Salzburg Castle

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Salzburg Castle
The Salzburg - northeast side

The Salzburg - northeast side

Creation time : around 1150
Castle type : Höhenburg, spur location
Conservation status: Received or received substantial parts
Standing position : Ministeriale
Construction: Limestone, sandstone
Place: Bad Neustadt an der Saale
Geographical location 50 ° 19 '14 "  N , 10 ° 13' 48"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 19 '14 "  N , 10 ° 13' 48"  E
Height: 300  m above sea level NHN
Salzburg Castle (Bavaria)
Salzburg Castle

The Castle Salzburg is on the edge of a plateau above Bad Neustadt an der Saale in Lower Franconia . The large Ganerbeburg is still partially inhabited and not all areas are accessible.

Geographical location

The spur castle at 300  m above sea level. NN was created about one kilometer east of Bad Neustadt on the western end of the plateau above Neuhaus and is separated from the foreland by a sickle-shaped, approximately 160 meter long neck ditch . The entire mountain slope was cleared until the 19th century and was already used for viticulture in the High Middle Ages . The currently densely forested ridge carries the landscape dominating complex of the extensive Frankenklinik ( Rhön-Klinikum AG) in addition to the Salzburg .

history

Early middle ages

The Salzgau around Neustadt was already very important under the Carolingians ; a palace was even established , which Emperor Otto III. donated to the diocese of Würzburg in the year 1000 . This Palatinate was probably located on the area of ​​today's village of Salz or in the immediate vicinity. On the nearby Vitusberg, a protective castle for the population of the surrounding area was probably not built until the Ottonian period because of the Hungarian invasions . In place of today's Salzburg there was probably a rampart of an unknown time. This defense system could also have been expanded into a Hungarian refuge in the first half of the 10th century .

The first written mention of Salzburg is in a document from Emperor Ludwig the Pious, copied around 1160, in the Hessian State Archives in Marburg (K425. Codex Eberhardi, fol. 82r and v). The original document is lost and could have been falsified by the copyist, the monk Eberhard from the Fulda monastery . In the Actum line (place of exhibition) the Salzburg or the Salzberg is mentioned: “Act (um) in Salzb. Curia regia ”.

This early medieval document indicates that the Königspfalz Salz could actually have been located on the castle hill. Older research localized this royal court consistently on the area of ​​the later castle. Later, the Veitsberg near Salz was generally considered to be the location of this facility, while today the village of Salz or its immediate vicinity is favored. It is possible that the monk Eberhard only had knowledge of the new construction of the castle and therefore replaced the place name "Salt" in the original document with "Salzb." In the copy.

High and late Middle Ages

The keep of the "Voitschen Ansitz" in the south of the complex

The stone Bering castle replaced an older, out of the limestone beaten palisade trench . This finding was confirmed in an official plan excavation in 1984. The wooden protective wall is about a meter behind the wall and was probably a temporary fortification to protect the construction site. The oldest wall ring was obviously not completely expanded. The parts of the weir system that can be dated to the first construction phase are a maximum of four meters high; for long stretches only the foundation seems to have been laid. Whether the Würzburg bishop planned to build a larger administrative center or even a fortified village there remains speculative.

If the high mediaeval Würzburg Salzburg was supposed to come into being in the middle of the 12th century, curiously, the main builder would be Bishop Gebhard von Henneberg . Gebhard would have built the castle, among other things, to hinder the expansion efforts of his own family. The relationship between the bishop and his relatives does not seem to have been particularly good either, as they probably did not support him sufficiently in his candidacy for the bishopric. The castle was probably also intended to secure the road connection between the bishop's residence and the Würzburg towns of Mellrichstadt and Meiningen .

It was not until around 1170 that the fortress was gradually expanded into one of the largest Ganerbe castles in Central Europe and the administrative center of the Salzgau. A seat each was built for the Vogt and the Schultheiss , from 1220 five more Burgmann seats were built. This expansion was essentially completed around 1250. All subsequent construction work was limited to minor extensions and modifications.

The first Würzburg service men on the Salzburg can be identified by name around the year 1200. At that time, Boppo and Konrad von Leinach, Heinrich von Brende and Heinrich Marschalk von Lauer were probably sitting on the fortress. These three ministerials probably belonged to the castle men (urbani) on the large castle complex. Another three castle men are named in a deed of donation in favor of the Bronnbach monastery with the first names Wolfram, Rudolf (von Herschfeld) and Helwig (von Unsleben), but are specifically assigned to the castle's crew.

