Spantekow Fortress
The fortress Veste Spantekow , the oldest and most important Renaissance castle in northern Germany , is located in the village of Spantekow , southwest of Anklam in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania . It covers an area of approximately four hectares .
Early history
In some areas of the fortress, especially in the north, Slavic finds were secured during various construction and excavation measures, which document an early settlement of the area. At the beginning of the 14th century, Werner von Schwerin's sons were already in possession of the "castrum Spantecowe". In 1338 the Pomeranian dukes secured the right of first refusal if the von Schwerin family wanted to sell the castle.
On the northern site of today's fortress there was already a ring castle in the early Middle Ages , of which the remains of the walls are still preserved and clearly visible.
Construction of the fortress
From 1558 to 1567, the Grand Court Master Ulrich von Schwerin and his wife Anna von Arnim had the main building built. Later the castle was expanded into a fortress (fortress). The fortress was laid out as an irregular square. It has protruding bastions, the ramparts were delimited with lining walls. The fortress is completely surrounded by a moat filled with water. The casemates are made of field stones with brick elements. It is noticeable that the casemates are bricked with bricks, which predominantly have the early German monastery format, which suggests that they were extracted from the old castle ruins. The west and south gable sides of the farm building are leaned against the ramparts and casemates. It also consists of field stones with brick elements. The building is a combination of a barn, stable and a bakery and brewery. It lies parallel to the castle building and only the roof area protrudes over the wall. To the south of the facility, the angled gate access with a side door is built into the casemates. It is therefore angled so as not to give attackers the opportunity to shoot straight through the entrance. To the north, the fortress courtyard was delimited by the riding arena with the chapel extension. The castle was connected to the farm building by an underground vault. Both buildings have a basement, but only part of the farm building. The passage is still there, as excavations have shown, but it was filled in in modern times.
The castle building is the first building in Pomerania to have completely given up medieval structures and therefore has "epoch-making significance" in architectural history (as Lemcke emphasizes).
After the death of Virellence von Schwerin in 1634, the castle came into the possession of the Swedish Count Erich Stenbock (1612–1659), the husband of Virellence's sister Katharina von Schwerin (1619–1655). During the Swedish-Brandenburg War , Spantekow was besieged and conquered by Brandenburg troops in 1677. Elector Friedrich Wilhelm v. Brandenburg ordered the demolition of the fortress and had important fortifications ( bastions , towers, main buildings) blown up. When the towers were blown up, parts of the casemates were destroyed.
The fortress character was retained from the ground plan, but Spantekow was now used as a manor house. Because of willful breach of loyalty, the ruling Count von Steenbock was expropriated by King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia in 1715 . In 1720 Spantekow finally became a domain in the Prussian state ownership. Field Marshal Kurt Christoph Graf von Schwerin from the previous owner's family sued the sovereign in 1738 for the return of Spantekow to the von Schwerin family . In 1748 the riding school with the attached castle church burned down completely, the ruins were cleared away and the buildings were not rebuilt. Today there are only remains of the foundations of the church. It was not until 1820 that District Administrator Heinrich Graf von Schwerin obtained a cabinet order from King Friedrich Wilhelm III. , through which a legal decision was ordered in the property dispute over Spantekow. But it was not until 1833, after 199 years in Prussian ownership and a process of 99 years, that the Spantekow estate and fortress returned to the Schwerin family. In addition, Prussia paid Count v. Schwerin received a compensation of 40,000 thalers. To prevent further division of the family property, Albert Graf von Zieten-Schwerin paid off the family in 1895 . His son Hans Bone von Schwerin became the sole owner of Spantekow.
Park
East of the fortress with the manor house, a park was laid out between 1835 and 1880, according to the measuring table sheets. It is called "Kaiserkoppel", but is mostly a scrub forest with softwood trees in the swampy terrain. A pond with a bridge connection, paths and open spaces structure the park. In the south-western part there is a monument to the Schwerine family and a small cemetery. The connection between the palace and the park was formed by a narrow bridge over the moat.
natural reserve
Due to the significant winter roosting of bats in the casemates of the fortress, these were declared an FFH area Wasserburg Spantekow .
Post-war use
After the Second World War , the von Schwerin family was expropriated as part of the land reform in 1945. After the founding of the GDR , the fortress came under state administration. A retirement home was set up in the main building of the fortress, the castle . The fortress was poorly maintained and set up for museum viewing. In 1964 the fortress was included in the GDR's list of monuments. In the 1980s, the sandstone reliefs above the gate entrance were dismantled for restoration. According to unconfirmed information, the relief plates are said to have been replaced by copies in order to secure the originals. They were already very ailing. The writing fields next to the figures of the builders were barely legible.
After the German reunification, the fortress came under the administration of the Treuhand . The old people's home was closed and the castle stood empty for a long time. The whole complex also became overgrown, but was then cleaned up, maintained and prepared for inspection through various job creation measures. Various small-scale excavations took place during this period.
In 1999 Kaspar Freiherr von Harnier , the grandson of the last castle owner before the expropriation in 1945, bought the fortress back. The castle, farm buildings, ramparts, the gatehouse, bastions, casemates and remains of the ring castle have been preserved. With the help of donations and state funds, a restoration should be made possible. The grounds of the moated castle can be visited after it was closed for a number of years.
The roof system of the farm building with an area of approx. 1200 m² was completely renovated in 2014. The renovation of the castle building began in 2017. The castle is closed to the public until the end of 2018.
literature
- Lutz Mohr : Stolpe monastery ruins and Spantekow castle in the vicinity of Anklam. Two striking historical sites from medieval Pomerania . In: Bull and Griffin. Sheets on cultural and regional history in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania , vol. 17, Schwerin 2007, pp. 46–65
- Anke Brauns and Erhard Stelzig: Castle in a 'defensive state' . In: Home calendar ANKLAM and the surrounding area 2009. Year 80, new episode 18. Founded by Max Sander. Uckerland: Schibri-Verlag 2008, pp. 17–19, more. Fig., ISBN 978-3-86863-007-7
Web links
- Literature about fortress Spantekow in the state bibliography MV
- Homepage of Castle Spantekow v. Owner Friedrich Freiherr von Harnier
- Usage concept for the wellness area of the castle and the surrounding area (Krause Bohne Architekten, Aachen) ( Memento from April 24, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- Lutz Mohr, Spantekow Castle
- Reconstruction drawing by Wolfgang Braun
- Photos from Spantekow Castle (July 31, 2016)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Standard data sheet FFH area Wasserburg Spantekow (PDF; 41 kB)
- ↑ Current: Spantekow Castle , accessed on December 5, 2017
Coordinates: 53 ° 47 ′ 13 ″ N , 13 ° 31 ′ 56 ″ E