Windecken Castle

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Windecken Castle
Inner castle gate

Inner castle gate

Alternative name (s): Wunnekke Castle, Wonnecke (n), Wynecke
Creation time : 13th Century
Castle type : Hilltop castle
Conservation status: Only two castle gates from the 16th century, the castle cellar and the official building from the 18th century have survived.
Standing position : Ministeriale, gentlemen, counts since 1429
Place: Nidderau - wind corners
Geographical location 50 ° 13 '25.3 "  N , 8 ° 52' 49.9"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 13 '25.3 "  N , 8 ° 52' 49.9"  E
Height: 130  m above sea level NN

The castle Windecken (medieval also: Castle Wonnecke ) is a medieval castle in Windecken , a district of Nidderau in Main-Kinzig-Kreis in Hesse . It was built on the fief of the Bamberg diocese by the lords and counts of Hanau . In the Thirty Years' War it was heavily damaged. Two gates from the 16th century, the administrative building and castle cellar from the 18th century as well as parts of the curtain wall are still visible today .

location

The remains of the hilltop castle are located above the old town of Windeck on a sloping 130  m above sea level on all sides . NN high terrain spur. The Nidder flows north of the complex , the steep bank of which was incorporated into the castle complex, while the old town of Windeck with numerous half-timbered houses is located on the other three sides . The city was surrounded by its own ring of walls, which attached to the castle walls, of which only a few remains have survived. The castle and settlement were conveniently located at a river crossing and the intersection of two streets.

history

founding

The place Windecken was first mentioned around 850 in a donation to the Fulda monastery as Tezelenheim . In the Middle Ages, the bishopric of Bamberg had income and property here as well as in the neighboring town of Ostheim , first documented in 1239, when Heinrich von Hanau gave his property in Stierstadt to fief and received the income in Ostheim and Tezelnheim for four years. The income of the diocese may have come from the previous possession of the Lords of Hagen-Münzenberg .

In 1260, Bishop Berthold pledged the monastery property to Reinhard I von Hanau . Two years later Reinhard I was enfeoffed with the goods by Bishop Berthold. In the same year, Gutzold von Ilbenstadt was named as the first Burgmann in Windecken. It is very likely that the castle was built between 1260 and 1262 in agreement with the liege lord. It is assumed that there was already a castle-like structure here before, but no statement can be made about this due to a lack of sources. The document with the mention of Gutzold is also the first mention of the name Windecken ( Wonnecke ). Whether the name is actually derived from a “blissful corner” is controversial and ultimately cannot be proven. The interest of the Lords and Counts of Hanau in promoting the expansion of the city and castle in the following period can be clearly documented. Reinhard's successor Ulrich I von Hanau received city ​​and market rights for his village Windecken from King Rudolf I in 1288 . The name of the castle was passed on to the settlement. As a result, numerous castle men are occupied at the castle. In 1379 half of the castle and town of Elisabeth von Ziegenhain was contractually guaranteed as Wittum when she was betrothed to Ulrich V. In 1399, Henne von Bellersheim declared the feud to Ulrich V. and warned in a letter to the imperial city of Frankfurt that there would be wars against the Hanau castles of Hanau, Windecken, Dorfelden , Assenheim , Rodheim and Münzenberg . However, the consequences of this dispute are not known.

Outer castle gate

Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Times

The castle was one of the residences of the Lords and Counts of Hanau , who preferred the Hanau City Palace as their main residence since the 15th century . Windecken Castle was used as a secondary residence, widow's and official residence of the Hanau authorities in Windecken , Nauheim, Münzenberg and Ortenberg . During times of war, the documents of the nearby Naumburg Abbey were occasionally brought to a safe place in the castle , over which Hanau exercised a protective function. Counts Philipp the Elder (founder of the Hanau-Lichtenberg line , 1417) and Philipp the Younger (founder of the Hanau-Munzenberg line , 1449) were born here and baptized in the castle chapel.

Erasmus Alberus described it in his 1552 Kurtzen Description of the Wetterau as follows: Winnecken has a nice castle, funny to look at. In 1597 Charlotte Louise , the eldest daughter of Count Philipp Ludwig II , was born in Windecken .

