Oberburg Heldenbergen

View of the upper castle from the north-west

The upper castle in the Heldenbergen district of the city of Nidderau in the Main-Kinzig district of Hesse is a castle complex that emerged from a medieval hilltop castle in a spur location .

history

Heldenbergen lies on the site of a Roman fort and vicus . The place is first mentioned in a document in 839. It is uncertain since when the facility has existed on the steep slope above the Nidder . It is first mentioned in the 12th century as a property of the Lords of Heldenbergen . Gieselbert von Heldenbergen, who died in 1218, was possibly the first burgrave of the Reichsburg and Burgraviate of Friedberg .

In 1370 Gottfried von Stockheim was mentioned as the owner. The complex probably came to the Stockheimers through purchase or as a marriage property, who are documented as officials or castle men in numerous imperial and Hanau castles in the region. In 1383 Gottfried received permission to build another castle with the Nassburg on a meadow below the upper castle, which he had received as a Hanau fief . The upper castle may have become too small for several families to use.

With Henrich Wilhelm von Stockheim, the Heldenberg line went out in 1614. As a result, there were inheritance disputes, in the course of which Jobst von Adolips forcibly occupied the upper castle in 1616. In 1617 the property fell to Burkhard Engelbrecht von Hattstein . During this time the castle was rebuilt like a castle, and a former main tower was probably also removed. After the Hattsteiners died out in 1767, the upper castle was bought by Johann Maximilian von Günderrode , the grandfather of the poet Karoline von Günderrode , who also owned a castle in Höchst an der Nidder ( Schloss Günderrode ). In 1797 the Prussian chamberlain Jakob Friedrich von Rohde owned the castle. He had some renovations carried out again and in 1803 the chapel was added to the main building. In 1886, the Grand Ducal Chamberlain, Dr. jur. Hugo Freiherr von Leonhardi the upper castle. Since April 2, 1891 Hugo von Leonhardi (1864–1922) was married to Martha, b. von Heyl (1870–1954), daughter of the Worms industrialist Cornelius Wilhelm von Heyl zu Herrnsheim (1843–1923). The upper castle is still owned by the Leonhardi today.

investment

The Oberburg is a three-wing palace complex and is located in the south of Heldenbergen on a steep slope above the Nidder at an altitude of 123 meters above sea level . Today's U-shaped building essentially dates from the 17th and 18th centuries. Only a few remains of the medieval castle remained in the area of the foundations and the walls of the central building and the south wing. The von Rohdes coat of arms is located above the entrance portal of the main building. The former moat was largely leveled. The gate building to the north has a remarkable upper floor made of timber framing with the coat of arms of the Hattsteiners.

literature

Rudolf Knappe: Medieval castles in Hesse: 800 castles, castle ruins and castle sites. 3. Edition. Wartberg, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2000, ISBN 3-86134-228-6 , pp. 327-328.
Rolf Müller (Ed.): Palaces, castles, old walls. Published by the Hessendienst der Staatskanzlei, Wiesbaden 1990, ISBN 3-89214-017-0 , pp. 276-277.

Web links

Individual evidence

^ Heinrich Reimer : Hessisches Urkundenbuch. Section 2, document book on the history of the Lords of Hanau and the former province of Hanau. Vol. 4, 1376-1400. Publications from the Royal Prussian State Archives, Hirzel, Leipzig 1897, pp. 278–280, no. 321.
↑ Knappe 2000, p. 328.

50.234411111111 8.8640611111111Coordinates: 50 ° 14 ′ 3.9 ″ N , 8 ° 51 ′ 50.6 ″ E

[1] Heinrich Reimer : Hessisches Urkundenbuch. Section 2, document book on the history of the Lords of Hanau and the former province of Hanau. Vol. 4, 1376-1400. Publications from the Royal Prussian State Archives, Hirzel, Leipzig 1897, pp. 278–280, no. 321.

[2] Knappe 2000, p. 328.