Burgstall Willanzheim

Burgstall Willanzheim
Creation time :	First mentioned in 1137
Castle type :	Niederungsburg
Conservation status:	Burgstall, largely dismantled, corner pilasters, remains of moats preserved
Standing position :	Ministeriale
Construction:	Ashlar masonry
Place:	Willanzheim - "Iphöfer Strasse"
Geographical location	49 ° 40 '54 "  N , 10 ° 14' 8.1"  E Coordinates: 49 ° 40 '54 "  N , 10 ° 14' 8.1"  E
Height:	259  m above sea level NN

Burgstall Willanzheim refers to an abandoned Niederungsburg in Willanzheim in Lower Franconia . In addition, there was another castle-like structure in Willanzheim in the Middle Ages , which is called the Willanzheim Tower Hill and was at times confused with the castle stables.

Geographical location

The Willanzheim castle stable is located about 310 m northeast of the Martinskirche of Willanzheim in the middle of the built-up area of ​​the village. The Niederungsburg was at about 259 m above sea level. NN high hill. Iphöfer Straße leads past the former castle. The street Schloßhof a little southwest of the former castle refers to the fortified complex. An unnamed tributary to the Breitbach , which cuts through the area, points to the abandoned moat .

history

The history of the castle is closely linked to that of the village of Willanzheim. The place was the seat of a regional noble family, the Lords of Willanzheim, who were first mentioned in 1137 with "Gerung". Gerung donated the castle, which was probably already the current castle stable, with memberships and some servants in 1140 to the cathedral monastery of Würzburg and the bishop Embricho . The cathedral monastery then gave the castle to various noble families as fiefs . It was owned by Friedrich II zu Castell in 1300 .

In the 14th century, Emperor Charles IV acquired the "Veste" in Willanzheim for 27,000 pounds of Heller. He planned to connect his domains in Bohemia and Luxembourg by a land bridge, Willanzheim was strategically located. Karl Konrad von Seinsheim appointed him as a feudal man ; he was first mentioned in 1363 as a Burgmann. The Willanzheim castle remained a fiefdom of the crown of Bohemia for a long time.

In the 14th century, however, two noble families were enfeoffed with the goods in Willanzheim. One resided in the castle near the church, today's Burgstall, the other family built a pond further south , today's Willanzheim Tower. It was not until the 15th century that Hans von Wenkheim succeeded in acquiring both castles and thus control of Willanzheim. In 1425 Götz von Wipfeld sold his dwelling for 800 guilders , in 1428 Stefan Zöllner (von der Hallburg) also sold his castle.

In the period that followed, Leonhard von Wenkheim and the Würzburg monastery broke out over the property in Willanzheim . In 1479 the counterparties created a new interest book that mentions a Fronhof, the Fuchshof, the castle and the Büttelhof. It was not until 1482 that the disputes were settled through a compromise. From then on, Würzburg and Wenkheim shared the bailiwick . After Leonhard's death in 1506, his children again shared the property in Willanzheim.

Probably in the following years the Weiherhaus in the south was given up and only inhabited the castle, today's castle stables. In 1511 the Wenkheim sold the complex to Asmus von Ehenheim , who was enfeoffed with the castle by the King of Bohemia in 1517. The Willanzheim property was inherited several times in the following decades. With the Reformation , the Würzburg bishopric managed to unite the full rulership of the village. The castle became the seat of an official cellar .

After the dissolution of the Würzburg bishopric through secularization in 1803, the castle was sold to private individuals. It had already lost its fortification in the 17th century and was used as a simple courtyard. In 1911, the then owners converted the remains into a barn . Today the underground remains of the former castle are listed as a ground monument by the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation .

description

The castle was described several times in the sources, so that some elements of the former appearance can be reconstructed. In 1425 a dwelling (probably a residential building), walls and ditches were named, so that one can assume that it was a moated castle . In 1629 there was mention of a moat and a bridge. At that time, the center of the facility was the inner courtyard with a bower .

Today only a few remains of the former "fortress" have survived. On Iphöfer Straße there are still some parts of the wall with a corner pilaster strip , which is now covered with a hipped roof . The castle was probably built with ashlar masonry. Traces of former trenches have been preserved in the vicinity of the facility. A coat of arms of the Lords of Guttenberg with the year 1661 attached to an archway may refer to an official cellar at the castle.

literature

• Walter Schilling: The castles, palaces and mansions of Lower Franconia . Würzburg 2012.
• Sebastian Zeißner: Contributions to the history of Main Franconian castles . In: Mainfränkisches Jahrbuch für Geschichte und Kunst Vol. 6. (= Archive of the Historical Association for Lower Franconia and Aschaffenburg Vol. 77) . Volkach 1954. pp. 231-235.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Zeißner, Sebastian: Posts main Frankish castles to history . P. 123.
2. ↑ Zeißner, Sebastian: Posts main Frankish castles to history . P. 125.
3. ↑ Schilling, Walter: The castles, palaces and mansions of Lower Franconia . P. 312.
4. ↑ Zeißner, Sebastian: Posts main Frankish castles to history . P. 128.
5. ↑ Schilling, Walter: The castles, palaces and mansions of Lower Franconia . P. 312.