In 1612, after the Count's death, Windecken was assigned as a widow's residence to his widow Katharina Belgica , who reigned for her underage son Philipp Moritz . This may have triggered major renovations to the castle, which verifiably began in 1629 despite the Thirty Years War . The plans by the architect Joachim Rumpf are preserved in the Hessian State Archives in Marburg .

destruction

Matthäus Merian: Topographia Hassiae

Or Winnecker / so everything is / has been a very fine place before / with a ringmawer: but now the helper is almost up in the ashes / and has got into a miserable desert and wasteland. In front of this it had a beautiful castle in it and such its noble castle men and customs / almost the same as Friedberg / Gelnhausen / Staden / and the like. Is Hanawischer Bottmässigkeit / one Meyl from Hanaw / two Meylen from Franckfurt / vnd two Meylen from Friedberg / located. Earlier I also had a fine wine wax / good arable fields / also forests / and similar foodstuffs / but now very much. The water darbey is called the Nidder. In the winter month of the 1648th year / the people of the Schmidberg Regiment / the people of the Schmidberg Regiment / so at that time with several Hessian-Casselian servants / as a Salvaguardi / occupied / overcame / and some of the many village sheep / cattle / and other things / pleaded there been taken away; as in the 6th part of the Theatri Europaei.

On May 15, 1634, the castle was looted and destroyed by Croats. In 1646 Windecken was attacked again by the Swedish Schmidtberger regiment, the castle partly went up in flames. Matthäus Merian gives an exact description of the place and the conditions from this time. However, there is no drawing by him.

The so-called Hexenturm is part of the former outer bailey.

The crumbling castle buildings were no longer used after the Thirty Years War and served as a quarry. Windecken thus lost its status as a secondary residence and part of the small-town function it had before the war. It was not until the 18th century that the castle was given a new use as the seat of the local court . Partly using the old building fabric and building on older foundations, an official building and another outbuilding were built. This use also ended in the 20th century. The castle is now a listed building and is privately owned.

investment

Only parts of the curtain wall have been preserved from the medieval substance of the inner castle . Of the two preserved gates, the outer, so-called east gate, dates back to 1592. The inner gate with the striking oriel turrets also comes from the 16th century. The coat of arms of the Counts of Hanau is placed in a cartouche above the gate. The gate still represents the most striking remainder of the complex. This could provide further information about the appearance of the castle in an unusual way: In the basement of the castle, a stove plate with the representation of a castle complex was found during excavations. In addition to a keep and a larger residential building, this is dominated by a gate that looks very similar to the preserved Windecker gate. Despite the similarity, it is not certain whether the depiction is actually about Windecken Castle. The piece is privately owned.

Attempts to reconstruct the core castle based on Rumpf's reconstruction plans from 1627 were made by Ernst Julius Zimmermann , but they yielded rather hypothetical results. A nearly rectangular core castle is secured, which was bordered by numerous residential buildings in the east, south and west. The west wing with the main entrance was flanked by a round tower . The outer bailey , which is largely overbuilt today, mostly dates from the 15th century. Parts of the wall ring and the so-called “witch tower” with a half-timbered hood from more recent times are still preserved. Mainly farm buildings are likely to have been located within the outer bailey. The location of a castle chapel with the Petrus patronage , which has been documented since 1491, is not entirely clear . It could have been in the main castle as well as in the outer castle. The few remaining remains show, however, that Windecken Castle was a representative castle , comparable to the castles in Steinau and Schwarzenfels, which were also used as Hanau widow's residence .

From 1736 the complex was largely replaced by newer buildings. A larger residential building with a mansard roof, which was built in the castle courtyard, housed the district court until 1970. Since then it has been used as a residential building again. Today there is a restaurant in the basement. To the left of the inner gate, a smaller building was built in the 18th century, which at times served as a prison. Because the facility is inhabited, it can only be viewed from the outside.

literature

  • Gerhard Bott : The cities in the Wetterau and in the Kinzig valley. Kramer, Frankfurt 1950 ( Rhein-Mainische Forschungen 29 ), pp. 45-48.
  • Erhard Bus : Not only on the Main and Kinzig. An overview of the development of the territory of the Lords and Counts of Hanau from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. In: Stadtzeit 6. 700 years of city rights, 400 years of Jewish existence. Hanau 2003, ISBN 3-9806988-8-2 , pp. 20-29, especially p. 22.
  • Rudolf Knappe: Medieval castles in Hessen. 800 castles, castle ruins and fortifications. 3. Edition. Wartberg-Verlag, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2000, ISBN 3-86134-228-6 , p. 394f.
  • Rolf Müller (Ed.): Palaces, castles, old walls. Hessendienst der Staatskanzlei, Wiesbaden 1990, ISBN 3-89214-017-0 , pp. 277-279.
  • Christian Ottersbach : The castles of the lords and counts of Hanau (1166–1642). Studies on castle politics and castle architecture of a noble house. Ed .: Magistrate of the Brothers Grimm City of Hanau and Hanauer Geschichtsverein 1844 eV , Hanau 2018, ISBN 978-3-935395-29-8 (=  Hanauer Geschichtsblätter Vol. 51 ), pp. 641-657.
  • Heinrich Reimer : Historical local lexicon for Kurhessen (= publications of the historical commission for Hesse. Volume 14). Marburg 1926, p. 520.
  • Fred Schwind : At the beginning of the rule and city of Hanau. In: 675 years old town Hanau. Festschrift for the city anniversary and catalog for the exhibition in the Historical Museum of Hanau am Main. Hanauer Historical Society e. V., Hanau 1978, ISBN 3-87627-242-4 , pp. 20-33.
  • Bert Worbs: Buchen - Dorfelden - Windecken. Early castles in the county of Hanau (= Hanauer Geschichtsblätter . Volume 30). 1988, pp. 347-404.
  • Bert Worbs: Castle and City of Windecken. In: Guide to archaeological monuments in Germany 27. Hanau and the Main-Kinzig district. Theiss, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-8062-1119-1 , pp. 229-232.
  • Ernst Julius Zimmermann : Hanau city and country . 3. Edition. Hanau 1919. (Reprint: 1978, ISBN 3-87627-243-2 )

