Metilstein
| Metilstein | ||
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 Metilstein (view from the Wartburg) |
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| Alternative name (s): | Madelstein | |
| Creation time : | before 1200 (?) | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | edit Rocks and cistern preserved | |
| Standing position : | Noble | |
| Place: | Eisenach | |
| Geographical location | 50 ° 58 '13.9 " N , 10 ° 18' 23.9" E | |
| Height: | 380 m above sea level NN | |
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The Metilstein , also Mädelstein , is Eisenach's local mountain, 365 m high and above the old town . The ruins of Metilstein Castle have been preserved on its top . Metilstein Castle was a medieval hilltop castle and fortification and is protected as a ground monument. The name "Metilstein" is said to be derived from "Mittelstein".
history
According to older traditions, Metilstein Castle was built before 1200 and served as a residence for a side line descended from the Treffurt knights. This theory is supported by the size of the building fabric found; in contrast to the other siege castles, there are clear traces of massive stone buildings.
In the Thuringian-Hessian War of Succession (1247–1263), a ring of siege and fortifications was built around the Wartburg . According to the Eisenach chronicler Johannes Rothe, these are said to have been created by the citizens of Eisenach and the attacking Hessian and Brunswick troops.
In January 1261, Landgrave Heinrich the Illustrious began to storm the siege castles of Metilstein, the Frauenburg and Eisenach Castle and also the city of Eisenach itself from his base on the Wartburg and with troops brought there ; he then conquered and destroyed all enemy positions.
The facility, which had already been abandoned, was then rebuilt again in the Wettin House War, partially rebuilt in 1306 by revolting Eisenachers against the Wartburg, attacked several times in the following battles and abandoned with the defeat of the Eisenach in 1308.
At the end of the 18th century, the Eisenach merchant and patron Roese acquired the site and created a landscape park and pleasure garden - the so-called Roesesche Hölzchen . In memory of the former castle, he had an art ruin built on the Metilstein , which was removed in the 19th century.
Structural matters
The Metilstein is the best preserved castle ruin in the Eisenacher Flur. At the summit of the distinctive conical mountain you will first find a trench that is clearly recognizable on three sides . Various worked rock sections, traces of masonry, mortar, broken bricks and worked out recesses mark the location of the former main building and a cistern . In the center of the complex, the keep of the castle is located on a worked rock with a remains of stairs . In the eastern part of the building there is a leveled open area today, where there were probably other farm buildings. From a rock section in the south you have a clear view of the castle gate of the Wartburg - approx. 500 m away. Several sunken paths lead to the castle ruins of Metilstein coming from the city from the north and come together at the Roesestein memorial stone ; this also speaks for a significantly longer useful life than a residential castle.
In the adjacent overview plan from 1998: (A) outer bailey / farm building, (B) northern wall-ditch fortification, (C) plateau, (D) rock with traces of the keep, beam holes of buildings and a portal, (E) cistern with stairs, (F) structure built into the rock (cellar?), (G) rest of the ring ditch or access road (?) (H) rock needle with drill holes from a protective railing (vantage point from the Roese period).
In the elevation plan: (1) the Metilstein, (2) the Eisenach district of Ehrensteig - "Stieg", (3) over (monastery) St. Katharien, (4) Am Wolfgang, (5) Katharienstraße - "Before the Georgentor", (6) the Siechenberg, (7) Am Schindersberg, (8) the Roese'sche Hölzchen and (9) the Zeisiggrund. The extensive network of paths shown here corresponds to the status of the 1950s, the area was the central part of the former landscape park "Roesesches Hölzchen". In the meantime, the network of paths has been reduced to the main paths, also due to lack of use and maintenance.
Eisenach around 1647 (Merian)
Metilstein (around 1780)
Site plan according to Helmbold
Three castles panorama (from Moseberg)
Building remains in the center of the ruin
literature
- Gerd Bergmann: Communal movement in medieval Eisenach. Eisenach writings on local history. Issue 36. Eisenach 1987.
- Gerd Bergmann: Castles and streets around Eisenach. Eisenach 1993, pp. 77-85.
- Thomas Bienert: Medieval castles in Thuringia. Gudensberg-Gleichen 2000, pp. 49-50.
Web links
- Reconstruction drawing by Wolfgang Braun