Osterburg castle ruins (Rhön)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Osterburg castle ruins
Osterburg castle ruins

Osterburg castle ruins

Creation time : around 1200
Castle type : Höhenburg, summit location
Conservation status: ruin
Place: Bischofsheim in the Rhön
Geographical location 50 ° 24 '0.4 "  N , 9 ° 58' 54.8"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 24 '0.4 "  N , 9 ° 58' 54.8"  E
Height: 714  m above sea level NN
Osterburg castle ruins (Bavaria)
Osterburg castle ruins

The Osterburg is the ruin of a hilltop castle near Bischofsheim in the Rhön in the Lower Franconian district of Rhön-Grabfeld in Bavaria .

Geographical location

In the west of Bischofsheim in the Rhön are the remains of the wall of the legendary Osterburg on the 714 meter high mountain Osterburg. It is said to have once been a "proud castle" that "looked far into the country".

history

Osterburg castle ruins
View of the ruins of the keep

When the Franks owned land in the 6th century , a hunting lodge for the Franconian king is said to have stood there. After the salt forest became the property of the Würzburg prince-bishops, the castle is said to have secured the land against the robber prince abbots of Fulda.

Around 1200 a Reinhold von der Osterburg was mentioned.

In 1217 and 1230 an Engelhard von Osterburg appeared as a witness in documents.

In 1231 a boto from Eberstein had received a farm as a fief on the Osterburg.

When the Bischofsheim with its castle was developed as a solid bulwark in the 12th century , the Osterburg is said to have lost its importance. Probably the castle was owned by constantly with Abt Berthon II. In feud were to 1270 in the destruction bishop's home through the Fulda also destroyed Abt. There have been no records since that time.

Around 1600 the Osterburg was mentioned as a heap of rubble in border disputes over hat, wood and hunting rights between Bischofsheim, Haselbach and Frankenheim .

In 1875, Anton Schumm wrote in the history of the town of Bischofsheim that there was hardly any trace of a former castle to be seen. The Kreuzberg monastery is said to have been built from their stones.

In 1928 the Rhönwacht (the magazine of the Rhönklub ) reported: “In addition to the center tower, the ring walls of the town of Bischofsheim, which was first mentioned in 1291, were made from the stones of the Osterburg. So wall after wall disappeared and since the building also served as a quarry for the Haselbachers and Frankenheimers, the ruin of the castle was sealed. ”Over time, the forest has overgrown the heap of rubble.

In 1897 the remains of the walls of the former castle were discovered while a logging path was being laid out, and the then forester Fuchs had the castle ruins uncovered in a purely Romanesque plan . It was 114 meters long and 70 meters wide. Such a mighty castle could not be defended by a single knight, three to four knights lived in separate courtyards within the castle ring. Objects found from the excavations are in the Osterburg collection in Bischofsheim.

In 1909 the keep was expanded as a lookout tower. Ten years later it was blown up again because its ascent had become life-threatening.

description

Aerial view of the Osterburg castle ruins

Only with imagination can the floor plan of the once mighty castle complex be recognized in the remains of the ruined castle ruins. Your story poses many puzzles, most of the reports are secured with “it should”.

There are still stairs and walls. The forest has taken possession of the former castle area.

Say about the Osterburg

Creation of the Osterburg

In the old days a farmer lived on the Kreuzberg. His servant went home at night and lost his way. Suddenly he saw himself in a dark corridor and felt his way further. A dwarf stepped in his way and said: "Search hard and you will find an old chamber with precious treasures." The servant soon discovered a hidden room with immeasurable treasures. The dwarf stood there again and said: "Carry out all these treasures, they are yours." The servant did that, and so he was redeemed. The lucky finder built the Osterburg there and was the first knight.

Destruction of the Osterburg

One of the enemy knights rode on the nearby Arnsberg. Lost in thought of how the stubborn castle could finally be brought down, his horse suddenly startled him. It stamped so hard that the ground sank through the beat of the hooves and the underground water pipe to the Osterburg became visible. Now the enemies dug the water from the besieged in the castle, forced them to surrender, and destroyed the castle except for a few rubble.

The virgin at the Osterburg

When a long cloud of fog rises from the forest of the Osterburg, then the people in Bischofsheim are said to have said: "The maiden is crying again." It is said that the lover of a damsel was killed in a fight with a merchant who had been attacked by Osterburgers . When the girl received this message, she is said to have cried so that the water ran down the Osterburg mountain. The virgin is said to have been seen by nocturnal visitors to the Osterburg.

The treasure on the Osterburg

Here and there a maiden in a white robe appears on the Osterburg. In passing she tells the terrified hiker about a great treasure that lies in the vaults of the ruined castle. If a person succeeds in raising this treasure, then the virgin is redeemed and will no longer appear.

A shepherd could have found the treasure. It was a long time ago that he was tending his sheep at the Osterburg, because a lot of grass still grew there. Suddenly the shepherd saw an open gate that wasn't there before. He went through the gate and came into a long hallway. Then a loud voice called: "Shepherds, the sheep are going through." He hurried back. The sheep ate undisturbed. He turned around, but there was no gate to be found as long as he was looking.

The white virgin is said to have been much more gracious to a girl. Pauline once looked after her cows at the Osterburg and knitted. The ball of wool rolled down a flight of stairs. She hurried after the ball and came into a large cellar. Inside there were many mighty runners, all of which were filled with knots (knots are flaxseed). Pauline filled her apron with knots, picked up her ball of wool and hurried back. On the way home she sowed some of the knots on the side of the road. When the girl showed the little rest at home, they were nothing but gold pieces.

Friends of the Osterburg

The Friends of the Osterburg Association has existed since 2005 . Together with the city of Bischofsheim and the Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments , the ruins will be exposed again. The remaining walls should then be secured in order to preserve the substance. If this project is completed in a few years, then the real age of the castle ruins can be proven.

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 , p. 225.
  • Wolf-Dieter Raftopoulo: Rhön and Grabfeld culture guides. A complete documentation of the old cultural landscapes in terms of art and cultural history. RMd Verlag, Gerbrunn 2017, ISBN 978-3-9818603-7-5 , pp. 367-368.
  • Anton Schumm: History of the town of Bischofsheim, its compatriots and all friends of the Rhön. Würzburg 1875, pp. 104-105 ( digitized version in the Bavarian State Library ).

Web links

Commons : Osterburg (Rhön)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files