Tenneberg Castle
| Tenneberg Castle | ||
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 Waltershausen and Tenneberg Castle around 1900 |
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| Creation time : | around 1150 | |
| Castle type : | Höhenburg, spur location | |
| Conservation status: | Weir moat preserved, conversion to a castle | |
| Standing position : | Landgraves | |
| Place: | Waltershausen | |
| Geographical location | 50 ° 53 '44 " N , 10 ° 33' 8" E | |
| Height: | 395 m above sea level NN | |
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The Tenneberg Castle is the remainder of a medieval spur castle of the Thuringian Landgraves, which served as a hunting lodge and secondary residence of the Gotha dukes through multiple modifications and is currently used as a museum. The castle is located on the northern edge of the Thuringian Forest in the town of Waltershausen , in the Gotha district in Thuringia . The museum in the castle has been offering permanent exhibitions on the following topics since 2007: city history, folklore, bourgeois living, the history of the Waltershausen doll and toy industry and the architecture of the baroque rooms.
location
The castle is located about 400 m southwest of the center of the town of Waltershausen on an exposed mountain spur protruding to the northwest at 395 m above sea level. NN . In the vicinity of the castle, several trade routes led across the Thuringian Forest towards Bad Salzungen , Schmalkalden and Breitungen . The castle was strategically located in the Waltershausen foothills of the Thuringian Forest.
history
Baldrichstein, an early medieval hill fort
The Castle Hill in Waltershausen on which the castle was built was probably already in the 6th century as a Wallenburg attached to interpret archaeological finds and still clearly visible remains of a transverse rampart ahead of the medieval castle back. The eastern part of the castle hill is associated with the field name Baldrichstein .
Tenneberg Castle, secondary residence of the Thuringian landgraves
The first documentary mention of the medieval castle was made around 1176 in a document from the Landgraves of Thuringia - (castrum nostrum). Already in 1168 a Burgmann Heidenreich von Tenneberg appeared. Under Landgrave Ludwig III. Tenneberg Castle was also intended to protect and protect the Reinhardsbrunn monastery, 5 km away (as the crow flies) . For this purpose, at the eastern end of the elongated castle hill there was said to have been a powerful forward defense and watchtower that also belonged to the castle and protected the access route to the monastery. Later, a long-lasting border dispute over rights of use and land ownership arose between the monastery governors and the castle.
The landgraves used Tenneberg Castle as a secondary residence, which is likely to have involved a representative expansion of the living areas. At the same time they privileged the town of Waltershausen by granting Eisenach city rights . The noble families residing in Laucha and Hörselgau were named as Burgmanns. With the temporary transfer of the castle to Apitz , son of Landgrave Albrecht , it became the dreaded robber barons' nest by Ludwig von Hörselgau . After his conviction, a considerable part of the castle complex was occupied as inheritance by the noble families of Laucha and Teutleben . Landgrave Balthasar endeavored to renovate the castle and make it fit for defense and therefore bought back the buildings inhabited by the Ganerbe in 1391.
Tenneberg Castle Office
The castle district of Schloss Tenneberg included the neighboring towns and desert areas: Hörselgau, Teutleben, Aspach, Trügleben, Eschleben, Sundhausen, Uelleben, Gospiteroda, Wahlwinkel, Bossenborn, Leina, Nottichenrode and forest districts. The Tenneberg Office was created from this castle district under the Thuringian Landgraves and Dukes of Saxony and expanded to include additional locations in West Thuringia. The Fronfeste - a building on the edge of the castle was designated as a dungeon.
Conversion to a renaissance castle
Duke Johann Casimir converted it into a hunting lodge under the direction of Peter Sengelaub . From 1640 to 1646 the castle was temporarily the seat of Ernst I , when the new Residenzschloss Friedenstein in Gotha was still under construction. Tenneberg Castle was later used as a summer residence by his son Friedrich I and his grandson Friedrich II until his death in 1732.
Modernization in the 18th century
After two renaissance conversions, another baroque reconstruction was carried out in the early 18th century, of which three baroque rooms have been preserved as well as other remnants of the exterior and interior architecture.
In summary, it can be stated that important functions for the sovereignty were fulfilled in the castle until the 18th century. In addition, the house was one of the first large hunting castles of the 17th century and the former furnishings can be reconstructed using inventories.
Use as a district office
The western part of today's Gotha district and adjacent parts of the Wartburg district formed the Waltershausen District Office from 1858 to 1922 , the administrative authorities of which were housed in Tenneberg Castle.
