Stolpen Castle
| Stolpen Castle | ||
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 Stolpen Castle |
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| Creation time : | 1100 to 1200 | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | partially preserved | |
| Standing position : | Clerical | |
| Place: | Stumble | |
| Geographical location | 51 ° 2 '52.9 " N , 14 ° 5' 4.1" E | |
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The Stolpen , which in its history from the hilltop castle to castle was rebuilt and later as a fortress was used, is about 27 kilometers east of Dresden , just south of the historic town of Stolpen in the district Saxon Switzerland & Eastern Ore Mountains . The most prominent resident of Stolpen Castle was Countess Cosel ; In addition, two bishops of Meissen died at the castle , who temporarily made the castle their seat of power.
history
The basalt mountain Stolpen was in the border area of the margraviate of Meißen to the Sorbian populated areas east of the Elbe and at the same time in the crossroads of important long-distance trade routes. Taking advantage of the favorable strategic location, the first uncertain news about the fortification of the elevation was known as early as 1100.
Episcopal time
Around 1218, Bishop Bruno II of Porstendorf took back the Stolpen fief from the feudal lord Moyko de Stulpen. In the following time, an independent manor was built up, which belonged to the Meissen Monastery. In 1222 the first documented mention of Stolpen Castle followed, which around 1320 became the administrative center of the newly formed Stolpen Office. The castle was largely built with the locally available basalt. The castle was besieged by the Hussites for the first time in 1429 during the Hussite Wars. The siege lasted eight weeks and was ultimately unsuccessful. Also at the beginning of the 15th century, a settlement was formed on the northern side of the castle, which quickly developed into a town, not least because the Bishops of Meissen moved one of their main residences to Stolpen.
The bishops Caspar von Schönberg and Dietrich III. von Schönberg expanded the castle. The Schösserturm was built between 1476 and 1487. 1509 (inscription) had Bishop Johann VI. von Saalhausen build the towering Johannisturm with a stair tower and a cell vault on the ground floor. At that time the Seigerturm was also built in its lower parts. Together with Wurzen Castle, the castle was one of the bishop's main residences. Under his successor, the granary with its three-aisled vaulted hall was built for the royal stables in 1518.
The Wettin elector August von Sachsen recognized the strategically important location of Stolpen and in 1559 forced the bishop to exchange the castle, the city and the office for a less important office. With this the 250-year episcopal time on Stolpen came to an end.
Electoral time
Immediately after taking over the castle, the elector began extensive building activities in the Renaissance style , transforming the castle into a fortified castle . The living rooms were beautifully painted and an animal and tree garden was created on the southern castle hill. During the Thirty Years War the castle was besieged by imperial Croats in 1632 and successfully defended by citizens of Stolpen. However, large parts of the castle were destroyed by fire on August 1, 1632. After a quick reconstruction, another siege by the Swedes could be repelled in 1639. The expansion to a fortress, which was carried out in 1675 by Wolf Caspar von Klengel , increased Stolpen's military importance. In a town fire in 1723, parts of the castle were also affected and partly destroyed. After it was handed over to the Prussian army in 1756, it was razed just a year later and made unusable. A short time later, in 1758, the castle could be recaptured from Saxony . After the end of the Augustan era, the garrison stationed on the fortress was disbanded in 1764 and the fortress was left to its own devices. In the following time, the neglected building began to deteriorate naturally, so that as early as 1773 parts of the building had to be demolished for safety reasons, as they threatened to collapse.
Napoleonic period
In 1806, Saxony took part in the war against Napoleonic France on the side of Prussia. In the double battle of Jena and Auerstedt in October 1806, 22,000 Saxon soldiers also fought . It ended in catastrophic defeat for Prussia and its allies. Saxony came under French occupation for a short time. In the course of the occupation defenses were rebuilt or newly built in Stolpen. The well was also exposed again. After Napoleon's failed Russian campaign , the French army blew up extensive parts of the castle complex on September 25, 1813 in the course of their retreat and again buried the well.
