Staufenberg Castle (Hesse)

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Staufenberg Castle
Staufenberg Castle and Valley, excerpt from the Topographia Hassiae by Matthäus Merian the Younger 1655

Staufenberg Castle and Valley, excerpt from the Topographia Hassiae by Matthäus Merian the Younger 1655

Creation time : before 1233
Castle type : Hilltop castle
Conservation status: Upper castle: parts of the hall, remains of the wall
Lower castle: hotel
Standing position : Count
Place: Staufenberg
Geographical location 50 ° 39 '54 "  N , 8 ° 43' 42"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 39 '54 "  N , 8 ° 43' 42"  E
Height: 268  m above sea level NHN
Staufenberg Castle (Hesse)
Staufenberg Castle

The Burg Staufenberg is the ruins of a hilltop castle in the town of Staufenberg (on the same mountain 268  m , Front Vogelsberg ) in the district of Giessen in Hesse .

history

The castle was first mentioned in a document in 1233 and was written as Stouphenberch (Felsenberg). At that time the castle was owned by the Counts of Ziegenhain , who were bailiffs of the Fulda Abbey and who built the castle in the 12th century to protect Fulda property in the area. In 1273, during a war between the Landgraviate of Hesse and the Archdiocese of Mainz , the castle was destroyed for the first time because the Ziegenhain Count Gottfried VI. stood on the Mainz side. In 1450, with the death of the last count, Johann II , the county of Ziegenhain fell by inheritance to Landgrave Ludwig I of Hesse. He had the castle rebuilt and reinforced. During the Thirty Years War the castle was destroyed again and not rebuilt afterwards. It gradually fell into disrepair and was used as a quarry.

In 1858, Prince Ludwig and Heinrich von Hessen-Darmstadt, who were studying in Giessen, acquired the lower castle and had it restored like a castle . The planning for this was carried out by Hugo von Ritgen .

In 1925 the castle became the property of the Hessian state through a land exchange.

The upper castle , of which part of the palace is still preserved, has been the property of the city of Staufenberg since 2002. A freely accessible viewing platform has been set up on the north-eastern corner tower, about 13 meters high, which can be climbed using the staircase tower that is still partially preserved within the walls .

The lower castle , which was converted into a hotel, was sold to private owners by the State of Hesse in 2002. The sale of the castle, the loss of the lease and the ultimately unknown selling price were publicly disputed for over a year. The lower castle now houses the Hotel Burg Staufenberg.

  • Upper and lower castle

  • View of the city from the upper castle

  • View from the upper castle to the city

  • The lower castle

  • Interior view of the upper castle

literature

  • Rudolf Knappe: Medieval castles in Hessen. 800 castles, castle ruins and fortifications. 3. Edition. Wartberg-Verlag, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2000, ISBN 3-86134-228-6 , p. 310.
  • Alexander Thon, Stefan Ulrich, Jens Friedhoff : "Decided with strong iron chains and bolts ...". Castles on the Lahn . Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-7954-2000-0 , pp. 160-165.
  • Randolf Fügen: Highlights in Central Hesse. 1st edition. Wartenberg Verlag, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2003, ISBN 3-8313-1044-0 .
  • Rolf Müller (Ed.): Palaces, castles, old walls. Published by the Hessendienst der Staatskanzlei, Wiesbaden 1990, ISBN 3-89214-017-0 , pp. 337–338.

Web links

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

References and comments

  1. ↑ Map services of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation ( information )
  2. ↑ According to measurements carried out privately