Taubenberg Castle (Breitau)
| Taubenberg Castle | ||
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.jpg) Main castle area with presumed cistern or tower remains |
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| Alternative name (s): | Tubenberg | |
| Creation time : | Early middle ages | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | Remnants of the wall and ditch system, basement depression | |
| Standing position : | unknown | |
| Construction: | unknown, wall and moat remains visible | |
| Place: | Sontra - Breitau | |
| Geographical location | 51 ° 3 '49 " N , 9 ° 59' 23.6" E | |
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As Castle Taubenberg is a nameless, elongated rectangular Outbound early medieval hilltop castle site in a suspected Wallenburg southwest of Breitau , now part of municipality of Sontra , in northern Hesse Werra-Meissner called.
From the castle complex, which was only rediscovered at the end of the 20th century, only a mostly heavily flattened wall-ditch system remains today. Finds of ceramic fragments from the Celtic era suggest that even before the turn of the century, residents of nearby homes built a refuge here and visited it repeatedly.
The still visible remains of a hill fort, however, belong to the Middle Ages . Also recovered ceramic shards prove a settlement until the 12th or 13th century.
location
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The Taubenberg , now completely overgrown again , called "Tubenberg" in the local dialect , is 340 m high in the central Ulfetal , in the Breitau district in the former Altlandkreis Rotenburg . To the northeast lies the ridge of the “Heiligenberg” and the “Steins”, which rise immediately to the left of the Ulfe. Striking mountains within sight are the 462.6 m high "Holstein" in the northwest and the 360.7 m high "Iberg" in the south. To the south, a nameless stream flows from west to east towards the Ulfe, where it has broken through the ridge in an S-curve between the northern foothills of the Iberg and the Taubenberg .
In terms of natural space , the side east of the Ulfe is assigned to the southern Ringgau , a sub-unit of the northwestern edge plate of the Thuringian Basin , which extends here from northwest Thuringia to Hesse. The area to the west of the Ulfe with the Taubenberg belongs to the "Hosbach-Sontra-Bergland". It is a sub-unit of the Fulda-Werra-Bergland in the East Hessian Bergland .
From a nature conservation point of view, the Taubenberg and its surroundings are particularly protected as a valuable habitat. The area lies in the northwesternmost of the six sub-areas of a flora-fauna habitat (FFH area), which stretches around 20 km as the crow flies from Sontra in the northwest to the Thuringian border east of Herleshausen . The FFH area with the name "Forests and lean lime grasslands of the Ringgau Südabdachung" has the number 4926-305 in the Europe-wide network of Natura 2000 protected areas.
Today's access route is on the northwest side. This was secured as the flattest accessible ridge with an at least two staggered wall-ditch system and is in parts still visible today.
history
Settlement history around the Taubenberg before the castle was built
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Numerous pottery shards found in the district of Breitau show that Celts lived in the Ulfetal as early as the centuries before the birth of Christ . Ulfetal and Ringgau were in the north-eastern edge of their heartland. In the years around the turn of the times, the Celts were oppressed by the tribes of the Germanic peoples advancing south and finally expelled. Celtic castles, mostly as hilltop castles on ridges in the border areas, attest to these changes. Access to Celtic fortifications was usually only possible via narrow ridges and was secured with walls and ditches. On the slopes that were not steep enough, they were additionally secured by dry stone walls . The shape of the Taubenberg corresponds to this description: the summit plateau drops more or less steeply on three sides, relatively easy access is only possible from the northwest via a narrow spur .
There is little evidence of the Teutons, as the new immigrants. The region was, as excavation results confirm, the westernmost part of the Thuringian Empire . During this time, many of the oldest places and place names in the area were created, including Breitau.
In 531 the Thuringians were subjugated by the Frankish kings, who only began to include the country in their military fortification system with the construction of castles and royal courts around 700 . During this time, the first monks of the Hersfeld Monastery , which was newly founded around 775 , built churches, such as those in Breitau, under the protection of the Franconian rule and installed a church patronage organization in the Ulfetal and the Ringgau. In Breitau, the Counts of Ziegenhain held the patronage in the Middle Ages , which was probably given to them by Hersfeld, since they were also in the service of Hersfeld as bailiffs.
In the era of increasing population numbers and improving climatic conditions, numerous hilltop castles were built throughout the empire . Shortly before the turn of the millennium , the Counts of Northeim built the Boyneburg on the other side of the Ulfetal as the center and base of royal property in the Ringgau and Ulfetal.
Early middle ages
The complex as a hill fort without clearly recognizable interior buildings allows the end of the development in the early Middle Ages as a refuge castle .
High Middle Ages
A working group made up of historians and local researchers had tried in "detective work" to develop all available sources for the castle complex for a local chronicle for Breitau's 750th anniversary. Nevertheless, the time of origin and the builders of the hill fort remain unknown.
No brickwork remains have been found to date. This corroborates the assumption of an escape or hill fort. Another possibility would be that the castle was abandoned in the undeveloped state. That would also explain why there is nothing in documents about a castle near Breitau. For the residents of Breitau and the surrounding settlements, the end of the construction work in medieval times would have meant a release from the hard, mostly unpaid labor .
To this day, no written certificates about the builder are known. The first high point of castle building was in the 12th and 13th centuries, to which the ceramic shards found are dated. According to the local researchers, only the Counts of Ziegenhain of the local rulers could have raised the funds to build a castle. As bailiffs of the abbots of Fulda and Hersfeld , they were enfeoffed with numerous goods and court rights for their services. In addition to their property around Reichenbach Castle , they commanded territory in Central Hesse and owned goods in Breitau and other places in the region. In the Ulfetal area, the Ziegenhain feudal lords were on various lands as well as court lords and patrons.
