Vildštejn Castle (Skalná)
| Vildštejn Castle | ||
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 Wildstein Castle (Skalná) |
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| Alternative name (s): | German Wildstein | |
| Creation time : | Late 12th century | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | Preserved essential parts | |
| Place: | Skalná | |
| Geographical location | 50 ° 10 '10.8 " N , 12 ° 21' 37.8" E | |
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The castle Vildštejn (German Wildstein ) in Skalná in the Czech Republic was founded by the noble family Notthracht towards the end of the 12th century . It was first mentioned in writing in 1224. The hilltop castle probably owes its name to its former topographical location on the edge of a populated area.
Building history
The castle is a combination of a hill and a moated castle . It stands on a rock protruding from the Soosbach (Czech: Sázek) valley. The stream could be dammed earlier, so that the main castle was surrounded by water all around. The oldest parts of the castle - the portal to outer ward , part of the surrounding wall , the gateway to the main castle flanking the keep and the two bullets comprehensive chapel - are the Romanesque associate. In the 14th century at the latest, a cross vault was built on the ground floor, supported by mighty girders and resting on two central pillars . This Gothic building adjoins the Romanesque chapel to the west, through whose apse the access to the main castle has probably been broken since the 17th century. A room adjacent to the Gothic vault in the south with lancet vaults resting on a central column with belt arches was probably only vaulted in the 17th century when the entire building was raised. The two upper floors were provided with beam ceilings , of which essentially only the girder beams had survived until 1993 . Judging by their profile , the beamed ceilings were pulled in in the 17th century.
To the east of the main castle, separated from it by a ditch that has been arched since the 17th century , is the outer castle. Even if the building, reconstructed according to old illustrations with a mansard roof , makes a baroque impression due to the shape of the windows , a look at the ground floor of the building, which has already been ruined, reveals its medieval origins. The gate tower-like gate construction of the outer bailey even has a Romanesque portal.
owner
The name of the place Wildstein, known today in Czech as Skalná, appears for the first time in a list dating from around 1224 of Duke Leopold VI. donated income from Austria to the Waldsassen monastery . These had to be acquired by the monastery from the possession of third parties. Among them was a tithe with six talents in Tirschenreuth , Großklenau and Swaichoven , which was released for 69 marks from the hands of a Geroldi de Wiltstein . Since no offspring with the name Gerold can be found in the family history of the Notthracht , the family did not relate to his ancestral castle until one year later, on April 25, 1225 with Albertus Nothaft de Wiltstein, who appeared as a documentary witness . The castle was founded in the area of some settlements ("Babenberger Zehnte"), perhaps already established around the turn of the millennium, on the northern edge of a hitherto hardly populated marshland ( Soos ) and served those in need as a basis for their cultural work in the area between Scheibenbach and Eger , today's Cheb . Wildstein's central function for the surrounding area is also expressed in the fact that a parish was established here in the 13th century.
In 1298 Engelhard II sold the Wildstein Castle to his son-in-law, Jan Rabe , who came from Mechelgrün in the Vogtland . His descendants remained in the possession of Wildstein in 1388. At the beginning of the 15th century, the castle appeared in the hands of the Eger patrician family, the Frankengrüner. From 1439 to 1521 the Gumerauers, who also came from the Eger patriciate, sat on Wildstein, then the rule passed to the Count Schlick, who were related to the Gumerauers . Already in 1531 Albrecht Schlick sold the estate to Wolf Adam von Wirsperg from Franconia . This divided the Wildstein manor into an "upper" and a "lower" part. In 1596 his descendants sold Wildstein to Hans Andreas von Trautenberg , who came from Fuchsmühl in the Upper Palatinate . The Trautenbergers remained the lords of Wildstein until the end of the 18th century. In 1799 Georg Johann Wilhelm, the owner of the neighboring Altenteich estate , acquired the Oberwildstein estate with the old castle building. His son Georg Oswald Wilhelm later also bought Unterwildstein. In 1884 Alfred and Karl Wilhelm v. Helmfeld sold the Wildstein estate to Count Engelhard v. Wolkenstein-Trostburg , whose descendants sat on Wildstein until 1945.
Current condition
After the end of the Second World War , the castle was nationalized and fell into disrepair. It has been privately owned again since 2000. Comprehensive reconstruction work has started. The oldest preserved building in the castle is the Romanesque chapel.
In 2001, public access was made possible for the first time. The castle museum and the castle gallery can be visited free of charge. There is a petting zoo for children with large pets and wild animals. The castle has a restaurant that offers various knight menus. The guest rooms are the small and large knight's hall in the historic Gothic style.
Front view of Wildstein Castle
Defensive trench
Today's access
Big back building
Part of the courtyard
Museum in the castle complex
literature
- Harald Stark : The Notthracht family. Searching for traces in the Egerland, Bavaria and Swabia. Späthling, Weißenstadt 2006, ISBN 3-926621-46-X .
- Heribert Sturm : Districtus Egranus. An originally Bavarian region (= Historical Atlas of Bavaria. Part: Altbayern. Series 2, Book 2). Commission for Bavarian State History, Munich 1981, ISBN 3-7696-9930-0 .
- Tomáš Karel, Vilém Knoll: Stredoveká sidla Notthrachtu v Cechách / Medieval seats of the Notthracht in Bohemia. In: Karel Halla, Volker Dittmar (eds.): Po stopách šlechtického rodu Notthrachtů - Notthphia v Euregiu Egrensis. = On the trail of a noble family - The Notthaffte in Bohemia and Bavaria. (Catalog kejnojmenné výstave v Krajském Muzeu Cheb av Muzeu Chebska v Marktredwitz). Krajské Muzeum Cheb et al., Cheb 2006, ISBN 80-85018-57-8 , pp. 103-127.
- Vinzenz Uhl: Castles and palaces of the Ore Mountains and Egertal. Kaaden, 1935.
