Karlsburg (castle)

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Karlsburg
Karlsburg on February 2, 2007

Karlsburg on February 2, 2007

Creation time : 8th to 16th century
Castle type : Höhenburg, spur location
Conservation status: ruin
Place: Karlstadt
Geographical location 49 ° 57 '41.4 "  N , 9 ° 45' 26.3"  E Coordinates: 49 ° 57 '41.4 "  N , 9 ° 45' 26.3"  E
Height: 241  m above sea level NN
Karlsburg (Bavaria)
Karlsburg

The Karlsburg is the ruin of a spur castle on a wide rock spur on the left bank of the Main in the district of Mühlbach opposite the city of Karlstadt , approx. 25 km northwest of Würzburg . To the north below the castle was the associated valley settlement in the area of ​​today's Karlburg district .

Geographical location

It is a very convenient and convenient location in the Franconian old settlement area. The main valley widens here to a flat basin that rises to the west. Important roads to the centers of the Frankish-Carolingian Empire ran along the Main and in a west-east direction. They crossed the river here in two fords about two kilometers apart. The complex of the castle and estate was the last stage stop on the way up to Würzburg main, the former seat of the Duke Heden and episcopal city since 741 / 42 . Also a day's journey away is the Neustadt monastery downstream and Hammelburg to the north . This shows the important position of Karlsburg on the way through what was then East Franconia.

Written tradition

The first mention of the Karlburg settlement complex in 741/42 is directly related to the establishment of the Würzburg diocese. The Carolingian caretaker Karlmann gave the diocese founded by Boniface not only 25 royal own churches but also a Marian monastery with associated goods and rights in the villa Karloburgo, of which three later confirmation documents report. In a second donation in the same context King gave Pepin the 751 / 53 the first Bishop of Wurzburg Burkard castle and royal court with associated fiscal District and all of it related to income ( castellum ... Karlo castle ... cum fisco regali ). By the middle of the 8th century at the latest , there was a central place with fortifications, a royal court and a monastery, which was initially in royal hands or that of the Carolingian house keepers and was only then handed over to the diocese. The exact date of foundation of the castle cannot be derived from the sources. It remains unclear whether it was only created in the Carolingian period, possibly under Karl Martell , or already in the late Merovingian period, perhaps under the care of the Hedene. There is also a lack of information about the appearance and function of the castle. The historical news marks Karlburg as an important central place in the early medieval history of Main Franconia . The Karlsburg, known as castrum in 1286, came to an end in the Peasants' War when it was burned down between May 15 and June 3, 1525 .

Archaeological excavations

Archaeological excavations at the castle took place in 1971/72 and 1974/75 under the direction of Klaus Schwarz . In 1994 another smaller special excavation was carried out. Essential findings also enabled aerial photographs of the oldest fortification, which was hardly visible above ground, to be taken in 1992 .

The development of Karlsburg from the 8th to the 16th century

The evaluation of the excavations by Peter Ettel revealed a structure of the building history of the castle in four phases.

Phase A - The Carolingian complex of the early Würzburg diocese (construction around the middle of the 8th century)

It had an extension of about 125 × 120 m with about 1.3 hectares of inner area and was surrounded by a 5.30 m wide, formerly 1.90 m deep, pointed ditch that rounded off the spur in an arched manner. A mortar wall, one of the earliest such fortifications in southern Germany, ran behind the inner edge of the trench. In the smaller probe cuts inside the castle complex, various post positions and settlement pits were found, which give evidence of intensive development and use. One of the finds that is particularly worth mentioning is a probably early medieval, decorated leg plate. It probably comes from a box and is considered evidence of the presence of a socially upscale class of people at the castle.