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Heinrich Reimer : Hessisches Urkundenbuch. Section 2, document book on the history of the Lords of Hanau and the former province of Hanau. Vol. 1. 767-1300. Hirzel, Leipzig 1891 (publications from the royal Prussian state archives 48) No. 30.
  2. ↑ H. Reimer: Hessisches Urkundenbuch, Section 2, Vol. 4, Addendum No. 3.
  3. ^ Bert Worbs: Buchen-Dorfelden-Windecken. Early castles in the county of Hanau. Hanauer Geschichtsblätter 30, 1988, p. 384 with further literature.
  4. ↑ H. Reimer: Hessisches Urkundenbuch, Section 2, Vol. 1, No. 366.
  5. ↑ H. Reimer: Hessisches Urkundenbuch, Section 2, Vol. 1, No. 384.
  6. ↑ H. Reimer: Hessisches Urkundenbuch, Section 2, Vol. 1, No. 380.
  7. ^ B. Worbs: Buchen-Dorfelden-Windecken. P. 385; R. Knappe: Medieval castles in Hessen. P. 394.
  8. ^ B. Worbs: Buchen-Dorfelden-Windecken. P. 385 with further discussion.
  9. ^ H. Reimer: Hessisches Urkundenbuch, Section 2, Vol. 1, No. 666.
  10. ↑ H. Reimer: Hessisches Urkundenbuch, Section 2, Vol. 4, No. 139.
  11. ^ H. Reimer: Hessisches Urkundenbuch, Section 2, Vol. 4, No. 831.
  12. ↑ Michael Müller: The Naumburg and the Salbuch. In: published history book. Erbstädter history and stories from 775 years. Nidderau 2012, p. 56.
  13. ↑ Alberus p. 306; the quote was wrongly ascribed to Merian several times, see B. Worbs: Buchen – Dorfelden – Windecken. P. 389, footnote 224.
  14. ↑ Erhard Bus: The consequences of the great war - the west of the county of Hanau-Munzenberg after the Peace of Westphalia. In: Hanauer Geschichtsverein : The Thirty Years War in Hanau and the surrounding area (= Hanauer Geschichtsblätter. Volume 45). Hanau 2011, ISBN 978-3-935395-15-9 , pp. 277-320 (315f.).
  15. ↑ Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg P II 9533 1-10, images in: Erhard Bus: The consequences of the great war - the west of the county of Hanau-Munzenberg after the Peace of Westphalia. In: Hanauer Geschichtsverein : The Thirty Years War in Hanau and the surrounding area (= Hanauer Geschichtsblätter. Volume 45). Hanau 2011, ISBN 978-3-935395-15-9 , pp. 277-320 (316f.).
  16. ↑ a b Matthäus Merian: Topographia Hassiae, et regionum vicinarum: That is: Description and eygentl. Fig. Of the noblest place u. Places in Hessen a. their neighboring landscapes as Buchen, Wetteraw, Westerwaldt, Löhngaw, Nassaw, Solms, Hanaw, Witgenstein and others. 2nd edition, Frankfurt 1655, p. 142, original text on wikisource .
  17. ↑ Images in: Erhard Bus: The consequences of the great war - the west of the County of Hanau-Munzenberg after the Peace of Westphalia. In: Hanauer Geschichtsverein : The Thirty Years War in Hanau and the surrounding area (= Hanauer Geschichtsblätter. Volume 45). Hanau 2011, ISBN 978-3-935395-15-9 , pp. 277-320 (317f.).
  18. ^ B. Worbs: Buchen-Dorfelden-Windecken. P. 393 and Fig. 6.
  19. ^ B. Worbs: Buchen-Dorfelden-Windecken. P. 393.
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on May 2, 2012 .