Ehrenberg Castle (Reutte)
| Ehrenberg Castle | ||
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 Ehrenberg Castle |
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| Creation time : | around 1290 | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Standing position : | Count | |
| Place: |
Lechtal Alps south of Reutte |
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| Geographical location | 47 ° 27 '56 " N , 10 ° 43' 6" E | |
| Height: | 1100 m above sea level A. | |
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The Ehrenberg Castle is the ruins of a hilltop castle on the northern edge of the Lech Valley Alps at 1,100 meters above sea level. A. south via Reutte im Ausserfern in Tyrol . The castle ruins are the center of one of the most important fortress ensembles in Central Europe. The castle is dominated by the baroque fortress Schlosskopf , below the Ehrenberger Klause blocks the valley. To the east of the main road, Fort Claudia completes the fortification system.
The castle ensemble was once considered an impregnable bulwark and was the most important customs post between the northern and southern trade routes. Today the hermitage with the surrounding castles and fortresses is probably one of the oldest and most important fortifications in the northern Tyrolean Alpine foothills.
history
In the 13th century, the area around Reutte largely belonged to the Staufer sphere of influence. Towards the end of the century, the power of rule over the widow of Conrad IV came to Count Meinhard II of Görz-Tirol as marriage property .
The new castle above Reutte is likely to have been built around 1290. This year the Tyrolean count handed over his castle near Pfronten ( Falkenstein Castle ) to the Bishop of Augsburg , which could have been a reason for the new building. Heinrich von Starkenberg (Capitaneus ad Ernberch) is mentioned as the first captain of the castle in 1293 . The construction costs were partly raised from the princely income. The remaining amount was claimed from the municipalities of the Imst , Petersberg and Hörtenberg judicial districts , whose residents were also involved in extensive robot services.
In 1314 Meinhard's son, Duke Heinrich of Carinthia , pledged the court "in the forest" and the castle to Count Konrad von Kirchberg . However, the pledge was redeemed again in 1317 and the castle administration was returned to Heinrich von Starkenberg . Castle and court were pledged several times during the late Middle Ages, for example in 1352 to Duke Conrad IV von Teck , to whom the Margrave of Tyrol owed 14,000 marks from Berner . The hermitage under the castle hill brought rich customs revenue, which is why Ehrenberg was very popular as a pledge. In 1354 the pledged property went to Duke Albrecht II of Austria, who in turn passed it on to Conrad von Freyberg , Vice Cathedral in Upper Bavaria in 1362 . In 1365 the Austrian redeemed the pledge. In 1445, Sigmund Henlein appears as the caretaker . After several other pledges, such as to Reinprecht V. von Graben , Ehrenberg finally came to the Augsburg merchant Georg Gossembrot . Under Gossembrot , Reutte was elevated to a market, but the Augsburg resident was extremely unpopular with the population. When he died in nearby Füssen in 1502 , he is said to have been poisoned by his subjects. After Gossembrot's death in 1523, rule came to Gabriel Salamanca , a Spaniard known to be extremely cruel, over the Paumgartner family from Augsburg . The angry population therefore forced the duke to redeem the pledge as early as 1525.
In 1546 the troops of the Schmalkaldic League tried to invade Tyrol. Ehrenberg Castle and Klause were manned, but only 29 of the 200 subjects summoned showed up. Overall, the fortifications were only defended by about 60 men. The Schmalkalden succeeded in taking the hermitage on July 11, 1546, and the castle was handed over the next day. In September the Tyroleans managed to recapture. For this purpose, seven guns were posted on the Falkenberg and the castle was shot ready for storm. The Protestant occupation managed to escape back to the Allgäu . The repair of the damage caused by the bombardment lasted until 1551.
In 1552 Moritz von Sachsen invaded via Füssen in Tyrol, but was unable to take the castle. Again, however, the unpaved Falkenberg turned out to be the weak point of the fortification concept. The soldiers simply bypassed the castle and hermitage over the mountain. When the elector's troops finally had to withdraw from the mountains, the hermitage was damaged and looted. After the fighting ended, the Innsbruck government paid little attention to the castle. In 1566 the crew consisted of five men and a stable boy. In 1601 the keeper moved his seat down to Reutte . Shortly afterwards, however, the strategic value of the Ehrenberg border castle as a pass barrier was recognized. Archduke Maximilian initiated major alterations to the fortifications between 1607 and 1609.
When the Protestant army threatened to invade the country in 1632 ( Thirty Years' War ), further expansions were quickly made and Ehrenberg Castle reinforced with outbuildings . Over 6000 soldiers under the command of Duke Bernhard von Weimar attacked the hermitage, but were repulsed by the Tyroleans.
Claudia von Medici , the widow of Archduke Leopold V , had Fort Claudia built on the Falkenberg from 1639 . The builder of the small fortress was Elias Gumpp .
