Upper Schmidmühlen Castle

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Upper Schmidmühlen Castle

The Upper Schmidmühlen Castle is a listed building in the Upper Palatinate municipality of Schmidmühlen in the Amberg-Sulzbach district of Bavaria (Rathausstrasse 1).

history

Schmidmühlen was owned by the Counts of Hohenburg around 1000 . Schmidmühlen was first mentioned in a document from 1010 in a deed of donation to the St. Emmeram monastery .

Shield image of the Reimbot von Schmidmühlen, today the market coat of arms of Schmidmühlen

The Upper Castle was built as a moated castle for the Lords of Schmidmühlen. From the middle of the 12th century, these can be traced here, beginning with Ernst von Schmidmühlen (1166–1170). Eberhard von Schmidmühlen (1270–1284) and his wife Jakobäa von Sinzenhofen were the parents of Albert von Schmidmühlen , Abbot of St. Emmeram Monastery (1324–1358). The market coat of arms of Schmidmühlen with mill wheel and hammer appeared for the first time in 1311 as a shield image of the Reimbot von Schmidmühlen. The brothers Ulrich and Hans Ettenstetter lived here in 1363. In 1367 they were replaced by Ulrich Wolf von Nabburg , judge of Rieden. In 1371 Count Palatine Ruprecht I lent the house to Schmidmühlen to Ott the Wolf von Nabburg, his sons Ortlieb (later Richter zu Murach ) and Heinrich and his nephew Heinrich Wolf. Heinrich Wolf, a son of Ott, is mentioned as a judge in Rieden in 1385, 1387, 1389. In 1381 he married Osanna Paulsdorferin , the widow of Roger Punzinger († 1391), who had previously served as judge in Rieden (1371, 1373, 1375, 1379). Heinrich Wolf is also named after Schmidmühlen. Another Osanna (probably the daughter of the aforementioned) is mentioned in 1408 as the wife of Georg Ettenstatters. The Wolfs were followed by Georg Ettenstetter in 1407, Lienhard Haug in 1463, Heinrich Alberger von Würzburg from 1514–1532 and Wilhelm Hausner von Winbuch from 1546–1551. This family remained in possession of the Upper Palace until 1655. Georg Hausner von Winbuch (1595–1614), nurse to Regenstauf , was the builder of the current castle. The year 1600 is on one of the splendid door frames of the knight's hall. After the brothers Hans Jakob, Ludwig and Bartholome Hausner von Winbuch (1614–1655), the property came to Christoph von Kürmreuth in 1655. From 1676 to 1720 the electoral councilor and treasurer Wilhelm Franz Freiherr von Spiering, Herr von Fronberg , came into possession of the castle.

From 1720 Carl Wilhelm Freiherr von Spier was here. This family remained in possession of the castle until 1777. After that the property went to the noble ladies monastery Niedermünster zu Regensburg in 1777 . During the secularization of 1803, the castle was withdrawn and sold to the Rössl landlord and postman Michael Schmid in 1829. This is replaced in 1866 by Isidor Rubenbauer, also a Rössl host and post owner. Around 1900 the upper castle was uninhabited. It has been used to store hops and grain for many decades. In 1919 Josef Rubenbauer sold it to the Nuremberg architect Jakober, who renovated it again and made it habitable. He was followed by Baron von Clanner Engelzhofen from Prague, followed by Ferdinand Eichenseer in 1923.

During and after the Second World War, the Upper Palace suffered badly when it was billeted by the occupying forces. A valuable ceramic stove was destroyed on the second floor. During the Second World War , the kindergarten and from 1947 to 1960 two classes of the elementary school were also housed in the castle.

In 1937 the castle became the property of the market town of Schmidmühlen. The castle has served as the town hall of Markt Schmidmühlen since the post-war period. A thorough restoration took place between 1977 and 1980, during which the palace and the palace gardens changed their appearance. The renovation was finished in 2003.

Moriskenbrunnen in front of the Upper Schmidmühlen Castle
Garden pillars to the Upper Schmidmühlen Castle

Schmidmühlen Castle today

The upper castle is a three-storey, plastered solid building with a gable roof . There is an octagonal stair tower and another extension to the west. In this castle there was also a small chapel on the ground floor, but this has long been filled in and walled up. At the top of the tower is a round ceiling painted with flowers and rosettes, which is supported by a delicate wooden column. The furnishings of the entire second floor make it one of the most interesting holdings of the German Renaissance . The secular wall paintings located there are reminiscent of those of the ducal Trausnitz Castle in Landshut and show virtues and depictions of the month in the moralizing manner of the Renaissance. Rich acanthus stucco by Phillip Jakob Schmuzer ( Wessobrunner Schule ) from 1715 is present on two floors . He also created the stucco in the monastery church of Ensdorf .

The cast image of a moriska dancer stands on the fountain in front of the palace and is reminiscent of the Schmidmühler sculptor Erasmus Grasser , who created the famous late Gothic morris dancer for the ballroom in the old town hall in Munich . The garden border consists of red sandstone pillars and dates from the end of the 18th century.

The Schmidmühlen local history and club museum is also housed in the castle.

Web links

Commons : Upper Castle (Schmidmühlen)  - Collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ List of monuments for Schmidmühlen (PDF) at the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation (PDF; 136 kB)
  2. ^ Elisabeth Gäde (2018). The Wolf von Schönleiten, builder of Wolfsegg Castle. The Upper Palatinate, 106, p. 88f.
  3. ↑ Paul Böhm: “Small but fine” the local museum in Schmidmühlen - a piece of Schmidmühlen contemporary history invites you to visit. In: Amberger Zeitung. Markt Schmidmühlen, October 27, 2001, accessed on August 26, 2015 .

Coordinates: 49 ° 16 '3.8 "  N , 11 ° 55' 10.8"  E