Enemy brothers
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The " Enemy Brothers " are a German legend that originated in the late 16th century about the castles Sterrenberg and Liebenstein, which are located directly next to each other, in the UNESCO World Heritage Upper Middle Rhine Valley near Kamp-Bornhofen .
Due to the great popularity of the legend and the unique location of the castles, which are separated by two shield walls, the two castles themselves are referred to as the "Enemy Brothers" and are more commonly known as such than by their real names.
There are also legends of other hostile brothers, especially in Styria .
The legend
Origin and background
The legend about the enemy brothers is said to have been told for the first time in 1587. Since Sterrenberg Castle had belonged to the Electoral Trier district since 1320, it was strongly fortified against the nearby Liebenstein Castle; this later led to the legend of the enemy brothers.
In addition, built in the 13th century and thus younger Castle Liebenstein Castle Sterrenberg served as a bailey . The two shield walls led to the better defense of Sterrenberg. It is believed that there was never an armed conflict between the castles.
The legend is the subject of the poem Zwei Brüder by Heinrich Heine in the Book of Songs .
content
In the castle of Boppard , the brothers Heinrich and Konrad grew from the family of Beyer of Boppard on. Her father Heinrich had taken in an orphan from a distantly related Rüdesheim family named Hildegard Brömser. The three children grew up together. Heinrich and Konrad fell in love with Hildegard. However, since Hildegard seemed to love Konrad, Heinrich let his brother go first and the two married.
So that the new couple and his Heinrich had a home, the father had two castles built on the other side of the Rhine on two hills that are close together, which are now known as Sterrenberg and Liebenstein. Since Heinrich continued to suffer from lovesickness, he decided to join the Crusades and move to the Holy Land.
After a while, the happily living couple received news of Henry's heroic deeds in the Orient. Konrad no longer wanted to sit idle at home. He also went to show his courage. Some time later Heinrich returned and reported that Konrad had only been to the Holy Land for a short time and then traveled to Athens. Hildegard and Heinrich moved into Liebenstein Castle together so as not to be alone until Konrad was supposed to return. However, Heinrich respected the sacred bond of marriage throughout this time.
Finally Konrad returned, too, but had a beautiful Greek woman with him. Hildegard was deeply offended and turned into a serious and sad woman. Heinrich could not bear this insult from his brother, had a wall built between the castles and challenged Konrad to a duel.
When the duel was about to take place, Hildegard stepped between the brothers and asked them not to fight each other. She would, however, in Boppard the Klostermarienberg join and thus no longer stand between the brothers. Heinrich and Konrad then settled their argument, Hildegard went to the monastery and Heinrich withdrew to Liebenstein. Wild parties were celebrated at Sterrenberg Castle, but Konrad soon lost contact with his brother. Then Konrad came to Heinrich and told him that the Greek had left him because of another knight. Heinrich did not reproach Konrad and they became friends again.
After a few years Konrad died and Heinrich entered the Bornhofen monastery . Heinrich and Hildegard died on the same day, and the Marienberg death bell and the Bornhofen funeral bell rang at the same time.
literature
- Klaus Peter Hausberg: Rhenish Legends & Stories - The companion book to the "Rhenish Legends Trail" . JP Bachem, Cologne 2005, ISBN 3-7616-1869-7
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Tales from hostile brothers Sagen.at
- ↑ The legend of the "Enemy Brothers" . ( Memento from October 25, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Sterrenberg Castle, Café & Restaurant