A year earlier there was already evidence of a Wilhelmus de Salzberc, who probably also came from the von Herschfeld family and was named after his residence on the Salzberg. In 1206 and 1212 a Volgerus or Theodericus also had the nickname "de Salzberg".

In 1232 the “new town” of Neustadt at the foot of the castle was first mentioned in a document. From this point on, the seat of the Salzburg office was gradually moved down to the city. As nationalistic officials sat a bailiff (advocate or officiatus) at the castle or later in Neustadt.

The Salzburg is a good example of a planned Ganerbeburg, so control of the huge castle was deliberately not given into the hands of a single, powerful vassal who could at some point become dangerous to the liege . The Burgmannen were recruited from the surrounding Würzburg nobility, around 1258 the Fieger (later Voit von Salzburg), Brende, Heustreu, Lebenhan, Eichenhausen and Hollstadt sat on the fortress.

As on other Ganerbe castles, there were also some conflicts between the castle residents on the Salzburg, shares were inherited or sold. On July 14, 1434, the Ganerbe therefore concluded a truce (State Archives Würzburg, Würzburg Hochstiftsurkunde No. 50 / 27e) as a set of rules that laid down their rights and obligations and also provided sanctions for non-compliance with the agreements. Heinrich Wagner published the full text of this contract, which is important for castle history, verbatim in the Salzburg Book in 2008 . The castle peace treaty was confirmed on June 16, 1435 by Bishop Johann II von Brunn. The bishopric reserved the right to take control of the gate tower in case of danger and to occupy it with its own crew.

16th to 18th century

The castle survived the Peasants' War with only minor damage, but extensive renovation was necessary around 1580. In the 17th century, the future provost of the Augustinian canons of Heidenfeld, Georg Bauer , was born in the castle.

The decline of Salzburg began in the early 18th century. From the large aristocratic multi-family castle, an agricultural village developed within the old curtain wall . For this purpose, individual components and the old castle chapel were demolished from 1722. Three of the old Ganerbed seats disappeared except for remains, two became ruins . Some farmhouses and outbuildings were built from the demolition material. Some of the Jewish families quartered at the castle set up a synagogue in the Jägerbau in 1723 .

19th century

At the beginning of the 19th century there was even a shepherd with his animals in the castle. The castle romance of this century also brought Salzburg back into the focus of the interested public.

Castle chapel St. Bonifatius and Werner von Haxthausen

In the autumn of 1836, the Westphalian baron Werner von Haxthausen stayed in Bad Kissingen for a cure . During a short tour, Haxthausen also visited Salzburg. In the following year, the aristocrat, who had become prosperous through marriage and, among other things, was highly educated as a philologist, acquired the nearby Neuhaus estate, which also included a third of Salzburg. At that time, healing springs were developed in Neuhaus . The baron was probably planning to expand the property into a private bath when he acquired the rule.

At that time, the remains of the medieval chapel that Haxthausen was investigating could still be seen in the courtyard. Because of the historical importance of the place, he decided to build a church there again and consecrate it to St. Boniface . Allegedly at this point the saint consecrated the wandering monk Burkard as the first bishop of Würzburg and also appointed the first bishops of Eichstätt and Büraburg there.

The diocese of Würzburg supported the reconstruction plans. The initiator donated the building plot and prepared the laying of the foundation stone . King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who elevated Haxthausen to the status of Bavarian count, appeared in person on July 12, 1841 for the laying of the foundation stone of the new castle chapel and raved about Salzburg. At the same time, this Salzburg Festival marked the 1100th anniversary of the founding of the diocese.

The Royal Bavarian Construction Office in Würzburg produced the first drafts for the new castle chapel. The king actually preferred the Gothic , which he regarded as the “only real German style”. The royal senior building officer August von Voit (from Salzburg) finally revised the designs under the influence of Friedrich von Gärtner in neo-Romanesque (Byzantine) forms.

Construction management was entrusted to the Neustadt master mason and stone mason Michael Stapf (1814–1875; in Würzburg chairman of the "Patriotic Association" founded in 1869 ). The sculptural jewelry was made by the Würzburg sculptor Andreas Halbig . Financial difficulties and the death of the founder Werner von Haxthausen delayed the completion of the church, which was only consecrated seven years after the laying of the foundation stone on October 7th and 8th, 1848.

