Upper Castle (Mitwitz)

Upper castle from 1713

The Upper Castle is in the market town of Mitwitz in the Upper Franconian district of Kronach in Bavaria . Built in the late Middle Ages, it got its current appearance around 1713. The castle is surrounded by an extensive park. The ensemble is a listed building.

Geographical location

The Upper Castle in Mitwitz is located on the slope of the Jakobsberg, about 300 meters southeast of the Wasserschloss (Lower Castle) on the Steinach . The almost 2.8 hectare site with castle and park is around 80 meters higher than the Lower Castle in the valley and is directly adjacent to the churchyard of the Jakobskirche .

Building description

When during the Thirty Years' War from 1631 to 1634 the clashes between the Catholic Kronach and the Protestant Mitwitz also led to arson in the market town, the Upper Castle fell victim to the flames. Only the basement with the foundation walls and the remains of the ground floor with its groin vaults remain from the original building . The exact year of construction of the original building cannot be documented, but due to the type of vault it can be traced back to the late Middle Ages (14th – 15th centuries).

It was not until 1713 that the castle was rebuilt on the old walls in the Baroque style, based on a design by Carlo Domenico Lucchese . The three-storey building without side wings, with its entrance side facing northwest, has a seven-axis facade with an indicated three-axis central projection . A mighty balcony rests on four pillars above the main entrance , forming an open approach hall. Instead of the usual triangular gable, a wall band with the double coat of arms of the Würtzburgers is attached to the false projection , which only protrudes slightly over the hipped roof and thus emphasizes the width of the building.

On the left side of the castle, the original masonry on the ground floor, which is still visible today, was used to add a winter garden on the first floor , which, like the exterior design in pale pink and white, emphasizes the light, Italian style of the building.

history

The first owners of the Upper Castle were probably the Lords of Schaumberg until 1425 , then the Lords of Rosenau . The new building was built in 1713 by Johann Ludwig von Würtzburg . With Reichsrat Ludwig Freiherr von Würtzburg, the nobility line went out in 1922. In the churchyard of the Jakobskirche (Kirchplatz 2) 23 tombs document the family history of the Würtzburgers. Annie von Würtzburg, daughter of Ludwig, was married to Theodor II von Cramer-Klett . After Ludwig's death, the property went to the family by marriage who still own the property today.

park

In the park with its old trees, Ludwig Freiherr von Würtzburg had a burial chapel built for his son Edmund, who died in World War I in 1915 . The baronesses Regina and Anne-Marie von Cramer-Klett are buried nearby.

literature

• Fritz Mahnke: Palaces and castles in the vicinity of the Franconian Crown, 1st volume . 3. Edition. Druck- und Verlagsanstalt Neue Presse GmbH, Coburg 1974, pp. 96-99.

Web links

Commons : Upper Castle  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Website of the Mitwitz market
• Upper lock
• Stone lion
• Official website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ geodaten.bayern.de - Mitwitz (PDF; 135 kB)
2. ↑ ^{a b} Fritz Mahnke: Palaces and castles in the vicinity of the Franconian Crown. Druck- und Verlagsanstalt Neue Presse GmbH, Coburg 1974, page 99
3. ^ Genealogy of the barons of Würtzburg
4. ↑ ^{a b} www.Mitwitz.de - Oberes Schloss ( Memento of the original from March 6, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

Coordinates: 50 ° 14 ′ 49.1 ″  N , 11 ° 12 ′ 39.7 ″  E