Scharfenstein Castle (Eichsfeld)

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Scharfenstein Castle
Northwest side of the inner castle

Northwest side of the inner castle

Alternative name (s): Scharfenstein Castle
Creation time : First mentioned in 1209
Castle type : Höhenburg, spur location
Place: Beuren
Geographical location 51 ° 21 '48 "  N , 10 ° 16' 8"  E Coordinates: 51 ° 21 '48 "  N , 10 ° 16' 8"  E
Height: 480  m above sea level NN
Scharfenstein Castle (Thuringia)
Scharfenstein Castle

The Scharfenstein Castle is a medieval castle high in the Eichsfeld , which was first mentioned in the year 1209th

location

The Spornburg is located southwest of the city of Leinefelde , on the edge of the Eichsfeld-Hainich nature park and above the village of Beuren . It is located on a small spur protruding to the east, the Schloßberg (480 m) on the northern edge of the Düns in the Eichsfeld district in Thuringia . The spur on the northern edge of the Dün was created by a notch valley east of the Schlossberg against the Totenkopf and a cut into the terrain in the west. The mountain plateau consists of corrugated limestone , which is not suitable as a building material for the castle.

The castle can be reached by traffic via the road between Beuren and Kreuzebra . Various hiking trails across the Dün and from the Beuren stop on the Halle – Hann railway line. Münden lead to the castle.

history

The first centuries

Scharfenstein Castle (
19th century lithograph by Carl Duval )

With the decline of Beuren Castle in the Leine valley, a new castle complex was built on the mountain spur of the Dün. It is assumed that Scharfenstein Castle must have been built around 1200 on previously uninhabited land. The first keep on the edge of the core castle, rediscovered during restoration work, with its humpback cuboid masonry, still belongs to the Staufer era at the end of the 12th century, as does the remains of one in front of the castle from the 12th / 13th century. Century.

  • Remains of the first keep from Roman times

  • The castle courtyard

  • In the inner courtyard of the main castle

  • The castle gate with the Mainz wheels and the year 1587

Dietrich Böhme von Scharfenstein was first mentioned in a document in 1209, which suggests the existence of a castle. It is highly doubted whether Godehardus von Scharfenstein, mentioned in a document from Naumburg bishop Udo, can be assigned to the local castle in 1161. It was owned by the Counts of Gleichen , who were probably the builders of the castle. The Thuringian Landgraves asserted feudal claims so that Landgrave Ludwig IV of Thuringia , who was in a feud with the Mainz Bishop Siegfried II of Eppstein , had the castle conquered and destroyed in 1219. Up until the middle of the 13th century, Scharfenstein Castle was rebuilt with a new, expanded ring wall and a second, smaller keep in the inner castle. In 1287 the castle was named "Castrum Scharphenstein" in a document when the castle property was leased to Archbishop Heinrich II by the Thuringian Landgrave. In 1294 it was sold to the Archbishop of Mainz, Gerhard II von Eppstein, by Count Heinrich von Gleichenstein together with the castles Birkenstein (near Bektiven ) and Gleichenstein (near Wachsedt ) due to high debts . This sale of castles was accompanied by the sale of the old Eichsfeld , the name of which was transferred to all possessions of the Archbishops of Mainz between Werra and Harz and remained in the possession of Kurmainz until 1802 . In the 14th century Scharfenstein Castle was expanded as a pawn shop, to which 14 villages, two monasteries and several mills belonged. In the 15th and 16th centuries the pawn office belonged to the Lords of Wintzingerode . Struck by lightning, the castle burned down almost completely in 1431. But the gentlemen from Wintzingerode rebuilt it.

