Ringwall in Kirchholz (Haberskirch)

The early medieval ring wall in Kirchholz (Schlossberg) is located about 1000 meters east of the Friedberg district of Haberskirch ( Aichach-Friedberg district , Swabia ) on a wooded hill above the Autobahn 8 . The well-preserved ground monument is interpreted in recent literature as a fortified courtyard.

history

The outer bailey from the northeast

The information board and the east wall of the outer bailey

The south wall of the main plant

The northeast part of the main plant

Topographical map on the information board

The preserved earthworks of the medium-sized, two-part ring wall system point to an early medieval era. There are numerous similar fortifications in the immediate vicinity, most of which are interpreted as the Hungarian fortifications of the 10th century. Even after the Hungarian threat was eliminated ( Battle of the Lechfeld , 955), some weir systems of this type were built.

H. Oswald interpreted the ground monument, which he regarded as an early Middle Ages, as the residence of the local noble family "de Hadependeteschirchun" (Friedberger Heimatblätter, 1950,1). An Eppo with this surname can be documented as a witness in the 12th century.

The district archivist Helmut Rischert (2006) interprets the wall in Kirchholz as the fortified courtyard "Baitilinberch", which the noble Degenhard I von Seefeld transferred to the St. Ulrich and Afra monastery in Augsburg around 1135 together with other properties . In the Klosterurbar from 1175 this "hoof" appears as "Bagetunbergen". Around 1280, Duke Ludwig II received bailiwick dues from “Patenberch”, which in 1406 was called “Praitenberg”. The farm was relocated to Rischert in Tal to Unterzell before 1420 and, together with the Kirchholz, remained in the possession of the imperial monastery of St. Ulrich and Afra until secularization .

During a visit today, however, no clear traces of a high and late medieval continued use of the alleged farm can be seen. A possible interior development seems to have consisted only of wood or clay framework. Major interventions in the substance of the early medieval complex are likely to have taken place only in modern times.

Until a professional archaeological investigation of the ground monument has been carried out, no reliable statements can be made about the original purpose of the ramparts. The elaborate earthworks and trenches testify to the builders' increased need for security; the mighty front wall of the core works is even reminiscent of the main walls of the great Hungarian fortifications in the Augsburg area ( Haldenburg , Buschelberg near Fischach ). The ditch in front of this wall was also not leveled later, and the sloping terrain of the outer bailey may have made agricultural use more difficult. Whether the farm "Baitilinberch" was actually located within the walls cannot be decided with any certainty. In particular, it should be checked whether the Sedlhof (fortified courtyard) in Unterzell was actually only moved from the heights into the valley in the early 15th century, or was already at this point before. The ground monument in Kirchholz rather offers the image of a relatively untouched early medieval protective castle.

Barthel Eberl already suspected a Hungarian period for the fortification in his treatise on the Lechfeld Battle (1955). He assigned the facility to a function as a road barrier and counted the ring wall to the smaller protective installations ("munitiones") of this era, which supplemented the system of large state castles ("firmitates").

description

The ground monument is on the border between the town of Friedberg (district Haberskirch) and the community of Dasing (district Unterzell). The main plant (A) is located entirely in the Dasinger area. The Burgplatz is about 15-20 meters above the Arasbachtal on a ridge. To the west and north the slopes drop moderately steeply into the valley, to the south and east there is a small plateau in front.

The ring wall was cleverly built on the plateau for fortification . The oval main structure (120 × 70 meters) is secured by a circumferential trench up to two meters deep, which in the east is partially leveled to form a berm . In addition, the slope here was apparently artificially divided. The inner surface is almost flat and is raised by up to 1.5 meters from the outer wall. In the east a pit (3) indicates a well or a cistern.

The semicircular Vorwerk (B) connects to the south. The site slopes down about seven meters to the northeast and is secured by a wall with a trench that has been preserved up to five meters high. This wall is up to two and a half meters high towards the interior.

The original access (1) was from the northeast from the Arasbachtal, through which the Stuttgart-Munich motorway now runs. A depression (2) on the south wall of the main plant probably indicates the original access to the core plant. The height of the wall rises here from about four (east) to about seven meters. In addition, there is also a trench that is about 1.5 meters deep. A potential attacker had to advance about 40 meters along the main wall to reach the main gate. The other wall breakthroughs are probably of modern origin (wood removal).

Similar, two-part systems in Burgadelzhausen , Welden ( snow castle ) and Walleshausen have been preserved in the vicinity . These fortifications can also be dated to the early Middle Ages.

For the Open Monument Day in 2005, an information board was set up in front of the ring wall, on which H. Rischert summarized his research.

The Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation lists the ground monument as the earthworks of the Middle Ages under monument number D 7-7632-0025.

literature

• Helmut Rischert: The castles of Dasing . Dasing 2006.
• Barthel Eberl: The Hungarian Battle on the Lechfeld (Gunzenlê) in 955 . (Treatises on the history of the city of Augsburg. Issue 7) Augsburg 1955.
• H. Oswald: The soil monuments in the Friedberg district from pre-Roman, Roman and medieval times: 1. The castle stables of Heberskirch . In: Friedberger Heimatblätter, No. 1, 1950.

Web links

Commons : Ringwall im Kirchholz  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation: Entry ( Memento of the original from January 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been 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: 48 ° 23 '52.5 "  N , 11 ° 0' 40.7"  E