Osterburg castle ruins (Henfstädt)
| Osterburg castle ruins | ||
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 Osterburg castle ruins (Henfstädt) |
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| Creation time : | first half of the 13th century | |
| Castle type : | Höhenburg, spur location | |
| Conservation status: | Keep, three towers, moat, remains of walls | |
| Standing position : | Nobles, counts | |
| Construction: | Humpback cuboid | |
| Place: | Henfstädt | |
| Geographical location | 50 ° 31 '15.4 " N , 10 ° 35' 42.5" E | |
| Height: | 415 m above sea level NN | |
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The castle ruin Osterstein is a medieval castle ruin in the district Henfstädt near Themar in the district of Hildburghausen in Thuringia .
Geographical location
The ruins of the Spur castle is 415 m above sea level. NN on the Hainberg (583 m) above the upper Werra valley near Henfstädt in the Thuringian district of Hildburghausen.
history
First mention
The Osterburg was most likely built in the first half of the 13th century. The castle was first mentioned in an Elgersburg document dated March 7, 1268. In it, the Osterburg and its accessories were considered to be equivalent to the neighboring Schleusingen office and the Countess Sophia von Henneberg was given a Leibgeding . The accessories of the castle are understood to mean the bailiwick district, from which the Themar administrative office later emerged.
From this it can be concluded that the Osterburg was probably built as a defensive administrative center in the course of the land development of the county of Henneberg . The castle was located in the center of the Themar office at an important intersection of Werratalstraße with another old street, which , coming from the Gleichberg area , passed directly past the Osterburg in a northerly direction.
County of Henneberg
The Osterburg only served a short time as the seat of a bailiff representing the state. In the Henneberg main division of 1274, the castle fell to the Hartenberg line of the Counts of Henneberg . Since the office and the city of Themar were divided during this division , the seat of the bailiff was most likely moved from the castle to the city. The division of the Themar office resulted in extremely complicated ownership structures for a long time, which of course also had an impact on the Osterburg.
In 1359, the Henneberg line, named after the Hartenburg near Römhild , was forced to pledge its share of the city and office of Themar, to which the Osterburg also belonged, to Count Günter and Johann von Schwarzburg for 3000 pounds of Heller. The right to redeem the pledge was transferred in 1371 with the entire county of Henneberg-Hartenberg through sale to the Henneberg-Aschach line. After a violent dispute over the legacy of the Hartenberg line, which died out in 1378, in which Themar and Marisfeld are said to have been besieged and some surrounding villages to have been devastated, the Counts of Schwarzburg were confirmed in possession of the Osterburg in 1379. However, they pledged the castle to the Lords of Bibra as early as 1380 .
In 1416, Wilhelm II of Henneberg-Schleusingen († 1426), whose line had fallen to the city and office of Themar in 1274, bought back the right to redeem the castle from the Schwarzburg family. Nevertheless, the Osterburg remained the property of the Lords of Bibra, who probably contributed a lot to the expansion of the castle. In 1439, for example, Count Wilhelm von Henneberg asked the Lords of Bibra to remove the buildings they had built on the moat and kennel of the Osterburg. It is not known whether this happened. In 1453 the previous pledged property of the Lords of Bibra was converted into a fiefdom and the castle was bought back in three installments by Henneberg-Schleusingen from 1459 to 1468.
Decay of the castle
After the re-acquisition of the Osterburg, the Bailiwick of Themar seems to have been relocated to the castle for a few years, but in the last decades of the 15th century the castle probably lost its importance. Various conservation measures were still carried out, but as early as the 90s of the 15th century, Countess Margarete von Henneberg-Schleusingen was asked whether the Osterburg should now be abandoned. In 1496, a guard at the castle appeared for the last time in Themar's official accounts, so that it can be assumed with reasonable certainty that the Osterburg was left open around 1500.
description
As Spur castle the Osterburg was relatively well protected already by its natural position of three sides and keep it large parts of could Werra Valley and the adjacent plateaus members. The relatively low height of the castle hill compared to the valley floor (approx. 100 m) also had a positive effect on the supply of the castle team. A partial inventory drawn up in 1459 gives an interesting insight into the structural situation on the Osterburg around this time. In addition to weapons, equipment and food, some parts of the castle complex - bower, chapel , various towers, bakery and kennel - are mentioned. The castle ruins are completely surrounded by a wall and moat . The most striking landmark of the castle is the preserved 20 m high keep. Furthermore, the south-east, north-west and east towers have been preserved. These originally served as defense towers .
Keep
The keep is the oldest surviving structure in the Osterburg. It can be dated to the first half of the 13th century due to its structural features (arched access gate, humpback ashlar masonry ). Since the keep was often the first construction of a castle, the beginnings of the castle are likely to be around this time. In any case, so far there is no evidence that the Osterburg was built earlier. The original entrance is above today's entrance. In 1743 and 1816 the keep burned down. In 1968 a new internal staircase was installed and a new roof was put on. In 1994 the roof structure was enlarged and the tower room expanded. In 1995 the keep got a new external staircase with a roof.
Fountain
The castle fountain is located directly opposite the keep within the core castle . For centuries the well was filled to the brim with rubble. For a long time it was controversial whether this was a well or a cistern . However, the shaft work has provided evidence of a deep well. It can be assumed that the fountain was originally integrated in a closed building with access to the keep.
East tower
The east tower has a diameter of 5.80 m and still rises 6.80 m. Inside the tower you can see numerous shooting hatches and support stones from former intermediate floors, which show that the tower formerly had at least three floors. In the course of uncovering the east wall, the east tower was also exposed up to its original level, giving it a more imposing appearance.
Southeast tower
At 5.90 meters, the southeast tower has the largest diameter of the three remaining defensive towers. Two floors and the wall attachment for another floor are still preserved. The door opening in the ditch area is from more recent times. There is a loophole in the vaulted ceiling.
Northwest Tower
The north-west tower is one of the few remaining parts of the castle's building. The preserved tower height (without roof) is around twelve meters and the base diameter is around five meters. The tower showed serious structural damage. A large eruption of the wall had emerged on the south side. The statics in the vaulted ceiling were impaired as a result of heavy vegetation, the wall ring was almost completely dilapidated.
East wall
The east wall partially collapsed over a length of 30 meters in 1950 and was buried under masses of rubble. Immediately by the southeast tower, remnants of the former outer curtain wall with a height of 8.5 meters have been preserved. In the years 2006–2011, the rubble cone above the still existing wall was removed by the members of the Osterburg working group and the remains of the wall secured. With this measure the castle was given back a large part of its original appearance.
Todays situation
In order to counteract the visible decay of the ruins, some people interested in local history came together in 1977 to form the “Osterburg Working Group”. He tries to this day to this day.