At the beginning of the 13th century, the noble von Scharfenstein were mentioned, they were probably appointed castle men by the owners of the castle, the counts of Gleichen. It is possible that nobles from other families who were employed at the castle also used the name Scharfenstein. With the sale of the castle by the Counts von Gleichen, the aristocratic family probably also left the castle. From the 14th to the 17th century, nobles from the von Scharfenstein can be identified in the Gotha, Erfurt and Werra area, their coat of arms shows a jumping dog. The following representatives are mentioned in documents in connection with the castle:

  • (1161, 1186 Godehardus von Scharfenstein)
  • 1209 Dietrich Böhme von Scharfenstein (issued in two documents from Archbishop Gerhard of Mainz on the Rusteberg)
  • 1221 Brothers von Scharfenstein (in a document from Archbishop Siegfried II of Mainz for the Beuren Abbey)
  • 1287 Nikolaus von Scharphenstein (Burgmann)

Since the time of the Peasant War

The former Reifensteiner Cistercian monk Heinrich Pfeiffer fled to the Scharfenstein in 1521, where he preached Lutheran doctrine until 1523 in the surrounding villages, on the Scharfenstein and under the "Burglinde". Pfeiffer had to leave the castle and then went to Mühlhausen , where he met Thomas Müntzer . In May 1525 the Mühlhäuser merged with the Eichsfeld peasant heap. These marched through the Eichsfeld under the leadership of Pfeiffer and Müntzer and pillaged the castles and monasteries in the area, including the Reifenstein monastery and, on Pfeiffer's orders, Scharfenstein Castle. Just seven years later the castle was rebuilt by Friedrich von Wintzingerode. During the time of the Counter Reformation , the Scharfenstein Office's pledge was redeemed by Elector Daniel Brendel von Homburg . The Reformation found its way into the office of Scharfenstein under the Lutheran lords of Wintzingerode. After the pledge had been redeemed, the counter-reformation from the Jesuit college in Heiligenstadt followed . The year 1587 and the Mainz wheels on the outer castle gate bear witness to this . In the following period the castle lost its importance, was still used for administrative purposes and the vaulted cellar of the core castle served as a prison. In 1802 the Eichsfeld and thus the Scharfenstein Castle became Prussian. From 1814 it was the Vorwerk of the Reifenstein domain. The dilapidated keep was demolished in 1864. In 1909 the castle burned down due to another lightning strike. After the Second World War , the castle became public property and was used as a holiday home and local recreation center for the Solidor Heiligenstadt Combine from 1960 onwards.

After the GDR era

  • The new tower with a viewing platform

Scharfenstein Castle has been managed by the Treuhand since 1990 and has been owned by the city of Leinefelde-Worbis since 2002 . The castle has been restored since 2006 . The Scharfenstein was considered as a possible place for the Pope's visit to Eichsfeld in September 2011. In the course of this, extensive renovation work took place on the core castle from 2008 . Since then, parts of the castle have been heated with geothermal energy . The Pope's visit, however, was held at the Etzelsbach pilgrimage site . On the former barn location of the castle there has been a café and an outdoor terrace since 2011, from which you can see the Harz and the Brocken when the visibility is good . On July 5, 2012, the city of Leinefelde-Worbis was awarded the Thuringian Monument Protection Prize for the renovation of Scharfenstein Castle . In 2014, the bottom two meters of the keep from around 1200, which had been demolished after 1525, were discovered and partially exposed in the cellar of the west wing of the inner castle. As the last major construction project, a modern tower with a viewing platform was built in the area of ​​the outer wall of the main castle that collapsed in the 1960s.

Thomas-Müntzer-Linde

In front of the castle gate, north of the entrance to the outer bailey, stands the old castle linden tree under which the former monk and later peasant leader Heinrich Pfeiffer is said to have preached. It bears its current name "Thomas-Müntzer-Linde" in memory of the leading figure of the early modern peasant uprising in Thuringia, the radical Reformation pastor of Mühlhausen, Thomas Müntzer .

The summer linden tree entered in the list of distinctive and old tree specimens is called the oldest deciduous tree in the Eichsfeld. The planting date is often given as around the year 1450. Depending on the sources, the linden tree is assigned an age of 490–600 years. Together with two other huge old linden trees directly in front of the castle area, it was placed under protection as a natural monument under the name "3 linden trees in front of Scharfenstein Castle" . Its mighty trunk branches out at a height of just a few meters into several thick strong branches that together form a lush crown. According to measurements in 2019, the trunk has a chest height of 8.05 m. The height of the monumental tree veteran is given as 25 m.

