Streichenberg Castle

Streichenberg Castle
Main gate of Streichenberg Castle (2007)
Creation time :	Second half of the 13th century
Castle type :	Höhenburg, spur location
Conservation status:	Received or received substantial parts
Standing position :	Nobility, counts
Place:	Gemmingen
Geographical location	49 ° 9 '26.3 "  N , 8 ° 57' 31"  E Coordinates: 49 ° 9 '26.3 "  N , 8 ° 57' 31"  E

The castle Streichenberg is a Spur castle at Stebbach , an unincorporated hamlet of Gemmingen in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Wuerttemberg . The Spornburg, which was built in the 13th century in the district of Zimmer, probably by the Lords of Gemmingen , was probably partially destroyed during the Thirty Years' War or, at the latest, during the War of the Palatinate Succession . Around 1820, the Counts of Degenfeld built the nearby Schomberg Castle as a new mansion, after which the castle was only used as an estate until the 1960s and was rebuilt several times. Since then there have been various restoration efforts, which so far have only led to the securing and renovation of part of the complex, which is partly used for residential and business purposes.

location

The castle stands on the spur of a small hill, at the fork of a former trade route that was used until the 15th century, with a view of the Ravensburg and Steinsberg castles and the neighboring Schomburg Castle.

The railway line of the Kraichgau Railway and the Gemminger quarry are located in the immediate vicinity of the castle . In addition, the castle hill is now overgrown by forest trees, so that the once attractive, free-standing and clearly visible castle is now largely covered by the leaves of the trees and leads a shadowy existence near the embankment and quarry.

history

The castle was owned by various Kraichgau lords and passed through the Count Palatine to the Counts of Degenfeld .

The time of origin

There is no documentary information about the origins of the castle. The earliest owners can therefore only be inferred from the context of the history of ownership of the Streichenberg. The Streichenberg was one of those lands that the Counts of Oettingen inherited at the end of the 12th century. In the second half of the 13th century, the lords of Gemmingen had, in addition to other lands, the area around Stebbach -zimmer with the Streichenberg as a fief of the Oettinger. The earliest possible builders from around 1255 to 1270 were the Counts of Oettingen. It is very likely that the castle was only built between 1282 and 1287 by Swicker (Schweicker) von Gemmingen , who was the royal governor in Wimpfen under King Rudolf von Habsburg . It was the fourth castle in Gemmingen, in addition to the three family castles of the Lords of Gemmingen that already existed at that time. The castle was built in the area surrounding the village ofzimmer, which has been deserted since the late Middle Ages . It is believed that the departure of rooms is related to the construction of the Streichenberg Castle.

Swicker von Gemmingen left two sons, Wolf and Blicker, and two daughters Elisabeth and Gertrud. Elisabeth married Raban Göler von Ravensburg and Gertrud Albert von Enzberg in 1278 . Streichenberg Castle came to Swicker's sons-in-law, who appeared as witnesses in deeds of donation in the Streichenberg area during Swicker's lifetime (1287). Gertrud was widowed in 1297 and later married Zeisolf von Magenheim. Streichenberg Castle, first mentioned in 1331, remained in the possession of the descendants of Swicker von Gemmingen's sons-in-law, namely Mr. Göler von Ravensburg and Mr. von Enzberg , until the late 14th century . In the years 1310 to 1379 the name Raban Göler von Streichenberg appears several times, denoting at least three generations of lords of the castle of the same name (Raban II., III., IV.). The Enzberg descendants Albrecht the Elder and Albrecht the Younger also had the same name and appear in documents from 1351 to 1367. The Göler'sche Chronik also reports that Raban (II.) Göler von Streichenberg murdered Zeisolf von Magenheim, the second husband of his aunt Gertrud, in 1320.

Documents from 1360 state that Albrecht von Enzberg the Old and Raven Goler the Young each open their part of the "fixed Streichenberg" to the Count Palatine Ruprecht I. The mill below the castle is mentioned for the first time in 1376.

The era of the Lords of Mentzingen

Eberhard the Elder from the family of the Lords of Mentzingen , a sideline of the Göler von Ravensburg family, received three quarters of the Streichenberg fiefdom in 1385. The certificate states:

"I Eberhart received from Menczingen knights han the right man loans by Ruprecht the parents palatine earls by rine, top richs of the Holy Roman Steward , myn vesten stroke Mountain, myne teyle it that were formerly the old Ravens of bar Mountain, Albrecht of Enczberg and Friczen of Urbach and his mother, that's the druwe teyle at the same veste 1385. "

The background to the change of ownership could be the feud of the Enzbergers against the Maulbronn monastery , as a result of which Count Palatine Ruprecht razed the castle of Enzberg to the ground in 1384. An Albrecht Enzberger captured in the process could have been identical to the former Streichenberg lord of the castle, so a withdrawal of the Streichenberg fief would be plausible.

Streichenberg Castle around 1610 (painting by Anton Mirou ) still with the keep and the Palas building

Streichenberg Castle, floor plan around 1700 after the wars of the 17th century without a keep

Streichenberg Castle after 1820 as "Öconomie-Hof" (farmyard).