Phase B - the Ottonian complex (erected around 900 - 1st half of the 10th century)

The smaller fortification of the Carolingian castle was abandoned, the moat was filled and the fenced area was expanded to 1.7 hectares. This also included previously unused area in front of it; the extension was now about 170 × 120 m. The new fortification was formed by another arched wall, piled up with stones and earth, 9-10 m wide and a trench in front of it without a berm. It is very likely that two further wall-ditch installations, approx. 100 and 200 m away respectively, in the run-up, correspond in their construction to the main fortification and evidently served as access obstacles for riders. The type of fortification is typical for structures from the time of the Hungarian invasions around 900 and in the first half of the 10th century. Numerous post pits and fireplaces bear witness to the dense interior settlement . At the foot of the rampart stood a six-post house, 6.40 × 5-5.20 m in size, with a wooden floor, a stone border in the west and a brick hearth in the northwest corner.

Phase C - The Salian-Hohenstaufen complex (erected in the 11th century)

The size of the Ottonian castle was retained. A mortar wall was erected on the wall, which was reinforced by towers in front of it, some of which were placed in the moat. The three similar towers excavated at relatively regular intervals of 32 to 35 m each had a wall thickness of about 1.60 m and a front length of 7.20 m. Two more towers in the southwest as well as a gate in the southwest corner can be assumed. During the third phase, the wall was also widened on the inside by 3–4 m to 13–13.50 m, the trench deepened to 4.50 m and widened to 10–12 m. The fortification thus reached a total width of 25 m.

With the numerous post holes, a particularly massive construction with very wide and deep post pits that are driven into the surrounding rock is striking. At the foot of the rampart, a two-aisled post house with a side length of 6 m was excavated. A large number of ceramic and metal finds prove the intensive and multi-phase use of the interior. Horseshoes, horseshoes and a stirrup indicate the temporary presence of mounted troops.

Phase D - late medieval complex (from around 1200 or mid-13th century to mid-16th century)

The castle complex has now been reduced in size and remained limited to the southeastern spur area. For this purpose, a deep and 30 m wide neck trench was dug, the older fortifications largely razed and the area leveled in advance. Several remains of the interior buildings have been preserved. Some of the Romanesque components probably date from the Salian - Staufer period. It is possible that Castle D was created around 1200 parallel to the founding of Karlstadt on the opposite side of the Main by Bishop Konrad von Querfurt (1198–1202). Of the Gothic buildings, above all the east wall of the palace building is preserved, which still rises 90 m above the Main and offers an impressive picture, especially from the Main side. Karlsburg was destroyed during the Peasants' War in 1525.

photos

  • Remaining wall of the hall

  • View from the ruins of the Main

  • Aerial view of the remaining wall of the hall and the massive rock foundation

literature

  • Peter Ettel: Karlburg - Development of a royal-episcopal central place on the Main with a castle and valley settlement from the 7th to the 13th century . Château-Gaillard 18, 1998, pp. 75-85.
  • Peter Ettel: Karlburg am Main from the Carolingian royal castle to the episcopal castle. In: Klaus Leidorf, Peter Ettel, Castles in Bavaria. 7000 years of castle history in the air (Stuttgart 1999) pp. 78–81.
  • Peter Ettel: Karlburg. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde. Vol. 16. Jadwingen - Kleindichtung² (Berlin, New York 2000) pp. 272-274.
  • Peter Ettel: Karlburg - Roßtal - Oberammerthal. Studies on early medieval castle building in Northern Bavaria. Early historical and Roman provincial archeology. Materials and research 5. Publication of the commission on the comparative archeology of Roman Alpine and Danube countries of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences (Rahden / Westf. 2001).
  • Peter Ettel: Between King and Bishop. The Karlburg settlement complex. In: Wilfried Menghin / Dieter Planck (Ed.): People, Times, Spaces. Archeology in Germany (Stuttgart 2002) pp. 339–342.
  • Peter Ettel, Dieter Rödel: Castellum and villa Karloburg. Historical and archaeological lore. In: Jürgen Lenssen / Ludwig Wamser (ed.): 1250 years of the Diocese of Würzburg. Archaeological-historical evidence of the early period (Würzburg 1992) pp. 297–318.
  • Peter Ettel, Ludwig Wamser: New Findings on Castellum, Monasterium and Villa Karloburg. Karlburg and Mühlbach, town of Karlstadt, Main-Spessart district, Lower Franconia. In: The archaeological year in Bavaria 1994, pp. 138–143.

Web links

Commons : Burg Karlsburg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files