Wendelstein Castle
| Wendelstein Castle | ||
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 Field side of Wendelstein Castle |
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| Alternative name (s): | Winterstein Castle | |
| Creation time : | 1260 | |
| Castle type : | Niederungsburg | |
| Conservation status: | Received or received substantial parts | |
| Place: | Vacha | |
| Geographical location | 50 ° 49 '49 " N , 10 ° 1' 28" E | |
| Height: | 235 m above sea level NN | |
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The castle Wendelstein is the medieval castle built in the town of Vacha in Wartburgkreis in Thuringia .
location
As a city castle , the facility is located on the northern edge of the old town, about 100 meters from today's banks of the Werra , the castle regulated and protected the access to the Werra bridge .
history
In the Middle Ages, Vacha was an important stopover in the network of Hessian-Thuringian highways, the existing river crossing (ford points) was significantly promoted from 1186 by the construction of wooden bridges and from 1346 by one (or two) stone bridges; at the same time, this enabled the development of a market and urban settlement and made it necessary to build a fortification on the city-side bank. This castle complex was founded and armed with military equipment under Abbot Heinrich IV of Fulda . They were first mentioned in 1294. The castle complex was included in the city fortifications and formed the north-eastern bulwark. The castle men were obliged to build residences within the city. In document collections and the city chronicle are mentioned:
- Heinrich von Bienbach (mentioned in 1321 as Burgmann)
- Albert von Gunthausen (mentioned in 1335 as a Burgmann when it handed over land in Herfa to the Kreuzburg monastery)
- Ludwig von Leimbach (mentioned in 1342 as Burgmann)
- Heinrich von Rasdorf (mentioned in 1347 as Vogt)
- Friedrich von Völkershausen (mentioned in 1348 as Burgmann)
- Berthold and Apel von Buttlar (mentioned in 1360 as Burgmannen)
- Kraft von Rasdorf and Johann von Bienbach (mentioned in 1363 as castle people)
- Wolfram von Ostheim (was mentioned in 1388 as the "Stieffts Borgmann"),
- Eberhard and Gottschalk von Buchenau (were mentioned in 1390 as pawnbrokers with the subordinate Hans Schade von Leiboldes)
- Fritz von Herda (mentioned in 1396 as Burgmann)
- Johannes von Bibra (mentioned in 1399 as Burgmann).
From the permanent pledging of the castle and town of Vacha (two thirds of the town) to the Hessian Landgrave Hermann II, which began in 1406. Wendelstein Castle now became the Hessian official seat. Gottschalk von Buchenau held the other third of the pledge to the town and castle. It was transferred to the knights of Buchenau as castle men. Next followed:
- Simon von der Thann (mentioned in 1413 as Vogt)
- Hans von Baumbach (mentioned in 1415 when he received the castle loan in Vacha and Pferdsdorf)
- Hans von Bibra (mentioned in 1429 as Burgmann, later also on Biberstein)
- Ludolf von Weiblingen (mentioned in 1529 as chamber master and administrator of the winery)
- Alexander von der Thann (mentioned as bailiff in 1549)
The castle complex survived the great city fire of 1467 with luck. Vacha was captured several times during the Thirty Years' War , and the castle complex had hardly any military significance at that time. From 1648 to 1816 the town and castle came permanently to the Landgraviate of Hessen-Kassel , then to the Grand Duchy of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach . In the 19th century, various buildings in the castle were used as a spinning mill. Further buildings were added and a renewed simple wall with a courtyard gate was built towards the city.
investment
The castle complex has a rectangular base and is currently about 60 to 80 meters wide. The massive outer walls were preserved in remnants, the upstream moat and the inner ditch to the city were filled. The city-side walls were torn down or relocated in the 19th century, in the overview plan of the castle from 1911 these are referred to as the "New Wall". The castle had a city-side entrance in the south and a separate one in the east. Immediately to the west of the castle was the lower gate of the city fortifications, where the main entrance to the bridge led past and was monitored from the castle.
A round tower was preserved in the south-west corner of the castle, about 20 m high and 2 m thick, the access to which was possible at a height of about 10 m through a small gate. The tower has a brick spire as a roof. The main building, the bower, is a largely preserved building from around 1600. Several farm and auxiliary buildings leaned against the inner wall , these were gradually renewed or removed. As a traffic obstacle, the medieval gate structures, barriers and fortifications along the access road to the Werra bridge and into the castle were removed as early as the 19th century. Some town houses were built in their place.
Current situation and usage
The castle complex is a designated architectural and cultural monument of the city of Vacha. In 1986, on the occasion of the 800th anniversary celebration, the Vacha local history museum was set up in the castle grounds, for which the rooms of the bower are used. The round tower is currently without function. The castle grounds are freely accessible.
Others
Name interpretation
The derivation of the name Wendelstein has not been handed down; A Wendelstein means a stair tower on a castle or church building, the origin of the name Wendelin - Wendel for short - would be obvious . The name Winterstein is also known for this castle.
Memorial plaque to Hans Sippel
A memorial plaque on the castle wall commemorates Hans Sippel, a citizen of Vacha and leader of the Werra heap of rebellious farmers, he was captured and executed in Eisenach in 1525 .
literature
- Olaf Dietzel, Walter Höhn: Vacha and the neighboring communities in the Oechsetal . Michael Imhof Verlag, Petersberg / Fulda 2011, ISBN 978-3-86568-121-8 , p. 15-17 .
- Georg Kühn The castle on the Werra In: Lehfeldt, Paul / Voss, Georg (Hrsg.): Building and art monuments of Thuringia. Booklet XXXVII. Jena 1911, p. 34f
- Waldemar Küther : Vacha and his Servite monastery in the Middle Ages In: Mitteldeutsche Forschungen, Volume 64, Marburg 1971
- Thomas Bienert: Vacha, Burg Wendelstein In: Medieval castles in Thuringia, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2000, p. 337, ISBN 3-86134-631-1
Individual evidence
- ^ Paul Grau and Max Eckardt: Chronicle of the City of Vacha Vacha 1922, page 21
- ↑ Georg Kühn History of the city of Vacha and the castle on the Werra In: Lehfeldt, Paul / Voss, Georg (ed.): Building and art monuments of Thuringia. Booklet XXXVII. Jena 1911, pp. 2-11, 32-35
- ↑ Olaf Dietzel: The time of origin of the city of Vacha. Bad Hersfeld 1991 p. 40