The north side of the castle wall
In the courtyard
Arcades in the castle courtyard
In the ballroom
In the ballroom
Castle chapel
Museum in the castle
The planning for the museum began on December 21, 1926 and took place in the meeting room of the town hall with a general preliminary discussion on the formation of a home committee. The "establishment of a local history museum in the knight's hall of Tenneberg Castle" was also suggested. The museum in the castle was then opened on October 20, 1929.
In the ballroom, mainly objects related to the history of the city such as certificates and city maps were exhibited. Various private collections were later purchased for the museum. In 1978/79 the museum was significantly expanded. The museum was closed in 1995 for extensive renovation and reopened in 1996. In the years that followed, the focus of the exhibition initially shifted to dolls, and the collections were expanded accordingly.
Over the years, there have been repeated burglaries in the museum. In 1973, for example, there was a serious break-in in the warehouse, which was housed in the attic. Many objects, including Duke Johann Casimir's crossbow , were stolen. In 1991, valuable works of art were stolen, including faience , a very old panel painting with what is probably the oldest depiction of Waltershausen, the carpenters' guild drawer, pewter objects and jugs . A second burglary in the same year decimated the doll collection. These included one-off, irretrievable objects, such as the legendary character breast head from the company Kämmer & Reinhardt with the serial number 200. It only exists once worldwide.
In 2009 the museum had permanent exhibitions on the following topics: town history, folklore, bourgeois living, the history of the Waltershausen doll and toy industry and baroque rooms.
After further renovation measures, it is planned to expand the exhibitions on the city's history, folklore and craft and trade in the city of Waltershausen.
- Museum exhibits
Rifle chain of the Waltershausen rifle club 1770–1937.
Ball joint character dolls (around 1920), character girls (around 1912/20, right)
Forgery of a Käthe Kruse doll
Restoration in the 1990s
As early as 1978, responsible and interested citizens of Waltershausen began to secure the castle complex; it was important to secure increasingly frequent storm damage to the roofs and to prevent worse. Immediately after the fall of the Berlin Wall , the extent of the structural damage became clearer when monument experts, building experts and architects devoted themselves to the palace complex. The determined damage was enormous, dry rot infestation and damaged roofs, missing sanitary facilities and ailing installations, everything had to be considered, financed and put in order in a redevelopment concept. As early as 1990, the renovation began in the most needy parts of the castle roof. More and more damage was found during the restoration of the large ballroom, a shelter for the dry rot. The entire museum property had to be relocated several times. The museum now has several permanent exhibitions and some storage rooms. The ceiling painting of the ballroom has been completely restored, although irreversible changes of the 20th century had to remain. The work in the vaulted ceiling ( haunch ) is currently in full swing. Since some flaws were repaired in the 20th century and the original painting is partially missing, the restoration is fragmentary and flaws are retouched in order to preserve the overall impression. A tour of the construction site is possible on request.
Building description
Today's palace complex stands on the foundation walls and cellar vaults of the medieval castle. In the east, a 10 m wide and up to 6 m deep ditch separates the castle area from the elongated mountain ridge. To the east of the moat is the former cavalier house , also the office building and the Fronfeste , the former official prison. Today they form independent buildings and are no longer included in the castle. Another moat originally ran at the foot of the outer wall. Despite numerous renovations, the original layout of the castle was still recognizable. The buildings enclose a rectangular inner courtyard in a horseshoe shape. The main entrance in the southeast was secured by a gate in front. The keep of the castle stood in the eastern corner of the courtyard; its 1.5 m thick walls were torn down in 1718. The inner courtyard is now enlivened by an arcade. In addition to numerous residential and farm buildings (to be mentioned: the office, the fountain room, the slaughterhouse, the blacksmith's shop, the saddlery, the coal store, the Remisen and the knight's chapel), the palace complex also had a chapel, which, however, did not meet the needs of the baroque court Renewed in 1721, and the parish church in the city center was expanded into a court church .