The von Brenken and Guttenberg families

Werner von Haxthausen, who was raised to the rank of count by King Ludwig I shortly before his death, died in 1842 without a male heir. Together with his wealthy wife, the count had acquired further shares in Salzburg. The couple's daughter married the wealthy Westphalian landlord and politician Hermann von und zu Brenken . The widowed Countess von Haxthausen administered the entire property until her death on January 21, 1862. The Countess had appointed her eleven-year-old grandson Otto von Brenken as heir .

Otto's parents, who lived mainly in Westphalia, managed the estate with the castle for their son and were also able to acquire the remaining shares in Salzburg. The couple also expanded the Neuhaus private baths founded by the Countess and built a Swiss-style guest house there.

Otto von Brenken took over the management of his inheritance in 1880 after the death of his mother and two years later he married Countess Maria Rottenhan from the Untermerzbach line of the Lords of Rotenhan . However, the lord of the castle only died at the age of thirty-three another two years later.

The young widow married Baron Theodor von Guttenberg in 1888 . Theodor and Maria von Guttenberg bought the shares of their father and father-in-law Hermann in 1893. The Würzburger General-Anzeiger reported on January 20, 1893 that Theodor von Guttenberg was now the sole owner of the Neuhaus manor.

The historically interested new lord of the castle soon commissioned the first renovation measures on the Salzburg. The castle hill was reforested. These measures can also be seen in connection with the expansion of the Neuhaus private pool. The bath is right at the foot of the castle hill. The large castle ruins above Neuhaus were intended to attract romantically inclined visitors as a tourist attraction and thus entice more bathers from the nearby state baths of Kissingen and Brückenau . For this purpose, the watchtower on the castle wall was made accessible as a lookout tower .

Theodor von Guttenberg also died relatively young at the age of 50 on July 28, 1904 in Bad Neuhaus, leaving behind his wife with four underage children. In 1908, the Guttenberg family castle in Upper Franconia burned down and had to be rebuilt using large sums of money. Theodors' widow lived mainly in Würzburg, Munich and Garmisch-Partenkirchen until her death in 1945 . For these reasons, no further building research and repairs were carried out on the Salzburg.

20./21. century

Between 1927 and 1931 the Salzburg Festival, which was well received by the population, was held in the courtyard . For this purpose, a part of the courtyard was leveled and filled up for an open-air stage .

Only the former residence of the Voite von Salzburg, which is still inhabited by the barons of Guttenberg, has been completely preserved. Between 1932 and 1945, Karl Ludwig von Guttenberg was the owner of Salzburg. The lord of the castle at the time is considered one of the leading figures in the resistance against National Socialism and was probably murdered by an SS commando in Berlin on the night of April 23rd to 24th, 1945 .

Major renovations of the castle were carried out in 1899, 1928/29 and 1971/72. At that time, among other things, the wall surfaces were grouted. In doing so, the construction joints were partially concealed, thus making more precise construction analyzes difficult for research.

Research counts Salzburg among the most important medieval castles. Nevertheless, the facility was considered relatively poorly explored until the beginning of the new millennium. In the winter of 2005, the city of Neustadt began clearing the densely ingrown large castle in consultation with the owner. The outer walls were now more accessible and could be documented photographically. In 2004/06, an architectural photographer created a comprehensive, true-to-scale large-format documentation, which was supplemented by detailed photographs of important building details. However, a new measurement of the castle could not be financed.

The measures were carried out under the scientific direction of the Joachim Zeune Castle Office, which summarized the findings in a construction phase plan. For this purpose, a relatively exact older floor plan by the castle researcher Bodo Ebhardt was revised . A total of thirteen main construction phases between 1150 and the 20th century are documented in this plan.

The Voiten of Salzburg

The Voit von Salzburg are considered to be the most important of the numerous service men on the Salzburg . This family probably came from the Fieger family, who were particularly well-to-do in the Haßgau . In 1258 a Johannes officiated as Vogt on the Salzburg, who is generally regarded as the progenitor of the Voiten. This "Johannes advocatus" was married to Hedwig von Windheim, who as a possible relative of Otto (III.) Advocatus de Salz, who can be traced back to the castle around 1200, could have made it possible for her husband to qualify for office. However, the actual relationships between high medieval aristocratic families are difficult to reconstruct due to the frequent name changes.

Especially in the 15th and 16th centuries, the family provided a number of episcopal officials from the Neustadt office. At the end of the 15th century, the bishopric even had to pledge the office to the family.

In the 16th century, the Voites began to break away from their dependence on the diocese of Würzburg and to establish themselves in the imperial knighthood. To this end, the family joined the Reformation and approved the clearing of parts of the Würzburg salt forest. Prince-Bishop Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn was able to resist the efforts of the Voiten, who also lost their political support in 1583 after the death of their after-lord , Count Georg Ernst von Henneberg-Schleusingen.