  • Tree veteran's trunk

  • Thomas-Müntzer-Linde

  • Blackboard in front of the Thomas-Müntzer-Linde

Office Scharfenstein

Castle and castle district Scharfenstein with 14 villages, two monasteries and numerous places that no longer exist today were bought by the Counts of Gleichenstein in 1294 by Kurmainz. Places far east of the castle, such as Vollenborn , were later separated from the office. The elector enfeoffed the Lords of Wintzingerode with castle and office. In 1587 the Archbishops of Mainz became the sole owners of the castle again and appointed officials as magistrates. The authority consisted mainly of the following people: the magistrate, the magistrate, the actuary, the clerk and the official officer. The office was also a judicial district and there was a prison at the castle. There is no evidence of the exact location of the place of execution, near the castle near Kreuzebra a hill with the name Galgenkopf and near Beinrode the Richteberg is known. In 1802 Prussia took over the office and continued to run it as a domain.

The places of jurisdiction in the district were the castle itself with its various owners and pledges. In addition, in the 16th century, Bektiven was mentioned several times as a place of jurisdiction, whether as a former Birkenstein court or in connection with the Schulzenamt or the Reifenstein Monastery cannot be decided (court was held at the neighboring Birkenstein Castle in the 13th century). The monasteries of Beuren (in the 14th to 15th centuries) and Reifenstein had their own jurisdiction, which was restricted by the turmoil of the Peasant War. The former village of Kirrode had its own aristocratic court before it was moved to the castle office.

Lords of the castle

Below is a list of proven castle lords, at times lords from different noble families had their residence here at the same time, to which the office of Scharfenstein was pledged in whole or in part:

  • 1209 Dietrich Böhme von Scharfenstein, Mainz Ministerial
  • 1253 Otto (advocatus de Scharphenstein), Gleichenstein bailiff
  • 1287) Nikolaus von Scharphenstein, as Burgmann of the Counts of Gleichen
  • 1290 Knight Hugo of Marchia
  • 1294 Otto and Friedrich von Scharfenstein
  • 1300, 1309 Otto von Worbis
  • 1300 Ludwig von Kindehausen (pledge holder)
  • 1330 Ludolf von Schlotheim and Rüdiger von dem Hagen
  • 1338 Tile von Bodungen , Tile Knorr the Youngest and Bertold von Werter
  • 1341 Apel from Westhausen
  • 1361 Tile von Bodungen, Heinrich von Bodenstein and Heinrich von Knorr
  • 1373 Wedekind von Geisleden
  • 1381 Hans von Knorr
  • 1387 Hans von Bodungen with Otto, Hermann, Friedrich von Worbis and those von Wintzingerode
  • 1388 Eckard and Thilo von Bodenstein, brothers
  • 1415 Johann von Wintzingerode
  • 1438 Heinrich the Elder and Heinrich the Younger of Wintzingerode
  • 1440 Berld and Siegried von Wildungen
  • 1469 Friedrich von Linsingen
  • 1479 Engelhard, Georg and Burchard von Entzenberg
  • Hans and Hermann von Wintzingerode acquire shares in the castle
  • 1521 Hans von Entzenberg is co-owner
  • 1525, 1532 Friedrich von Wintzingerode
  • 1556 Hans and Bertram von Wintzingerode

Magistrates

The Electoral Mainz Office of Bischofstein in 1759

The following magistrates are known:

  • 1549 Antonius Great
  • 1554 Kunz Gutjahr
  • 1584-1618 Klaus Wagner
  • 1606? -1627 Vincent Schott
  • 1627–1656 Johannes Schott
  • 1656–1665 Johann Jodocus Helmsdorf
  • 1665–1672 Johann Weinrich Helmsdorf
  • 1672–1701 Johann Christoph Schott (died 1701)
  • 1701–1732 Johann Christoph Schott (died after 1732)
  • 1732–1754 Adrian Jodocus Schott
  • 1754–1756 Anton Philipp Wincopp
  • 1757–1764 Urban Ignaz Bodmann
  • 1764–1767 Georg Philipp Teitzel
  • 1757–1775 Berthold Philipp Bodmann
  • 1776–1790 Karl Förster
  • 1790–1802 Urban Jünemann

view

View from the terrace of Beuren in the Leinetal. The resin can be seen in the background

