Frankenberg Castle (Helmers)
| Frankenberg Castle | ||
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| Castle type : | Höhenburg, spur location | |
| Conservation status: | partially preserved | |
| Place: | Helmers | |
| Geographical location | 50 ° 43 '48 " N , 10 ° 17' 43.8" E | |
| Height: | 350 m above sea level NN | |
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The Burg Frankenberg was in the Middle Ages built fortification on the Schlossberg at Helmers in Schmalkalden-Meiningen in Thuringia .
location
The structural remains of the Spornburg at 350 m above sea level. NN are 500 m north of the local situation of Helmers in the lower Rosagrund. The castle with a Vorwerk in the village of Helmers was located on an important old road when it was built , which had the Werra crossing with the Breitungen double monastery and led past Frankenberg Castle to the west. In the 15th century, an extensive Landwehr train was built near the castle to protect the Henneberg official border; it ran between the towns of Breitungen and Roßdorf. The Todenwarth castle ruins on the northern bank of the Werra have been the starting point for another Henneberg landwehr since the 14th century, which runs in the direction of the Thuringian Forest , parallel to the Schmalkalde valley .
history
The construction of the castle, which is still preserved today, dates back to the end of the 11th to the beginning of the 12th century. The first written mention of it comes from the year 1137. At that time the castle was owned by the Lords of Frankenstein, first mentioned in the same year . It is not known whether the castle was built by the Frankensteiners, or how it came into their possession. The castle served as a fortress to protect the trade route running through the Rosatal from Frankfurt am Main via Dermbach and Schmalkalden to Erfurt.
The first reliable information about the Frankenberg family branch of the Frankensteiner was recorded in 1180 with Otto, who also called himself Otto von Stein (de lapide). He and his descendants named themselves after the Frankenberg. The ruling district occupied by the Frankenbergers was of small size and bordered in the southwest on the rule of the Counts of Neidhardtshausen , in the west and north on the territory of the Frankensteiner, in the east and south on the territory of the Counts of Henneberg . The importance of this small rule grew with the transfer of the protective bailiwick over the Premonstratensian monastery in Frauenbreitungen . In the following period, the family of the lords of the castle von Frankenberg owned not only the regular property in the Rosatal but also splinter holdings in the Stillergrund near Schmalkalden , Altenbreitungen , Breitenbach , Untergrumbach and Fischbach .
When the military and political balance of power in the region had shifted significantly as a result of the Thuringian War of Succession , the heirs of the knights Heinrich and Otto von Frankenberg asked in 1278 for the Hersfeld monastery to take over the fief . The male line had died out as early as 1293. Therefore, the Counts of Henneberg-Schleusingen received Frankenberg Castle from Thuringian Landgrave Albrecht with the consent of the Hersfeld Abbots . In 1301 the bailiwick rights were also handed over to the Counts of Henneberg in Frauenbreitungen. The neighboring rule of the Frankensteiners was shaken at the same time by a campaign by King Adolf of Nassau and fell into deep debt. The Counts of Henneberg were thus able to expand their domain by a significant part on the northern edge of the Rhön and in the central Werra Valley. Count Berthold VII von Henneberg initiated the establishment of the Frankenberg office with the addition of the village of Wernshausen .
Around 1360 the Frankenberg office was shown as a lien, the lien owners changed in quick succession, the Henneberg counts retained sovereignty over Castle Frankenberg, even after the Henneberg division in 1347, when the area belonged to Count Johann I von Henneberg-Schleusingen got. The last noble resident was Heinz von der Tann; he died in 1521 in the castle, which was already in structural decline. The servants and officials housed in the castle had already left the castle before 1525, so the armed peasants had no resistance to fear in the spring of 1525 when a group of peasants set the former fortress on fire. In the following centuries storms caused further damage, usable stones were removed by the farmers. The official seat connected to the castle was relocated to Frauenbreitungen after the secularization of the monasteries, which means that the office has since been called " Amt Frauenbreitungen ".
The keep and parts of the palace remained from the castle until the 19th century . The castle ruins , now recognized as a cultural monument , were made accessible again at the turn of the century and recommended by the hiking guides as an attractive excursion destination.