Kingdom of Saxony
After the French withdrew from Saxony, the castle lost its briefly regained military importance. However, since the Middle Ages emerged as the ideal epoch in the course of the Romantic era, the castle became significant in the tourist sense. In 1859, King John of Saxony ordered extensive restoration measures. One of the main tasks of the castle keeper employed in 1874 was to show visitors around the castle, which was opened to the public on June 1, 1877. At the suggestion of the Royal Saxon Antiquities Association , the basalt fountain was cleared again in 1883.
20th century until today
Tourist use continued in the 20th century. In the years 1935 to 1939 the castle was expanded to encourage tourism. After the Second World War , this use continued, whereby the cultural use was continuously expanded. For example, film recordings of Saxony's glory and Prussia's glory took place at the castle . In 1992 the Free State of Saxony took over legal ownership from the city of Stolpen ; the castle became a state chateau. In the following time, other parts of the castle were expanded and made accessible to visitors. There is also a museum about Countess Cosel and the history of the castle on site.
Visitor numbers
- 1989: 199.165
- 2013: approx. 102,000
The castle complex
Stolpen Castle is a section castle . The Stolpen castle complex is divided over a length of about 220 m into a forecourt (1st courtyard), the upper forecourt (2nd courtyard) and the main castle , which in turn is divided into the lower (3rd courtyard) and the upper main castle (4th castle) . Burghof) is divided.
The entrance to the casemates and a 3 m deep cistern are located in the first courtyard . The first courtyard is completed by the granary, built in 1518, in which the taxes in kind of the farmers in the area of Stolpen were stored. The grain house is 36 m long and has three bulk grain floors. The Kornhaus passage is the only access to the main castle and is home to the main guard. Opposite the main guard is the former stables and the castle's torture chamber.
The upper bailey was created through the construction of the granary, which divides the bailey into two parts. A stone bridge leads over another cistern into the main castle. The stone bridge was built after the Seven Years War and replaces a wooden drawbridge that was destroyed during the war. The main areas of the castle are accessed through a portal decorated with the coat of arms of Electoral Saxony; The Schösserturm, which was built between 1476 and 1487 and used to be the seat of the official castle, is directly adjacent to this portal . The tower stands out because of its large French dome ; the hood that can be seen today was reconstructed in 1936, but without rebuilding the second floor, which had been demolished in 1787 due to the risk of collapse. In the Schösserturm there are two dungeons with the names Ketzerloch and Mönchsloch, reminiscent of the Reformation, in addition to the office of the Schösser. The Zwinger is located between the Schösserturm and the Johannisturm . The battlements of this defense system were demolished at the end of the 18th century and other parts were blown up in 1813.
On the one hand, the 3rd courtyard fulfilled core tasks in the defense of the castle complex, which is why it is also known as the cannon courtyard. On the south side of the courtyard, original cannons from the 17th century can still be seen standing in front of pentagonal loopholes . Furthermore, the 3rd courtyard also fulfilled economic functions on the castle complex: Here were a bakery, blacksmith shop, stables, slaughterhouse and a bathhouse. Since the former two-story battlements no longer exist, the Johannisturm and Seigerturm dominate this part of the complex. The Johannisturm, a guard and defense tower, gained fame through the Countess von Cosel , for whom it, converted as a residential tower, served as a prison in the last years of her life. For this reason, the Johannisturm is popularly known as the Coselturm. The upper floors can be reached through a spiral staircase tower that was added during the Renaissance . The Seigerturm was built around 1455 and increased under Elector August 1560. It got its name from the clock tower built in 1562, the single dial of which pointed towards the city and had only one hand.
