Mergentheim Castle

Teutonic Order Castle Mergentheim
	Teutonic Order Castle with Teutonic Order ; Museum photographed from the shopping street in Bad Mergentheim
Alternative name (s):	Mergentheim Castle
Creation time :	11th century
Castle type :	medieval moated castle ; conversion to a castle
Conservation status:	Receive
Standing position :	Residence of the Hoch- und Deutschmeister ; Zentrale of the Teutonic Order
Place:	Bad Mergentheim
Geographical location	49 ° 29 '28.2 " N , 9 ° 46' 33.5" E Coordinates: 49 ° 29 '28.2 " N , 9 ° 46' 33.5" E

Aerial view of the Teutonic Order Castle

The Mergentheim Castle (former German Order castle of Mergentheim ) was as a castle in today's Bad Mergentheim first center of a county in Taubergau . It came to the Teutonic Order as a commandery in 1219 . From 1527 the castle was the seat of the German Masters and a few years later also of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order. Thus it was the seat of the leadership of the order until the end of the Old Kingdom. At the same time, it was the center of the Mergentheim mastery as a secular property of the German and Hochmeister.

history

In 1058 a castle in Mergentheim was first mentioned in a document, which was expanded in the 12th century. In 1219 the three brothers Heinrich, Andreas and Friedrich von Hohenlohe , returned from a crusade , donated their moated castle and possessions in Mergentheim to the newly founded Teutonic Order . In 1255 the von Hohenlohe family had a castle chapel added on the east side and the palace on the south side. In 1339 the facility was expanded again.

The castle subsequently developed into the preferred residence of the German masters . After the Reformation , the castle even became the headquarters of the southwest of the high and German masters and thus the headquarters of the Teutonic Order, after Horneck Castle was destroyed in the peasant wars in the same year . The main base of the Teutonic Order remained here from 1527 to 1809 and important guests such as the emperor and influential princes were received.

Between 1568 and 1628 the medieval moated castle was converted into a palace. In 1574, for example, the Berwart staircase was built between the west and south wings. Between 1730 and 1799 the complex was expanded into a baroque palace.

With the secularization and the abolition of the Teutonic Order under Napoleon , the courtly splendor of the residence of the high and German masters in Mergentheim went out in 1809 after 300 years. As a result, Mergentheim was incorporated into the Kingdom of Württemberg .

Mergentheim Castle was subject to various subsequent uses. In 1827 it became the residence of Duke Paul Wilhelm von Württemberg . From 1868 the castle was used as barracks for the Württemberg army . After the Second World War , the chapter house was restored in 1956 and the German Order Museum was founded in 1961. The castle was restored from 1975 to 1996 and is now a well-known landmark of Bad Mergentheim .

investment

Mergentheim Castle, Berwart spiral staircase

Classicist main staircase designed by Hofrat Adam Stahl from 1799

The castle complex still shows traces of the original medieval moated castle: the ring-shaped arrangement of the buildings, the curved walls of the north wing, as well as reinforcements and moats. With the function of the headquarters, the castle was expanded more and more in the middle of the 16th century, and in the course of time a representative Renaissance complex was built. The famous spiral staircase designed by the builder Blasius Berwart was created.

The outer castle has been attached to the core of the castle complex since 1626 . These include the main portal construction, the bridge over the moat, and the office and archive building. Extensive renovations were carried out in the 18th century that gave the castle its present-day appearance. The castle church was renewed with the participation of Balthasar Neumann , the magnificent princely apartment and the chapter house were built in 1780/82 according to a design by Franz Anton Bagnato , and the castle grounds were newly laid out. A rococo garden festival house was built on the south wing according to plans by the Munich court architect François de Cuvilliés . Only a few garden figures of this building have survived and are now exhibited in the Teutonic Order Museum.

Todays use

State monument

Mergentheim Castle is one of the state's own monuments, which are looked after by the State Palaces and Gardens of Baden-Württemberg .

German Order Museum

Since 1996, after extensive renovation measures, the palace has been fully available to the public as a Teutonic Order Museum. The history of the Teutonic Order from its beginnings in 1190 to the present day is expanded with texts, images and objects. The following aspects can be visited: The history of the Teutonic Order, princely rooms, the city history of Mergentheim, Jewish life in Mergentheim - using the example of Hermann Fechenbach , the "Mörike Cabinet", the "Puppenstuben", the "Adelsheim'sche Altertumssammlung" , the castle, the castle park, collections of various exhibits, a library, the history of the museum and an exhibition “Museum en route”. Occasionally there are special exhibitions on changing topics in the Teutonic Order Museum.

Bicycle path church

The castle church with its location on the Taubertal cycle path is designated as a cycle path church.

literature

in order of appearance

Walther-Gerd Fleck (Author): Castles and Palaces in Northern Wuerttemberg - A manual with 95 photos and 8 color plates . Weidlich Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1979, ISBN 3-8035-1014-7 , p. 289 ff.
Hans Georg Böhm: The Teutonic Order Coming Mergentheim 1219-1525 . Historical German Order Compagnie Bad Mergentheim, Mergentheim 1989.
Ministry of Finance Baden-Württemberg (ed.): Bad Mergentheim Castle. Refurbishment and conversion to the Teutonic Order Museum . Stuttgart 1996.
Friedrich-Wilhelm Krahe: Castles of the German Middle Ages - floor plan lexicon . Stürtz Verlag, Würzburg 2000, ISBN 3-88189-360-1 .
Regina Hanemann: Mergentheim Castle with the Teutonic Order Museum . Deutscher Kunstverlag, Berlin / Munich 2006, ISBN 978-3-422-02027-6 .

Web links

Commons : Bad Mergentheim Castle - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Website Bad Mergentheim , Deutschordensschloss & Museum
Website of the German Order Museum Bad Mergentheim

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Bad Mergentheim, Teutonic Order Castle. German Castle Archives, accessed on May 9, 2015 .
↑ The German Order from 1190 until today. Deutschordensmuseum, accessed on May 9, 2015 .
↑ Special exhibitions. Deutschordensmuseum, accessed on May 9, 2015 .
↑ Tourism Association Liebliches Taubertal (Ed.): Cycle Path Churches . Brochure. 12 pages. District Office Main-Tauber-Kreis, Tauberbischofsheim, p. 7.

[Burgenarchiv-1] Bad Mergentheim, Teutonic Order Castle. German Castle Archives, accessed on May 9, 2015 .

[Museum-2] The German Order from 1190 until today. Deutschordensmuseum, accessed on May 9, 2015 .

[Sonderausstellungen-3] Special exhibitions. Deutschordensmuseum, accessed on May 9, 2015 .

[4] Tourism Association Liebliches Taubertal (Ed.): Cycle Path Churches . Brochure. 12 pages. District Office Main-Tauber-Kreis, Tauberbischofsheim, p. 7.