During the GDR era, the castle was almost forgotten. It was not until 1983 that a group of homeland protectors in the Helmers community began to look after the ruins again, and they founded the Frankenberg Castle Interest Group. In 1988 an exploratory excavation was carried out in the castle grounds to investigate the location and extent of the previous buildings in the castle courtyard. The walls that were in danger of collapsing were secured and a log cabin was built near the castle ruins. In the period that followed, a staircase could also be built into the tower.
investment
The castle complex was built on the southern foothills of the Schlossberg and was cordoned off by a deep ditch towards the mountain. Built on steep hillside castle had a triple ring of walls, in the main castle towering over the still existing keep a close with buildings occupied castle courtyard. This has a square floor plan of 7.35 m edge length and consists in the lower part of large-format reddish sandstone humpbacks with pincer holes, the original high entrance is on the southwest side at 11 m height.
The approximately 11 m long Palas leaning on the northeast side of the tower. The hall and other outbuildings formed the core area of the castle, which could probably be reached via a gate tower . To the east below the keep was a leveled area that had taken up the castle's farm wing, and this area was also protected by the central wall. The outer wall ring surrounded the main castle and a surrounding moat .
Current situation and usage
The castle complex is designated as a ground monument and, with its 24 m high observation tower, is of regional tourist importance. A castle festival has been held at the castle ruins on Pentecost Sunday since the 1990s .
Miracle story
The consort of St. Elisabeth of Thuringia , Landgrave Ludwig , was venerated even after death. The miracles and legends collected in this context were intended to support his canonization. In the chronicles of Wigand Gerstenberg von Frankenberg (1457–1522) an extensive list of such miracle stories is reported, which were ascribed to the landgrave. The following miracle is said to have occurred on August 12, 1293 at Frankenberg Castle near Helmers:
- “A simple farmer from Schwallungen had found a treasure while working in the field. The landlord got into an argument with the farmer about this and demanded that the treasure be returned. The judge sentenced the farmer to prison. The farmer disappeared into a barred room behind lock and key at Frankenberg Castle. He felt innocent and in his desperation called Landgrave Ludwig to help out in need . He prayed and made a vow before God. Then a miracle happened, the dungeon door opened and with God's help the farmer found the way out of the castle unmolested, he was free again. In gratitude, he fulfilled all obligations, visited Ludwig's grave, praised and adored the deceased landgrave for his liberation. "
literature
- Georg Voss (ed.): Helmers, Burg Frankenberg. In: Thuringia's architectural and art monuments. Duchy of Saxony-Meiningen. Meiningen district. District court district Salzungen. Booklet XXXV. Publisher = Gustav Fischer Verlag. Jena 1909 pp. 47-50.
- Thomas Bienert: Helmers, Burg Frankenberg In: Medieval castles in Thuringia, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2000, pp. 277-278, ISBN 3-86134-631-1 .
- Eilhard Zickgraf: The princely county of Henneberg-Schleusingen. History of the territory and its organization. In: Writings of the institute for historical regional studies of Hesse and Nassau. Marburg 1944, pp. 58-60.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Michael Köhler: Thuringian castles and fortified prehistoric and early historical living spaces. Jenzig-Verlag, Jena 2001, ISBN 3-910141-43-9 , p. 102.
- ↑ a b c d Rudi Dittmar: The Frankenberg castle ruins near Helmers . In: Rhönklub (Ed.): Rhönwacht . Issue 1, 1991, p. 106 .
- ^ History of Frankenberg Castle on the homepage of the city of Schmalkalden
- ↑ Georg Dehio , edited by Stephanie Eißing a. a .: Handbook of German Art Monuments. Thuringia . 2nd Edition. Deutscher Kunstverlag , Munich / Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-422-03095-6 , p. 595.
- ↑ Rhon lexicon "Burg Frankenberg"
- ^ Hermann Diemar: The Chronicles of Wigand Gerstenberg von Frankenberg . Elwert, Marburg 1909, Miracle of the Blessed Ludwig, p. 345 ( online as PDF, 4.2 MB ).
Web links
- Schmalkalden.de: Helmers - Burg Frankenberg ( Memento from February 12, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) Website on the castle history with a detailed chronicle