The 4th courtyard could previously only be reached via a drawbridge; This can no longer be found today, and the cistern to be bridged has meanwhile been filled in. The courtyard was surrounded by representative buildings, mostly residential buildings. A large part of the building was lavishly furnished on behalf of Elector August. From 1559 a distillery was built into the wall of the northern castle wall. Furthermore, the upper main castle housed important farm buildings such as the kitchen and dining rooms, but also the armory and of course a castle chapel were available. Only the remains of the walls of these buildings have survived. The castle chapel, which was splendidly furnished in earlier times, had an entrance through which the citizens of Stolpen could reach the chapel for worship. Another component of the upper main castle is the 82 m deep basalt fountain. It was built in the first half of the 17th century and was sunk by Freiberg miners . The high castle was at the western end of the castle complex. The representative rooms of the Meissen bishops and later those of the Saxon electors were located here . Erected at the end of the 15th century and splendidly furnished, the castle was already neglected from 1750, fell into disrepair in the following time and disappeared completely in 1773 when the remains were blown up. The Siebenspitzenturm was built at the same time as the Hochschloss. The tower has a square plan, but changes its shape to a hexagon towards the top. At each corner there was a turret, which together with the central roof leads to seven points. The tower lost this roof structure as early as 1632 in a city fire (only a simple helmet roof was rebuilt), but it has retained the name resulting from the peaks to this day.
The water supply
Cisterns
The location of the castle on a basalt mountain inevitably caused problems with the water supply. It can be assumed that attempts have been made to secure the supply of water through cisterns since the first development. In the course of time a system of cisterns was created that supplied the castle and the city with water. Since the quality of the water did not meet the desired requirements, however, attempts were made to find alternatives for the water supply during the episcopal times. It was one of the compulsory duties of the village of Lauterbach to bring fresh water to the castle by cart.
The water art
After the change of rule at the castle, Elector August ordered an improvement in the water supply. In 1561 the Freiberg mountain master Martin Planer was commissioned to build a water art . After a year and a half of construction, the first water was pumped into the castle in 1563. To achieve this masterpiece, 100 meters of altitude had to be bridged. For this purpose, around 1,200 tree trunks were processed and a water wheel with a diameter of over 10 m was built from Freiberg . After several improvements in the following years, the water art was able to cover the entire water requirement of the castle. In 1571 the elector even allowed surplus water to be given to the citizens of the city. Because of the great importance of the water supply, water art was a frequent target in armed conflicts. The water art was destroyed in the Thirty Years 'War as well as in the Seven Years' War . It was always rebuilt and technically improved. Only after it was destroyed by Napoleonic troops in 1813 was the water art finally destroyed.
Basalt fountain
Because of this vulnerability of the water art, the elector Christian II ordered in 1608 to create a deep well . After 22 years of construction, the specially settled Freiberg miners encountered water (corresponds to a daily advance of around 1 cm); construction was completed in 1632. They heated the basalt with wood fires and then doused it with cold water so that tension cracks formed. About 2 m³ of wood were required for this every day. Two meters deep cost about 140 guilders . For comparison: the same 2 meters depth cost only 32 guilders to build the well of the Königstein Fortress (at a depth of 152.5 m and a construction time of two and a half years).
The technical problems of pumping water out of the well meant that the first water was only drawn from the well 30 years later, with an enormous amount of work (the rope alone weighed 175 kg). Since the water art system could be operated with less effort, the water continued to be promoted with the help of water art. After the fountain was buried twice during the war (1756 and 1813), it was cleared in 1883 at the suggestion of the Royal Saxon Antiquities Association.
The well at Stolpen Castle with a depth of 84.39 m is considered to be the deepest basalt well in the world.