There are two viewing options at Scharfenstein Castle:

  • From the terrace you have a wide view to the north and east of the upper Leinetal , the Eichsfelder Kessel , the Ohmgebirge and the eastern Dün, and with good visibility from the Upper Harz with the Brocken to the Lower Harz behind the Eichsfeld gate
  • from the 20 meter high tower, which was completed in 2016, you have a panoramic view to the north as far as the Harz Mountains and to the south over the Eichsfelder heights.

literature

  • Josef Reinhold, Günther Henkel: Scharfenstein Castle in Eichsfeld in the past and present . Ed .: City of Leinefelde-Worbis. Mecke-Druck, Duderstadt (Eichsfeld) 2009, ISBN 978-3-86944-010-1 .
  • Rudolf Lucas, Heinz Herzberg, Wolfgang Trappe: Scharfenstein Castle in Eichsfeld. From the history of the castle. Mecke-Druck, Duderstadt (Eichsfeld) 2009.
  • Helmut Godehardt: Land taxpayers from the villages of the Electoral Mainz office of Scharfenstein and the court of Westernhagen in 1548. In: EJb 14 (2006), pp. 133-140
  • Josef Reinhold, Günther Henkel (ed.): 800 years of Scharfenstein Castle 1209-2009. Contributions to the history of the castle and office of Scharfenstein in Eichsfeld. Duderstadt 2009, 304 pages, numerous black-and-white and color illustrations, ISBN 978-3-936617-89-4
  • Rolf Aulepp: Scharfenstein Castle is one of the most interesting castles in Eichsfeld. In: Eichsfelder Heimathefte (23) 1983, pages 52-68
  • Udo Hopf: More than a keep at Scharfenstein Castle. In: Archeology in Germany vol. 32, 4 (2016) p. 55
  • Udo Hopf: The building-historical and building-archaeological investigations in the core of the castle Scharfenstein. In: Eichsfeld-Jahrbuch 26 (2018). Pp. 21-50
  • Ewald Heerda: Our trees. A study of trees in the Eichsfeld . Self-published, Heilbad Heiligenstadt, p. 59
  • Michel Brunner : Significant linden trees - 400 giant trees in Germany , Haupt-Verlag, Bern, Stuttgart, Vienna 2007, ISBN 978-3-258-07248-7

