Teutonic Order Castle Kirchhausen

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Teutonic Order Castle in Heilbronn-Kirchhausen

The Teutonic Order Castle in Kirchhausen , a district of Heilbronn in northern Baden-Württemberg , is a former moated castle of the Teutonic Order , which was built in the Renaissance style between 1572 and 1578 .

history

The first evidence of a manor house in Kirchhausen comes from the middle of the 14th century, when members of the Lords of Talheim owned the bailiwick of the Counts of Vaihingen in Kirchhausen and named themselves after a Kirchhausen seat in Kirchhausen . Eberhard von Kirchhausen, mentioned from 1334 on, owned half of the castle as a fief, his presumed brother Beringer, who is mentioned from 1345, owned the other half. The brothers each owned a quarter of the bailiwick. The other half of the bailiwick and a castle stables were owned by the Strube family, also originally from Talheim. The castle stables appear to be the remains of an older castle with which the bailiff's rights were connected. In addition, the von Wunnenstein families and the Wimpfen patricians Otter owned property in Kirchhausen at the same time , so that further aristocratic residences are possible in addition to the aforementioned castles. In the 15th century, the property in Kirchhausen came through the marriage of Peters von Helmstatt with one of the Talheim ladies as well as acquisitions from Peter's cousin Heinrich von Helmstatt to the Lords of Helmstatt and from these soon to the Teutonic Order. At that time an upper castle and a lower castle are mentioned. Within the Teutonic Order, Kirchhausen was the official place within the Kommende Horneck .

Today's castle, which the Teutonic Order had built from 1572 onwards, goes back to an older predecessor, especially since the southeast corner tower probably emerged from an older square tower and the remains of older buildings can also be seen in the base of the castle below the south wing. It cannot be said from which of the aforementioned mansions the castle arose. In the 19th century in the area in front of the castle, which is now a green space, a quarter-circle-shaped foundation remnant of an older castle complex could still be seen.

The construction of the building took place at the beginning of the tenure of Grand Master Heinrich von Bobenhausen back in 1572, who at the same time also had Stocksberg Castle built in Stockheim , which also belongs to the Coming Horneck . The execution was entrusted to the Weinsberg master builder Thomas Knoll, whose stonemason's mark can be found in the arched keystone.

A farmyard consisting of a barn, wine press and tithe barn was once attached to the castle. The tithe barn has been preserved in the neighborhood.

Little is known about the officials in Kirchhausen. Amtmann Hans Hofmann had the nearby Amtmannshof built in 1628 .

Plan of Kirchhausen 1791: the castle forms the central structure of the place.

In 1747 the castle was renovated with the help of the Neckarsulm master carpenter Peter Elias Berthold, the work probably mainly concerned the roof structure and rooms on the upper floor. In 1749 the north-western main wing received a new portal, and a little later the little gate house was built on the north side of the forecourt. In 1786 the order builder Johann Hornstein made repairs to the castle and tithe barn.

After the dissolution of the monastic state in 1805, Kirchhausen came with the castle to Württemberg and for a short time became the seat of an upper office, which soon became part of the Heilbronn upper office . Then in 1808 the Brackenheim notary Christoph Jakob Rappold bought the castle. His widow sold the castle in 1816 to the farmer Michael Salm from Neuenfels. In 1830 the mayor Baumgart acquired the castle. In 1833 it came into the possession of the Kirchhausen community, which housed the mayor's office, school, teacher's apartment, notary's office and fire department store there. In 1834, the north-west wing received the bell tower that was appropriate for town halls as a roof turret . In 1837 a holding cell was installed.

Drawing by Conrad von Dollinger 1904

The building was poorly maintained during the First World War and the subsequent years of emergency, inflation and the global economic crisis. Mayor Matthäus Volk complained to the monument office and the local council about the poor structural condition of the building and the financial situation, which had not allowed the roof and the building decorations to be renovated for a long time. In autumn 1928 renovation measures took place, which were not carried out to the full satisfaction of the monument office. In 1932, the monument office ordered that the castle moat should be kept recognizable as such and that no tall plants should be planted or garden houses or stables should be built.

Towards the end of the Second World War , the southwest corner tower was destroyed by artillery fire, it was later renewed.

In 1954 the school moved to a newly built schoolhouse. In 1963 the exterior facade of the castle was renovated under the direction of the architect Josef Vassillière . In 1965 the interior was extensively redesigned according to plans by Albert Stirn , which partly affected the exterior of the palace by changing the room and window situation. Unfortunately, it was neglected to document the condition of the old building comprehensively, so that today there is hardly any idea of ​​the older interior.

After Kirchhausen was incorporated into Heilbronn in 1972, the castle became a town hall. From 1976 to 1979 the outer walls were drained and all natural stones were renovated. The castle received a new bell tower in October 1986 and is now used as a venue for local events.

description

The castle is a two-storey two-wing building, the wings of which meet at right angles. This type of construction is rarely found in the sphere of activity of the Teutonic Order. The representative gables of the buildings are decorated in the Renaissance style with volutes and horizontal cornices . At the corners of the complex are four round towers with slate-covered conical roofs. The complex is almost square, with the castle building only having two wings and two sides of the complex, with the exception of the corner towers and the gable ends, of enclosing walls. The main building has an ornate portal in the inner courtyard with a volute cornice adorned with figures and coats of arms and dating 1749. The side wing has a colonnade in the inner courtyard.

The building was once surrounded by a moat, which has now been drained. A drawbridge on the northeast side served as access.

  • Portal of the main wing

  • Grimace to the right of the main gate

  • Figure of Mary on the northeast gable

  • View of the inner courtyard

literature

  • Nicolai Knauer and Joachim Hennze : The Teutonic Order Castle Kirchhausen. Heilbronn 2012.
  • Julius Fekete , Simon Haag, Adelheid Hanke, Daniela Naumann: Heilbronn district . (= Monument topography Federal Republic of Germany , cultural monuments in Baden-Württemberg, Volume I.5.). Theiss, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1988-3 , pp. 214-215 .
  • Julius Fekete: Art and cultural monuments in the city and district of Heilbronn . 2nd Edition. Theiss, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-8062-1662-2 , pp. 67-69.
  • Eugen Knupfer (edit.): Document book of the city of Heilbronn . Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1904 ( Württemberg historical sources . N. F. 5)
  • Description of the Oberamt Heilbronn . Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1901/1903.

Web links

Commons : Schloss Kirchhausen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 49 ° 11 '3.8 "  N , 9 ° 6' 35.85"  E