Herzog Albrecht Monument (Ricklingen Castle)

Front, total monument

Back (2017)

The Herzog-Albrecht monument is a roofed cross stone in the district of Schloß Ricklingen in the city of Garbsen in Lower Saxony . The stone, erected around 1500 on a small hill in the village, is reminiscent of Duke Albrecht of Saxony-Wittenberg . During the siege of the Ricklingen moated castle in 1385, legend has it that he suffered a fatal wound at this point.

description

The 25 centimeter thick limestone cross has a height of around two meters and a width of around one meter. The relief-like representations on the cross stone are meanwhile heavily weathered.

Front of the medallion disc

On the front of the stone there is a crucifixion group with Jesus , Mary and John on a large round medallion disc . The upper circle bears the inscription:

Middle Low German text	translation
+ hertoghe albert vō sassē un luneborch unde corvorste unde arscmarescale des roemschē rikes bid voer hem.	Duke Albrecht of Saxony and Lüneburg and Elector and Archmarschall of the Roman Empire - pray for him.

The disc is surrounded by four semicircular arches that contain the symbols of the four evangelists , John (eagle), Matthew (winged person), Luke (bull) and Mark (lion). In the lower area, Duke Albrecht is shown kneeling in prayer.

The back of the cross stone contains in the area of ​​the disc in twelve lines a description of the event on which the stone was set:

Back of the medallion disc

Middle Low German text	translation
Anō 1385 iare uerteyen night na Paschen do togen de uan Luenborch with örem heren hertogen albrechte to sassen in front of de borch to rickelinge vppe de van mandelse dar so were hertoge albrecht warped with eyner blyen dat se afftogen vnde hertoge albrecht de starff dar van.	In 1385 fourteen nights after Easter since attracted the Lüneburg with their Lord the Duke Albrecht of Saxony before the castle to Ricklingen against those of Mandelsloh, as Duke Albrecht was hit with a trebuchet , that they departed, and Duke Albrecht died of it.

A boulder (above) that is said to have hit the Duke as a bullet

On the back of the stone, in the lower area, a kneeling and praying figure in a long coat with a cape is shown. From her hands a banner - barely visible today - rises with the words MISERERE MEI DEVS - “Have mercy on me, God” ( Ps 50.3  VUL / Ps 51.3  EU ). It could be a follower of Duke Albrecht or his widow Katharina , or the Duke himself, who is depicted once in armor and once in civilian clothes. On the cross stone is a top boulder attached with a metal band, which is to concern the Blidengeschoss from which the Duke was hit.

The cross stone was in 1617 on the orders of Duke Friedrich Ulrich for weather protection with a canopy roof of stone, the stone on four square pillars rests. In 1722 the protective roof was repaired.

history

During the War of the Lüneburg Succession in 1385 , Duke Albrecht von Sachsen-Wittenberg, who resided in Celle Castle, besieged the Ricklingen moated castle with around 300 men, on which his vassal Dietrich von Mandelsloh sat. The campaign was probably based on the robber baronism that started at the castle . Dietrich von Mandelsloh defended the castle with around 30 men using a blide .

The hill with the monument (2017)

On April 16, 1385, a stone bullet hit Duke Albrecht and smashed his leg. According to legend, this should have happened on the small hill on which the cross stone was placed. Since the elevation is about 500 meters as the crow flies from the former castle site, this is unlikely due to the limited range of these throwing machines. According to the story, the daughter of the besieged, Sophie von Mandelsloh, operated the throwing machine when it was shot down. The Duke succumbed to the consequences of this injury on June 28, 1385 in Neustadt am Rübenberge .

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  Illustration by Merian around 1650

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  HWH Mithoff , drawings of the Albrechtsdenkstein (1871)

See also

• Mandelsloh feud

literature

• Heinz-Henning von Reden: New findings about the memorial stone at Ricklingen Castle. In: Hannoversche Geschichtsblätter . New Series, Vol. 34, 1980, pp. 25-39.
• Office building. In: Monument topography of the Federal Republic of Germany . Architectural monuments in Lower Saxony, Region Hannover, part 2, volume 13.2 , edited by Christiane Segers-Glocke , edited by Carolin Krumm, Verlag CW Niemeyer Buchverlage , Hameln 2005, ISBN 3-8271-8255-7 , pp. 214f ​​.; here: p. 215

Web links

Commons : Herzog-Albrecht-Denkmal  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Detailed description with photos
• Brief description with photos
• Brief description at hannover.de

Coordinates: 52 ° 25 ′ 37.6 ″  N , 9 ° 30 ′ 7.1 ″  E