The basalt mountain
Stolpen Castle was built on the highest elevation of the Stolpen basalt . The Stolpen Basalt natural monument thus forms the basis for the construction of fortified buildings and at the same time for the name of the castle and town ( Sorbian stołp = "column"). The Stolpen basalt, which was formed 25 million years ago, is one of the largest volcanic rock deposits in the Saxon region and is also the first-mentioned rock of its kind in Europe. The first reliable mention is known from the year 1520, the first precise examination of the rock took place in 1546 by Georgius Agricola , who was the first to use the term basalt in his description. The first known drawings of the Stolpen basalt were made by the Saxon doctor and naturalist Johannes Kentmann in 1565. At the end of the 18th century, a heated dispute broke out over the history of the origins of basalt, which lasted until 1820. Two camps formed that had fundamentally different opinions on the formation, on the one hand the Neptunists and on the other hand the Plutonists . Several famous scientists visited Stolpen during this time, among them the geologist Abraham Gottlob Werner and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe . The basalt chimney of the Stolpener Burgberg was rated in May 2006 by the Academy of Geosciences in Hanover as one of the 77 most important national geotopes in Germany. According to modern petrological classification, however, the Stolpen basalt today has to be addressed as olivine - augite - nephelinite . Basalts usually have a small amount of quartz . Instead of quartz, “alkaline basalt rock” contains the mineral nepheline .
Countess Cosel
In the 18th century Stolpen Castle served as a prison for Countess Constantia von Cosel , a mistress of Augustus the Strong . After she was brought to Stolpen at Christmas 1716, she spent the rest of her life at the castle. Since she knew of state secrets, the conditions of detention were strict at the beginning of the detention. In the course of time these loosened and the countess was able to move freely around the castle grounds. At first they lived in the state rooms of the armory because of this but no longer suitable as a residential district due to lack of maintenance after a fire in 1743, it had for the past two decades in detention in the converted as a residential tower Locust tower move, which in the vernacular therefore was given the name Coselturm. When the countess died on March 31, 1765 at the age of 85, she was buried in the Stolpen castle chapel.
literature
- Walter Bachmann : Stolpen Castle. In: Communications from the Saxon Homeland Security Association. Vol. XX / 1931, pp. 161-192.
- Erich Barth: Compulsory labor for the castle and the Stolpen office. Stolpen 2001. (Stolpner booklet No. 9).
- Carl Christian Gercken: History of the city and mountain fortress Stolpen. Dresden / Leipzig 1764. (digitized from google books)
- Hans-Günther Hartmann: A slosh us stetlein between Pirna and Bischofswerda. Amsterdam / Dresden 1996, ISBN 90-5705-006-4 .
- Jürgen Major: Stolpen Castle - An excursion through the centuries. Edition Basalt, 2001, ISBN 3-936111-00-6 .
- Alfred Meiche: Historical-topographical description of the Pirna administration. Dresden 1927.
- City administration Stolpen (Hrsg.): Chronicle of castle and city of Stolpen. Ed. Reintzsch, Leipzig 1994, ISBN 3-930846-02-0 .
- Marianne and Werner Stams: Office, Castle and City of Stolpen in old maps and plans. An outline of the history of Saxon cartography from its beginnings to the present. Stolpen 1998. (Stolpener Hefte No. 4).
Web links
- Stolpen Castle. official homepage
- The Saxon basalt. Description of the geotope at the Saxon State Office for Environment, Agriculture and Geology
- Reconstruction drawing by Wolfgang Braun
- Fortress Stolpen in the Stadtwiki Dresden with all 19 fortress commanders
Individual evidence
- ↑ Chronicle of Stolpen Castle. (PDF; 83 KB) In: burg-stolpen.org. State palaces, castles and gardens of Saxony , accessed on November 21, 2018 .
- ↑ Fewer guests at Stolpen Castle. In: Sächsische Zeitung (Pirna edition), February 10, 2014 (start of article online ).
- ↑ The deep well in the basalt. Natural monument »Stolpener Basalt«. In: burg-stolpen.org. State palaces, castles and gardens of Saxony, accessed on November 21, 2018 .
- ↑ From Saxony's most expensive well. (PDF; 2.8 MB) In: Frontinus-Mitteilungen No. 49. Frontinus-Gesellschaft , October 2007, accessed on November 21, 2018 .
- ↑ Stolpen Castle. In: burg-stolpen.org. State palaces, castles and gardens of Saxony, accessed on November 21, 2018 .