Despite this estrangement, Melchior Otto Voit of Salzburg was elected Prince-Bishop of Bamberg in 1642 . The family had split into a Catholic and an Evangelical branch. In 1715 the evangelical line on the Salzburg was elevated to the status of imperial baron.

At the end of the Old Kingdom , the Voites had no possessions or rulership rights either on the Salzburg or in the surrounding area. In 1853 the last bearer of the name, Baron August Voit von Salzburg, died in Munich as a royal Bavarian chamberlain and major .

description

The castle complex in its current state
Floor plan on an information board in front of the main gate

The large castle complex formerly consisted of seven independent small castles within a common, approximately 450-meter-long circular wall . The total area is approximately one hectare .

The base of the surrounding wall was largely built around 1150/60 and probably follows the course of an older rampart fortification. This first curtain wall was originally only reinforced with a gate tower and a small toilet tower.

Today's gate tower, around 20 meters high (9.2 × 9.2 meters), was built during the expansion of the important castle at the end of the 12th century together with the three other front towers. In addition to the castle chapel, it was owned by the feudal lord, i.e. the Würzburg bishop. In the manner of a large keep , it should possibly serve more as a representative building and a symbol of power, its suitability for defense is rated as low by modern castle research ( Zeune ). The main gate is unusually rich. The garment of the round arch is finished with a jagged broken rod, another arch with a decorated garment is faded in. Later a drawbridge and a barbican were added to the gate to increase the defensive strength.

Unlike the rest of the castle complex, the gate keep was completely walled up from sandstone and is completely faced with humpback blocks. The humps protrude strongly (impact humps), so-called crunch joints can be seen between the cuboids. The other components consist of the existing shell limestone. Sandstone was only used for the window and door frames and humpback blocks of other castle buildings and towers.

The two original Burgmann's seats were - attached to the ring wall - to the west and east of the gate tower. The western residence has completely disappeared; the castle tavern is located there today.

After 1170 another five mansions were laid out within the curtain wall. The bishop apparently wanted to distribute power within the large, strategically important castle complex, especially against the Counts of Henneberg, to a larger number of castle men.

To strengthen the east side, three square wall towers were built, which - like the gate tower - protrude outwards. The four front towers were originally attached to the back of the curtain wall and did not protrude outwards. It was not until the third construction phase around 1180 that the circumference of these towers was doubled.

The towers were originally assigned to the Ganerbensitz behind the east wall, which has now disappeared. The castle courtyard, which appears so spacious today, was densely built up into the late 18th century.

The Ganerbed Seats

The former seat of the Voite von Salzburg, which is still inhabited, is located on the south-western tip. The first thing you notice there is the high, Romanesque keep. The approximately 27 meter high tower is horseshoe-shaped surrounded by residential and utility buildings that are attached directly to the curtain wall and were changed in the 20th century.

To the east next door are the remains of the Brende'schen residence. In addition to a Romanesque residential tower (antlers), the ruins of the former hall floor building are of interest there. This two-storey building, known as the “Münz”, is considered to be one of the highlights of the early Gothic secular architecture in Franconia. The two-part window opening of the hall floor has been preserved above the round-arched entrance, each field opens in three pointed arches on two slender columns, above each two openwork quatrefoils.

To the east, the keep of the third residence adjoins the Münz. This Romanesque square building may have been a little higher in the past. At the rear there are the ruins of a residential building and a restored residential tower on the ring wall.

The fourth Burgmannensitz has only remnants of the rear residential buildings and the wall against the courtyard, the well-preserved prison tower is built into the outer wall.

The three other small castles have disappeared apart from remains and were later partially replaced by a house and the restaurant.

The entire complex can be walked around along the ring wall, the courtyard is freely accessible, the wholly or partially preserved Burgmann's seats can only be viewed from the outside.

The Salzburg as a fortification and symbol of power

In the last decades of the 20th century, modern castle research sometimes questioned the technical defense functions of medieval castle complexes or tried to reduce them compared to the architectural symbolic content (Joachim Zeune). In this discussion, Salzburg was also interpreted more as a symbol of power and the administrative center of the Würzburg monastery than as a fortification.

In the castle peace treaty of 1434, the Ganerbe had to undertake to keep two soldiers ready in times of peace and five in times of war . In view of the size of the fortress , this crew seems surprisingly small. In the late Middle Ages, the attack side of the castle was not significantly reinforced, only the gate was additionally reinforced by a forecourt.

