Big swarm
| Big swarm | ||
|---|---|---|
 Hohe Schwarm - view from the banks of the Saale |
||
| Alternative name (s): | Old Bailiwick | |
| Creation time : | around 1300 | |
| Castle type : | Niederungsburg | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Standing position : | Count | |
| Construction: | House masonry, also opus spicatum | |
| Place: | Saalfeld | |
| Geographical location | 50 ° 38 '50.4 " N , 11 ° 21' 58.7" E | |
| Height: | 225 m above sea level NN | |
|
||
The Hohe Schwarm is the ruin of a castle in the Thuringian town of Saalfeld above the Saale . An imposing facade on the eastern edge of the old town is still preserved from the castle.
history
The castle was built as a Gothic residential tower castle , the complex of which is still clearly recognizable in the current ruins, by the Counts of Schwarzburg on the ground and the walls of an older fortification, which was destroyed in 1199 by Landgrave Hermann I , then rebuilt and on orders King Rudolf I had been razed again in 1290.
From 1208 the former imperial city of Saalfeld belonged to the Grafschaft Schwarzburg . The Counts of Schwarzburg rebuilt the destroyed castle, at least in part, but built a more comfortable residential palace at about the same time as the Kitzerstein ("Köditzerstein") east of the castle and partly on the city wall. Construction work began around 1300. In 1389 the castle was still inhabited and sold to the Wettins together with the Saalfeld rulers . At that time it was called the Sorbian castle .
Subsequently, the castle continued to serve as the official residence; However, it lost its military importance in the course of the 15th century. When the official seat was moved from the castle to an inner-city building, the castle fell into disrepair and was already in ruin by the middle of the 16th century. In 1551 the partial demolition began for the extraction of building material. The body of a girl immured in the wall is said to have been found in the ruins. In 1593 the name Hoher Schwarm appeared for the first time , presumably an abbreviation of the term "Schworben- / Sorbenburg".
Between 1995 and 1997 the ruin was secured and renovated.
Construction site
The high swarm was a tower castle on a square base with a side length of 17 meters. The castle had five storeys and probably four round towers at the corners of the base. Of these, only the two facing the hall are preserved today. The cellar vaults are walled up. A draw well was found inside the square.
Today there is a natural stage in the Hohe Schwarm.
Remarks
- ↑ The square floor plan indicates an early medieval, Thuringian / Terwingian - Gothic Burgus , which controlled the flow of trade from the Saale over the Biel , a pass path over the ridge of the Thuringian Slate Mountains . Less than 800 m away, on a plateau on the banks of the Saale called “Petersberg”, an underground chapel was found in the 19th century, which also indicates the presence of a Gothic garrison . This chapel was built over in 1063 with the high altar of the monastery church of the Canons , which was given to the Benedictine Abbey of St. Peter and Paul in 1071 , and is now part of the branched cellar vault of the Saalfeld Palace .
literature
- Georg Brückner : Regional studies of the Duchy of Meiningen. Part 2: The topography of the country. Brückner & Renner, Meiningen 1853, pp. 620f.
- Thomas Bienert: "High Swarm" - Medieval castles in Thuringia . Wartberg Verlag, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2000, ISBN 3-86134-631-1 , p. 239-240 .
- Michael Köhler: "High Swarm" - Thuringian castles and fortified prehistoric and early historical living spaces . Jenzig-Verlag, Jena 2001, ISBN 3-910141-43-9 , p. 140-141 .
- Gerhard Werner: Castle ruins Hoher Schwarm . City administration leaflet, 2004.
- Friedrich-Wilhelm Krahe: Castles of the German Middle Ages - floor plan lexicon, Bechtermünz-Verlag 1996, ISBN 3-86047-219-4
