Martinsburg (castle)
| Martinsburg | |
|---|---|
 The Martinsburg |
|
| Creation time : | 1478 to 1481 |
| Castle type : | Niederungsburg, location |
| Conservation status: | Burgstall |
| Place: | Mainz |
| Geographical location | 50 ° 0 ′ 24.5 " N , 8 ° 16 ′ 16" E |
The Martinsburg is a fortress ( Niederungsburg ) in Mainz that was newly built in 1478 and has now been removed . It was on the banks of the Rhine right next to the area on which the Electoral Palace rises today .
history
The castle was built between 1478 and 1480 at the instigation of Diether von Isenburg . Its location suggests that the Archbishop and Elector did not have it built as a defense against strangers, but rather as a retreat from the citizens of Mainz . The actual place of residence in the city center, right next to the cathedral , had become too insecure in the course of the monastery feud . The location of the castle on the banks of the Rhine, on the other hand, enabled a quick escape to the other residential areas of Eltville and Aschaffenburg . The construction of the moat towards the city also speaks for this thesis.
On March 2, 1481, a fire broke out in the Martinsburg and largely destroyed the complex. It is not entirely certain whether the building with its corner towers, which has been handed down through pictures, was rebuilt as a ruin or whether it was largely only now after 1481 according to a new plan. The reconstruction lasted until around 1500.
The end of Martinsburg was sealed by Napoleon at the beginning of the 19th century. In 1809 it was demolished in favor of bridge and port construction. As a testimony to its existence, only a few stone blocks of its walls can be seen in the former moat directly in front of the castle.
literature
- Enno Bünz: The Mainz residence in the late Middle Ages. An unknown eyewitness account of the fire in Martinsburg in 1481 . In: Mainzer Zeitschrift 2010, pp. 3-19. Online version
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bünz 2010, here p. 9.