, belonged to the castle as a farmyard. The expansion to a fortress during the Thirty Years War probably destroyed the remains of the castle fortifications. Various plans of the fortress have survived, but it is unclear which one was implemented and to what extent.
Today only a mound of rubble can be seen on the elevated castle square and in the east the remains of the last fortification ditches . In addition, the “Bischofshöhe” is the last remnant of the fortress, which was subsequently steepened and probably also raised.
literature
- Heinrich Siebern: The art monuments of the districts of Verden, Rotenburg and Zeven (= art monuments inventories of Lower Saxony . Volume 42), Neudruck Wenner, Osnabrück 1980, pp. 154–159.
- Stefan Hesse , Wolf-Dieter Tempel : Traces of history between Wümme and Oste. 95 archaeological excursions into the central Elbe-Weser triangle. Isensee , Oldenburg 2014, pp. 167–169.
- Wolf-Dieter Tempel: On traces of prehistoric and early history through the Rotenburg district (= guide to the prehistory and early history of Lower Saxony . Volume 22). Isensee, Oldenburg 1999, pp. 184-186.
- Wolf-Dieter Tempel (ed.): Castle and palace in Rotenburg. Archaeological and physical studies 1986–1994. In: Archaeological reports of the Rotenburg district (Wümme). Volume 6, 1996.
- Bernd Ulrich Hucker : The founding of Rotenburg in the light of the court judgments of Emperor Heinrich VI. In: Rotenburger Schriften. Volume 93, 2013, pp. 9-40.
- Thomas Vogtherr: Bremervörde and Rotenburg - two medieval ecclesiastical residences in comparison. In: Stader yearbook. Volume 105, 2015, pp. 217-234.
- Karl-Heinz Koch: The Amtshof in Rotenburg. In: Rotenburg (Wümme). Contributions to the history and development of a district (= Rotenburger Schriften . Special issue 8). Rotenburg 1968, pp. 151-157.
- Enno Heyken: Rotenburg. Church, Castle and Citizens (= Rotenburger Schriften . Special Issue 7), Rotenburg 1968, pp. 1–31.