Upper Castle (Zwingenberg)

Upper castle
View of today's youth hostel, whose cellar vaults and parts of the wall are remnants of the castle
Alternative name (s):	Upper castle, old castle
Creation time :	probably 11th century
Castle type :	Hilltop castle
Conservation status:	Burgstall, small remains of the wall
Standing position :	Count
Place:	Zwingenberg
Geographical location	49 ° 43 '22.1 "  N , 8 ° 36' 57.4"  E Coordinates: 49 ° 43 '22.1 "  N , 8 ° 36' 57.4"  E
Height:	132  m above sea level NN

The Obere Burg Zwingenberg , also called Oberburg or Alte Burg , is an abandoned hilltop castle , whose former location is now west below today's youth hostel and east above today's mountain church on the south-eastern old town wall of Zwingenberg in the Bergstrasse district in Hesse .

Geographical location

The hilltop castle was located at the southeast end of the southern city wall of Zwingenberg at 132  m above sea level. NN high hill above the old town of Zwingenberg.

history

The builders of the castle are believed to be the Counts of Katzenelnbogen or the Lorsch Monastery , which only lost its possession to the Counts of Katzenelnbogen in the 12th century. It is believed that the castle was the first safeguard of the village at that time, which was first mentioned in 1012. Under the Katzenelnbogen counts, the place was named a city as early as 1274.

It is unclear when the castle fell apart, or whether it was destroyed by the king's troops in the dispute over the customs system around 1301 between the Rhenish elector and King Albrecht I because the counts of Katzenelnbogen took sides in favor of the elector. According to the written documents, it is not possible to prove exactly whether the destroyed fortification is the older hilltop castle located in the southeast of the city or the moated castle Zwingenberg . According to Möller, the destruction of the moated castle can be assumed. If the older system still existed at that time, the destruction of both fortifications cannot be ruled out.

After 1490, the field name “behind the old castle” can be found on old maps for the first time. The tithe barn was built around 1500 at the former castle site. According to Sattler, the building of today's youth hostel contains the remains of large vaulted cellars and parts of the castle wall in the basement.

• 

  Assumed location of the Upper Castle at the mountain end of the southern city wall of Zwingenberg

• 

  Remains of the city wall of Zwingenberg, in the area of ​​which the Upper Castle was located (picture to the right)

literature

• Rudolf Knappe: Medieval castles in Hessen. 800 castles, castle ruins and fortifications. 2nd Edition. Wartberg-Verlag, Gudensberg-Gleichen 1995, ISBN 3-86134-228-6 , p. 576 f.
• Walther Möller: History of the city of Zwingenberg an der Bergstrasse: based on authentic sources , Zwingenberg, 1910, p. 126–127
• Wolfgang Einsingbach: The art monuments of the state of Hesse. Bergstrasse district , 2 volumes, 1969, p. 501
• Peter W. Sattler, Marion Sattler: Castles and palaces in the Odenwald - A guide to historical sights . Druckhaus Diesbach, Weinheim 2004, ISBN 3-936468-24-9 , p. 81

Web links

• Zwingenberg Castle, Bergstrasse district. Historical local dictionary for Hessen. In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Walther Möller: History of the city of Zwingenberg an der Bergstrasse: according to authentic sources , Zwingenberg, 1910
2. ↑ Peter W. Sattler, Marion Sattler: Castles and palaces in the Odenwald - A guide to historical sights . Druckhaus Diesbach, Weinheim 2004, ISBN 3-936468-24-9 , p. 81