In the following 13th century, the Counts of Ziegenhain limited themselves to securing their property in its existence. That changed when shortly after 1300 Count Johann I von Ziegenhain took over the reign and gradually expanded his power, which led to conflicts with the Landgraves of Hesse . The landgraves tried to enlarge their domain in the Werraland, where they gained a foothold in the second half of the 13th century. When the bailiffs of Sontra died out around 1333, they were able to acquire numerous goods and court rights in the lower Ulfetal and in the Sontra area. During this time, Count Johann grew up with Landgrave Heinrich the Iron of Hesse, a strong and active opponent.
Given the determined actions of the Landgrave, it would not be surprising if Count Johann considered building a castle near Breitau, as the center of his property and jurisdiction in the Ulfetal. In addition, he made a special effort to secure his territories through castles. In Central Hesse alone he had four new castles built and occupied them with knightly Lens people . Since no clear documentary evidence can be found, it is currently unclear whether it was the Ziegenhainers or the lower local nobility who built a castle on the Taubenberg or planned to build it.
investment
At the highest point of Taubenberg, the ground plan of an elongated castle complex emerges: an irregular, approximate rectangle adapted to the terrain, measuring 46 meters on the long sides and 14 and 19 meters on the narrow sides. The area is bordered by at least one ditch with a wall in front of it . To the northwest there is a staggered sequence of two to three ramparts and ditches to protect against the easiest approach.
The slightly curved surface inside consists of weathered shell limestone and gives the impression that it has remained unchanged. An exception is a circular depression on the south-western long side. The “Chronicle Working Group” assumes that a cistern should be built here, because water supplies were essential for masonry work. The collapse area or almost square depression also allows conclusions to be drawn about the cellar of a keep-like building ( residential tower ), as is typical of many early castle stables.
Found fragments of ceramics from the 12th and 13th centuries confirmed the assumption that the complex was settled again or again in medieval times.
Monument protection
The Burgstall is a ground monument according to the Hessian Monument Protection Act . Investigations and targeted collection of finds are subject to approval, and accidental finds are reported to the monument authorities.
Others
To the south of the castle there are several desert areas such as Hatzenbach , Melmenkirche and Brüncherode . It is not clear whether there is a connection. No more in-depth archaeological investigations have yet been carried out in any of the areas, including the castle stables .
literature
- (Ed.) Breitau Festival Committee : Breitau Chronicle: 750 Years Breitau 1260–2010 , self-published, Breitau 2009 (2nd edition 2010), 485 pages
- Rudolf Knappe: Medieval castles in Hesse: 800 castles, castle ruins and castle sites . 3rd edition, Wartberg-Verlag, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2000, ISBN 3-86134-228-6 . P. 176
- Klaus Sippel : Find reports from Hessen. Middle Ages and Modern Times , In: Find reports from Hessen. Vol. 26, 1986, p. 617
- Klaus Sippel: Find reports from Hessen. Middle Ages and Modern Times , In: Find reports from Hessen. Vol. 31, 1991, p. 524
Web links
- Taubenberg Castle, Werra-Meißner district. Historical local dictionary for Hesse (as of January 31, 2014). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS). Hessian State Office for Historical Cultural Studies (HLGL), accessed on December 13, 2019 .
- Entry on Taubenberg Castle in the private database "Alle Burgen" (with pictures). Retrieved December 13, 2019.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Castle Taubenberg, Werra-Meißner district. Historical local dictionary for Hesse (as of January 31, 2014). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS). Hessian State Office for Historical Cultural Studies (HLGL), accessed on December 13, 2019 .
- ↑ The finds are kept in the Hessisches Landesmuseum Kassel .
- ↑ Classification of natural areas according to Otto Klausing in the Hessen Environmental Atlas at atlas.umwelt.hessen.de ; accessed on November 16, 2019.
- ↑ Profile of FFH area 4926-305 “Forests and lean lime grasslands of the Ringgau Südabdachung” on the website of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN); accessed on November 16, 2019.
- ↑ a b c d e f Festival Committee Breitau: Chronicle Breitau: 1260 - 2010 , Breitau 2010, p. 25 f.
- ↑ The "Chronicle Working Group" was a group of historians and Breitau citizens who wrote a village chronicle for Breitau's 750th anniversary. In the years before the anniversary, after extensive research, a nearly five hundred-page Heimatbuch was created, which was published in a limited edition in the anniversary year 2010 at cost price.
- ^ Sippel: Find reports from Hessen. Medieval and Modern Times , Vol. 31, 1991, p. 524
- ^ Hatzenbach, Werra-Meißner district. Historical local dictionary for Hesse (as of May 19, 2017). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS). Hessian State Office for Historical Cultural Studies (HLGL), accessed on December 13, 2019 .
- ↑ Melmenkirche, Werra-Meissner. Historical local lexicon for Hesse (as of October 5, 2018). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS). Hessian State Office for Historical Cultural Studies (HLGL), accessed on December 13, 2019 .
- ↑ Brüncherode, Werra-Meißner district. Historical local lexicon for Hesse (as of November 8, 2017). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS). Hessian State Office for Historical Cultural Studies (HLGL), accessed on December 13, 2019 .
- ↑ Dr. Retired Klaus Sippel , State Office for Monument Preservation Hesse, Hesse ARCHEOLOGY , press release on lfd.hessen.de ; accessed on December 13, 2019