Streichenberg Castle from a distance from the southwest, in the background the Gemminger quarry

Eberhart the Younger, son of the elder, allied himself in 1387 with his castles Streichenberg and Ravensburg with the city of Wimpfen. In 1391 the Streichenberg was pledged by the brothers Eberhart Rafe and Wiprecht von Mentzingen for 3400 guilders to Hans von Gemmingen and his nephew Jörg. The castle was once again in the possession of the family of its builders for a short time. However, as early as 1399 Raban (VI.) Von Mentzingen ( Rafen von Mentzingen the young ) was mentioned as the sole owner of the castle.

The era of the Lords of Angelach and Neipperg

In 1448 Wilhelm IV. Von Angelach-Angelach acquired the Streichenberg Castle for 3,300 guilders and then spent another 500 guilders on new buildings. In 1458 his brother Dieter VI inherited . from Angelach-Angelach the castle. According to a coat of arms stone from 1536, the von Angelach men carried out construction work on the castle again that year, but the sales and relinquishment of the Angelach heralds financial difficulties. Wilhelm VIII von Angelach-Streichenberg (1525–1562), the last owner of the Streichenberg from the Angelacher family, was even dubbed a "spendthrift" in a poem by Stephan Feyerabend in 1574 . In 1560, Wilhelm and his sons sold the castle to Philipp von Neipperg for 33,000 guilders. In 1578, the lords of Neipperg also acquired the mill below the castle, which was part of the fief . The brothers Philipp and Engelhart von Neipperg sold their male fiefdom claim for 39,000 guilders to Elector Friedrich IV as early as 1596 , making the Streichenberg Castle property of the Electoral Palatinate.

The era of the Electoral Palatinate and wars of the 17th century

The Electoral Palatinate established an official cellar belonging to the Hilsbach cellar at the Streichenberg Castle . There is little information about the castle from the Thirty Years War . Count Palatine Johann pawned the castle temporarily to the imperial knighthood from 1621. The fighting of the war probably also had an impact on the castle. In 1634 the mill below the castle burned down, in 1643 a house was built inside the castle. In 1661 Mennonite tenants were named at the castle.

Elector Carl Ludwig 1670 belehnte his minor son Karl Ludwig Raugraf to Palatinate , emerged from the left-handed marriage with Marie Luise von Degenfeld , with the castle Streichenberg and the place Stebbach. Karl Ludwig died childless in 1688, just like his brothers died unmarried and childless. His eldest sister Caroline married Count Meinhard, Duke of Schomburg and Leinster and their youngest daughter married their uncle Count Christoph Martin II von Degenfeld. Since the Duke of Schomburg had no successor, part of the Schomberg property (including Streichenberg) as well as the name and coat of arms, but without a duke title, went to the von Degenfeld family , who have since called themselves von Degenfeld-Schomberg (also -Schonburg) .

During the Palatinate War of Succession , the area around Eppingen was affected by large troop movements in the summer of 1693. 1693 Castle Streichenberg is mentioned as ruined. The keep, which was still shown on a painting in 1610, is no longer recorded on a site plan around 1700.

Use by the Counts of Degenfeld

From 1818 to 1822 the Counts of Degenfeld-Schonburg built Schomberg Castle on a neighboring hill . Since then, the outer bailey of Streichenberg Castle has been built over with farm buildings, and in the middle of the 19th century the castle was converted into an estate. In 1856 a large stable building was built, and in 1876 the last of the former three towers was demolished to make room for more farm buildings. In 1885 a large barn was built inside the castle.

Streichenberg Castle was used as an estate until about 1940 and was inhabited until 1963. After that, it stood empty for about ten years, until a group of then younger people moved into the castle in the mid-1970s, but they were unable to stop its continuing decline. It was also during this period that two dilapidated and roofless residential buildings that had previously been used as stables were torn down. In 1993/94 the Counts of Degenfeld-Schonburg built a defensive wall from the 14th / 15th centuries. Secure and partially rebuild in the 19th century. Around the year 2000 the castle was for a long time for sale and almost fell back into the hands of its early owners, the von Gemmingen family.

investment

Some residential buildings in the castle have been renovated and inhabited. A newer farm building was poorly prepared for events. Large parts of the complex, which is only partially accessible to the public, are in dire need of renovation or are only preserved as ruins . The ornate Renaissance portal of the former palace is currently (May 2007) being secured with funds from the State Monuments Office.

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  Partially renovated residential building

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  Unrenovated residential buildings

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  Rest of a farm building

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hildebrandt 2007, pp. 54/55.
2. ↑ Hildebrandt 2007, p. 55.
3. ↑ Hildebrandt 2007, p. 56.
4. ↑ Hildebrandt 2007, p. 56.
5. ↑ Hildebrandt 2007, p. 57.

literature

• Hinrich Zürn: Streichenberg Castle. On the history of construction and ownership. In: Kraichgau. Episode 14, 1995, ZDB -ID 127933-6 , pp. 165-189.
• Ludwig H. Hildebrandt: News on the history of Castle Streichenberg near Stebbach. In: Kraichgau. Episode 20, 2007, pp. 53-72.

Web links

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

• Streichenberg at LEO-BW