Straufhain castle ruins

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Straufhain castle ruins
Straufhain castle ruins

Straufhain castle ruins

Alternative name (s): Strauf, Struphe
Castle type : Höhenburg, summit location
Conservation status: ruin
Standing position : Count
Place: Straufhain
Geographical location 50 ° 20 '23 "  N , 10 ° 42' 55"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 20 '23 "  N , 10 ° 42' 55"  E
Height: 449  m above sea level NN
Straufhain castle ruins (Thuringia)
Straufhain castle ruins

The castle Straufhain is the ruins of the medieval "castle Struphe" on the mountain Straufhain at Streufdorf in Hildburghausen in Thuringia , Germany .

Geographical location

Straufhain from Hildburghäuser Stadtberg
Straufhain from east-south-east, in the foreground Rudelsdorf

The ruins of the Höhenburg are on the summit of the Straufhain , which is 449  m above sea level. NN is the highest point in the Heldburger Land .

The old name for the castle was "Struphe" and later "Strauf". The later name "Straufhain" for the forest surrounding the castle (a hornbeam and oak forest) is used today for the forest, the mountain and the castle ruins alike. Until recently, the Straufhain ruins were largely covered by dense deciduous forest and only visible from the valley during the winter months. After the lines of sight have been cleared, the ruins can be seen from afar throughout the year.

Building description

Today only remnants of the former palace are preserved, the thick walls are nevertheless quite impressive. Since written evidence about the castle is very rare, there have been several attempts to reconstruct the original castle, often overlaid by speculation. What is certain is that it consisted of several buildings that took up the entire summit, and the area had to be artificially expanded due to the limited space. A mantle wall surrounded the castle at the summit, including the outer walls of the buildings. A little below, another protective wall blocked access, which was only possible via drawbridges . Further below followed a moat one the entire mountain surrounding moat wall . The problem was the water supply for the castle, which in an emergency from cisterns was barely possible to have a source outside the ring wall was not reliable at the foot of the mountain gave a more fresh water that are managed up to donkeys had. The water problem was certainly one of the main reasons for the subsequent abandonment of the castle.

history

The neighboring settlements “strufedorp” (today Streufdorf ) and “siduchestat” (today Seidingstadt ), both of which belong to the municipality of Straufhain today , are named together in a document 800, the castle could have already existed at that time. At that time the Counts of Wildberg ruled the area. In 1156 a document from Bishop Gebhard von Würzburg attests to a "Helbold de Strufe" as feudal man Margrave Albrecht the Bear in his capacity as Count of Weimar-Orlamünde. Later, the Counts of Henneberg, the so-called "Popponen" owned the castle, which played an important role in the history of Franconia . Under Poppo VI, he married Countess Palatine Bertha von Sachsen in 1136, Struphe Castle experienced a heyday, minstrels maintained the societies and knight tournaments were held in Seidingstadt . Under Poppo VII (he called himself Poppo comes de Struphe and ruled from 1190 to 1245) and his wife Jutta von Thuringia , Struphe Castle was an important cultural center for the empire. One of his sons, Hermann I von Henneberg and Count von Struphe or Strauf, married Margarethe, the sister of the Roman-German King Wilhelm of Holland, at the royal court in Mainz in 1245. They called their son Poppo again. Even in its time, the castle was a cultural center, and from 1247 the sphere of influence also included the maintenance of Coburg . This made Struphe Castle the largest center of power in the region south of the Thuringian Forest. From the 14th century, the Straufhain gradually lost its importance as a castle of the ruling nobility. Around 1525 the castle , which had become a robber baron's nest, was destroyed by rebellious farmers during the Peasants' War. The neighboring castles Veste Coburg and Veste Heldburg had meanwhile taken over the role of Straufhain, which has since been abandoned. The dukes of Saxony-Hildburghausen loved the quiet place with the ruin, with it as a backdrop, theatrical performances and patriotic ceremonies took place on the mountain. In Seidingstadt, the dukes built a hunting lodge (which the GDR authorities had decayed and demolished). The forests around Straufhain have always been a popular hunting ground. Around 1780, four floors of the palace were still in ruins. Friends of homeland have tried again and again to preserve the ruins.

literature

  • Thomas Bienert: "Straufhain-Seidingstadt" - Medieval castles in Thuringia . Wartberg Verlag, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2000, ISBN 3-86134-631-1 , p. 115-118 .
  • Michael Köhler: Thuringian castles and fortified prehistoric and early historical living spaces . 2. extended and revised Edition, Jenzig-Verlag, Jena 2003, ISBN 3-910141-56-0 , pp. 271-272.
  • Norbert Klaus Fuchs: The Heldburger Land - a historical travel guide; Rockstuhl Publishing House, Bad Langensalza 2013, ISBN 978-3-86777-349-2

Web links

Commons : Burgruine Straufhain  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. New attraction on the Straufhain. (PDF) Retrieved January 23, 2017 .
  2. ^ Lutz Partenheimer : Albrecht the bear. Founder of the Mark Brandenburg and the Principality of Anhalt. Cologne / Weimar / Vienna, 2nd edition 2003, p. 130