Castle chapel
The chapel in the castle was first mentioned in 1380. Around 1640 it was still single-story. In 1657 it was inaugurated as a religious school and probably already had the newly added basement. The chapel only got its baroque appearance in the 18th century. The wooden pillars and pilasters are painted to simulate marble. The stucco and other decorations are also made of wood. The arrangement of the altar, pulpit and organ are typical of a Protestant church. In 1932 the Catholic altarpiece was created. The ceiling painting was created by the same painter who furnished the ballroom: Johann Heinrich Ritter . The magnificent palace chapel was inaugurated on July 29, 1721 with a festive banquet. The chapel is a building designed by the Duke of Gotha, chief building director Wolf Christoph Zorn von Plobsheim . The rectangular hall has a circumferential gallery built by the Gotha court carpenter Friedrich Möller , which is supported on twelve wooden pillars. The church interior is illuminated by three generously dimensioned rectangular windows at the level of the gallery and two windows on the south side. The altar and pulpit were carved by Johann Caspar Jacobi from Arnstadt , the stucco on the cornices was done by Johann Justus Hallung , the green-toned marbling by Johann Nicolaus Meyer . An instrument made in 1721 by the Arnstadt court organ builder Johann Christoph Thielemann was used in the chapel . The organ was extensively renovated in August 2017. All masonry, carpentry, glazing, scouring, scaffolding and roofing work were done by the local craft.
Baroque ballroom
The ballroom built in 1719 in the west wing is used by the museum today and again for events in the future. The ballroom, also named after its painter Johann Heinrich Ritter Rittersaal, represents an impressive composition between architecture, painting and sculpture.
The main decoration is the ceiling painting. The duke couple can be seen here in antique garb; Mother and Father of Gods surrounded by various ancient gods. The ceiling painting painted in 1719 was "refreshed" and "renewed" several times in the 20th century and restored at the beginning of the 21st century. It was completed in 2009. The restoration measures in the cove and on the pilasters and busts are still in progress in 2009 and will continue for a long time depending on financial possibilities.
Cavalier House
The building, known as the Kavalierhaus , was the castle's guest house and was located in front of the moat.
Others
Landgrave legend - the baptismal ride to Tenneberg
The well-known Landgrave legend of the baptism ride to Tenneberg was depicted in a fresco by Moritz von Schwind on the Wartburg .
Connected to the castle is also in the German architectural history as a stylistic precursor of the Dresden Frauenkirche received city and residence Church on the Market Square Waltershausen, it was consecrated 1,723th
The white woman
During the reign of Duke Johann Friedrich II. An impostor was unmasked at Tenneberg Castle, who had presented herself as a noble lady of England and was initially housed innocently by the Duke in keeping with her status. Warned by customers of the Duke of Kleve , the fraudster was quickly convicted and judged that it was an escaped chambermaid of Anna von Kleve . The sentence was imprisonment for life. According to tradition, the woman died of emaciation in her cell in the spring of 1560. Her bones were buried in the cemetery at the Katharinenkirche. Since 1566, these documents further report, the castle began to be haunted at night, the wailing woman, wrapped in her white robes, is said to have appeared to the duke and many others, and this haunt is said to have ended as early as 1567.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Heiko Laß: Hunting and pleasure palaces of the 17th and 18th centuries in Thuringia. Michael Imhof Verlag, 2006, ISBN 3-86568-092-5 , p. 386
literature
- Hans Patze , Peter Aufgebauer (Ed.): Handbook of the historical sites of Germany . Volume 9: Thuringia (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 313). 2nd, improved and supplemented edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-520-31302-2 , pp. 434-435.
- Thomas Bienert: "Tenneberg" - Medieval castles in Thuringia . Wartberg Verlag, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2000, ISBN 3-86134-631-1 , p. 87-88 .
- Michael Köhler: "Tenneberg" - Thuringian castles and fortified prehistoric and early historical living spaces . Jenzig-Verlag, Jena 2001, ISBN 3-910141-43-9 , p. 245 .
- Hartmut Ellrich: "Waltershausen" - castle and residential churches in Thuringia . Ed .: Evangelical Lutheran Regional Church in Thuringia. Wartburg-Verlag, Weimar 2007, ISBN 3-86160-163-X , p. 128-132 .
- Sparkassen-Kulturstiftung Hessen-Thüringen (Hrsg.): Museums in Thuringia . Frankfurt a. M. 1995, p. 182 .
- Bruno Kestner: Tenneberg Castle . In: Monthly pages for neighbors who are happy to walk . Issue 11. Jena 1925, p. 261-271 .
- Reinhard Fauer: The rebirth of Tenneberg Castle and its local museum in Waltershausen . In: Hörselberg-Bote . Issue 39. Heimat-Verlag Hörselberg, Wutha-Farnroda 1999, p. 18-23 .
- Reinhard Fauer: Between legend and reality. The white woman from Tenneberg Castle in Waltershausen . In: Hörselberg-Bote . Issue 23. Heimat-Verlag Hörselberg, Wutha-Farnroda 1995, p. 16-17 .
- Thomas Reinecke: Renovation and construction in the monument area of Schloss Tenneberg . In: Thüringer Museumshefte, 9th year, 1st issue, 2000.