In 1435 the Voit and Brende families tried to question the fiefdom of the bishopric. However, the bishop insisted on his rights to the tower and gate, which he was allowed to occupy with his own servants at any time. However, this “gate keep” is also viewed by some researchers as a symbol of power and status. Particular attention is drawn to the complete cladding with humpback blocks and the "unusually spacious and representative" gate passage.

In 1443 the bishopric used Salzburg as a base against the rebellious city of Neustadt. The nurses from Würzburg had “several good sockets vf das schlos Salzburg fired” in order to have the city bombarded with these modern firearms .

  • Look into the neck ditch

  • The gate tower with the curtain wall

  • The gate keep from the courtyard

  • The Romanesque main gate

  • View through the main gate into the castle courtyard. On the right the neo-Romanesque castle chapel

  • The coin with the central keep

  • The central keep from the east

  • The watchtower (inside)

  • The south side of the entire complex. Looking west

  • Looking back to the east

  • The west side with the Voitschen residence

  • View into the chapel of St. Boniface

literature

  • Georg Dehio , Tilmann Breuer: Handbook of German art monuments . Bavaria I: Franconia - The administrative districts of Upper Franconia, Middle Franconia and Lower Franconia. 2nd, revised and supplemented edition. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich / Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-422-03051-4 , pp. 455–456.
  • Verena Friedrich: Castles and palaces in Franconia. 2nd Edition. Elmar Hahn Verlag, Veitshöchheim 2016, ISBN 978-3-928645-17-1 , pp. 184-186.
  • Heinz Gauly : The Bonifatius Chapel on the Salzburg. Self-published, Salz 2006.
  • Karl Gröber: The art monuments of Bavaria , III: Administrative region of Lower Franconia. Volume 22: District Office Neustadt a. Saale. R. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 1922 (reprint, Munich / Vienna 1983, ISBN 3-486-50476-2 ), pp. 166-193.
  • Leonhard Hegewald: Neustadt an der Saale, the Kaiserpfalz on the Schlossberg and Bad Neuhaus with its sources - ill. Guide for foreigners and locals. Schoen, Neustadt an der Saale 1880.
  • Klaus Leidorf , Peter Ettel , Walter Irlinger, Joachim Zeune: Castles in Bavaria - 7,000 years of history in an aerial photo. Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-8062-1364-X , pp. 180-181.
  • Herrmann Müler: Program for the Salzburg Festival, the eleventh secular celebration of the foundation of Franconian, Thuringian and Hessian bishoprics by St. Bonifacius on the Salzburg near Neustadt an der Saale, celebrated on July 12, 1841. (With a historical study by Prof. Dr. Müller ). Voigt and Mocker, Würzburg 1841 ( digitized in the Bavarian State Library ).
  • Herrmann Müler [u. a.]: Salisburg, the eleventh secular celebration of the consecration of the first bishops of Würzburg, Eichstädt, Erfurt and Buriburg by St. Bonifacius in 741 and the laying of the foundation stone for the reconstruction of the Bonifacius Chapel by Sr. Maj. King Ludwig. Voigt and Mocker, Würzburg 1841 ( digitized in the Bavarian State Library).
  • Georg Joseph Saffenreuter: The eleventh Säcularfeier on the Salzburg river near Neustadt an der Saale on July 12, 1841. Printed by Johann Stephan Richter, Würzburg 1841 ( digitized from Google Books ).
  • August Voit von Salzburg: The ancient imperial castle Salzburg near Neustadt an der Saale. Verlag der Grau'schen Buchhandlung, Bayreuth 1832. ( digitized in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek).
  • Otto Schnell: Salzburg guide - history and description of the old imperial palace of Salzburg on the Franconian Saale. 3rd, significantly increased edition. Stahel's printing works, Würzburg 1900.
  • Heinrich Wagner , Joachim Zeune (ed.): The Salzburg book. Bad Neustadt an der Saale 2008, ISBN 978-3-939959-04-5 .
  • Joachim Zeune: Salzburg Castle - Guide through Salzburg. Sendner & Neubauer, Bad Neustadt 1994.

Web links

Commons : Burg Salzburg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Salzburg in the Topographia Franconiae (Mathäus Merian)  - sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wolfgang Weiss : The Catholic Church in the 19th Century. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. 4 volumes, Volume I-III / 2, Theiss, Stuttgart 2001-2007; III / 1–2: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 , pp. 430-449 and 1303, here: p. 444.