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Köhler: Thuringian castles and fortified prehistoric and early historical living spaces , 2nd exp. and revised Ed., Jena 2003. p. 220.
  2. ↑ Map services of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation ( information )
  3. ↑ Udo Hopf: The building history and building archaeological investigations in the core of the castle Scharfenstein. In: Eichsfeld-Jahrbuch 26 (2018). P. 27
  4. ↑ Mario Küßner: Scharfenstein Castle. in Landscapes in Germany Online [1] , as of November 29, 2018
  5. ↑ Michael Köhler: Thuringian castles and fortified prehistoric and protohistoric living spaces , p. 220. ISBN 3-910141-43-9 .
  6. ↑ Stefan Grathoff: Scharfenstein / Eichsfeld ( Memento of the original from December 16, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. August 29, 2005, in: Burgenlexikon , accessed on July 7, 2012. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.burgenlexikon.eu
  7. ↑ Siebmacher's large and general book of arms, VI. Volume, 6th Division; Extinct Prussian nobility: Province of Saxony; Author: GA von Mülverstedt (1825–1914), Ad. M. Hildebrandt (1844-1918); Publication: Nuremberg: Bauer & Raspe, 1884, p. 144
  8. ↑ Josef Reinhold, Günther Henkel (Ed.): 800 years of Scharfenstein Castle 1209–2009. Contributions to the history of the castle and office of Scharfenstein in Eichsfeld. Duderstadt 2009, pages 5-7
  9. ↑ [2] on the website of the community Südeichsfeld / Lengenfeld unterm Stein
  10. ^ Günther Franz : The German Peasants' War , 12th, opposite d. 11. unchang. Ed., Volume 1, Darmstadt 1984, p. 250. ISBN 3-534-00202-4 .
  11. ^ Veith Schörgenhummer: Scharfenstein April 9, 2012, in: burgen.de, accessed on: July 7, 2012.
  12. ^ Stefan Grathoff: Scharfenstein / Eichsfeld .
  13. ↑ waermepumpe-regional.de: Scharfenstein Castle uses geothermal energy, accessed on December 4, 2019.
  14. ↑ BetriebsGmbH Burg Scharfenstein: Chronicle of Burg Scharfenstein ( Memento of the original from July 30, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , in: Web presence of Scharfenstein Castle ( Memento of the original from November 9, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 6, 2005 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / burgscharfenstein-eichsfeld.de @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.burgscharfenstein-eichsfeld.de
  15. ↑ Thuringian Ministry of Education, Science and Culture: Matschie awards Thuringian Monument Protection Prize winners in Erfurt , in: Web presence of the Free State of Thuringia accessed on July 5, 2012.
  16. ↑ "Müntzer-Linde at Scharfenstein Castle near Beuren" in the tree register at www.baumkunde.de
  17. ^ Johann Wolf: Political History of the Eichsfeldes. Göttingen 1792, Volume 1, Pages 139-142
  18. ↑ Levin von Wintzingeroda-Knorr : Die Wüstungen des Eichsfeldes: Directory of the desert areas, prehistoric ramparts, mines, courts of law and waiting areas within the districts of Duderstadt, Heiligenstadt, Mühlhausen and Worbis. O. Hendel, Göttingen 1903, different pages
  19. ^ Author collective: 800 years of Scharfenstein Castle - 1209-2009: Contributions to the history of Scharfenstein Castle and Office in Eichsfeld. Ed. City of Leinefelde-Worbis, Verlag Mecke Duderstadt 2009
  20. ↑ Levin von Wintzingeroda-Knorr : Die Wüstungen des Eichsfeldes: Directory of the desert areas, prehistoric ramparts, mines, courts of law and waiting areas within the districts of Duderstadt, Heiligenstadt, Mühlhausen and Worbis. Göttingen (O. Hendel) 1903, page 452
  21. ↑ Rolf Aulepp: Scharfenstein Castle is one of the most interesting castles in Eichsfeld. In: Eichsfelder Heimathefte (23) 1983, pages 53
  22. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Carl Duval: The Eichsfeld. Sondershausen 1845, page 229 ff
  23. ^ Johann Wolf: Eichsfeldisches Urkundenbuch together with the treatise of the Eichsfeldischen nobility. Göttingen 1819 ( Treatise on the Eichsfeld nobility, as a contribution to its history. Pages 37-45)
  24. ↑ RIplus Regg. EB Mainz 1,2 n. 3109, in: Regesta Imperii Online [3] (accessed on May 10, 2020)
  25. ↑ in: The Regest of the Archbishops of Mainz
  26. ↑ in: The Regest of the Archbishops of Mainz
  27. ^ Johann Wolf: Eichsfeldisches Urkundenbuch together with the treatise of the Eichsfeldischen nobility. Göttingen 1819 ( Treatise on the Eichsfeld nobility, as a contribution to its history. Pages 37-45)
  28. ↑ [4] landesarchiv.sachsen-anhalt.de
  29. ^ Johann Wolf: Eichsfeldisches Urkundenbuch together with the treatise of the Eichsfeldischen nobility. Göttingen 1819 ( Treatise on the Eichsfeld nobility, as a contribution to its history. Pages 37-45)
  30. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Bernhard Opfermann : Gestalten des Eichsfeldes. St. Benno-Verlag Leipzig and Verlag FW Cordier Heiligenstadt 1968
  31. ↑ Philipp Knieb: The Electors of Mainz and the v. Wintzingerode in the 16th century. in: Unser Eichsfeld, Verlag Mecke Duderstadt, 6th volume 1911, page 247
  32. ↑ Topping- out ceremony at Scharfenstein Castle: The observation tower is taking shape in the Thüringer Allgemeine from January 7, 2016, accessed on May 10, 2019

Web links

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