During the War of the Spanish Succession , the Bavarian Elector succeeded in conquering Ehrenberg in 1703. However, the Austrians succeeded in retaking a month later. The farmers in the area had some guns on the - - in excess of the castle Schlosskopf drawn and the castle fired from there. The Austrian government then began planning a large fortress (1726–1741) on the Schlosskopf , the strategic necessity of which had been proven by the previous fighting. However, the new fortress never had to prove its suitability again. In 1782 the Tyrolean fortresses were abandoned except for Kufstein . The fortress system was sold as a quarry and cannibalized.
In the middle of the 19th century, the ruin was acquired by the respected Reutte industrialist Heinrich Schoener. Since the middle of the 20th century, conservation measures have been taken in agreement with the owners of the “Rettet Ehrenberg” association and the decay of the huge fortress ensemble has been stopped. Today, according to the owners Schoener-Tschurtschenthaler, the ruins should benefit the population and guests as a haven of peace and excursion destination.
description
The hilltop castle was built on a rocky hill above the ascent to Heiterwang Lake . The irregular course of the curtain wall adapts to the mountain plateau. The rectangular main castle is elevated on a rock, to which a gate fortification was presented. To the northeast, a restored artillery tower secures the facility. The castle is connected to the hermitage and the fortress on the head of the castle by long side walls . The castle green between the castle and the castle hill is secured by an 18th century horn.
The core castle
The original castle complex is likely to have been rather modest and only consisted of a palace and an outer bailey . This castle was besieged during a feud around 1296 and then expanded. In 1317 4,200 roof tiles were charged for the castle. The hermitage at the foot of the castle rock was probably built at the same time as the castle as a road block.
The transverse high floor was built during the third quarter of the 15th century. Wide additions were made from the 15th to the 17th century. The south corner is reinforced by a semicircular tower. To the south and east there is a kennel in front of the buildings, the gateway leads through this kennel to the inner gate. The masonry is interrupted by numerous window openings and some of it is multi-story.
The outer curtain wall
The outer fortification largely belongs to the 16th and 17th centuries and was presented to the core castle like a kennel or outer castle. The large gun tower in the northeast ( falcon tower ) was built from 1551 onwards by converting a semicircular, crenellated shell tower . In addition to the battery tower, two small round towers and a bastion are added to the wall . A bastion gate system protects the entrance in the southwest. Even when they were built, the fortifications did not correspond to the state of the art in defense technology.
The hermitage
The Klause am Katzenberg was first mentioned in a document in 1317. A permanent house originally stood there next to the barrier wall . A grain bin was added from 1482 under Georg Gossembrot. The princely inventory from 1525 names the customs and post office as well as an inn.
At the beginning of the 17th century, the hermitage was strengthened on the north side with two protruding bastions of the Italian style. After 1618 a hornwork and additional works were added, and in the 18th century a two-story barracks was built . After the fortress was abandoned in 1782, the buildings were partially cannibalized. The first revitalization work began in the nineties of the twentieth century. The main building has been restored and prepared for the European Castle Museum . The bastions, the hornworks and the barracks have now been preserved and supplemented.
literature
- Jacob Vogel: Clausensturm: That is: the poetic act of the heroic heroes Thaten Churfürst Mauritij, the Great Duke of Saxony etc. But especially in the capture of the Ehrenberger Clausen (Anno 1552) in the entrance of the Tyrolean Mountains. Oßwald, Leipzig 1622 ( digitized version ).
- Josef Weingartner : The Ernberg Fortress and its pre-passes. In: R. Klebelsberg (Ed.): Ausserferner book. Contributions to local history from Ausserfern (= Schlern-Schriften 111, ZDB -ID 503740-2 ). Wagner, Innsbruck 1955, pp. 145–156.
- Oswald Trapp : Tiroler Burgenbuch. Volume 7: Oberinntal and Ausserfern. Athesia et al., Bozen / Innsbruck / Vienna 1986, ISBN 88-7014-391-0 .
- Waltraud Palme-Comploy: Ehrenberg. In: Reutte - 500 years of the market 1489–1989. Marktgemeinde Reutte, Reutte 1989, pp. 97–114.
- Joachim Zeune : Castle Guide Ostallgäu and Ausserfern, Tyrol. Mountain forests and dams in the Ostallgäu-Ausserfern castle region. Ostallgäu tourist association, Marktoberdorf 1998.
- Richard Lipp: Ehrenberg. History and stories (= publications of the Museum Association of the Reutte district. Vol. 2). Museum Association of the Reutte District, Reutte 2006, ISBN 3-9502282-0-9 .
Web links
- Ehrenberg Castle World
- Entry via Ehrenberg (Ernberg) to Burgen-Austria