Weißenstein ruins (Lower Bavaria)

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Weissenstein ruins
Weissenstein Castle ruins - view of the southeast corner of the residential tower and the adjacent ring wall

Weissenstein Castle ruins - view of the southeast corner of the residential tower and the adjacent ring wall

Creation time : around 1100
Castle type : Höhenburg, rocky location
Conservation status: ruin
Standing position : Count
Place: Weissenstein
Geographical location 48 ° 57 '3.2 "  N , 13 ° 8' 29"  E Coordinates: 48 ° 57 '3.2 "  N , 13 ° 8' 29"  E
Height: 758  m above sea level NN
Weißenstein ruins (Bavaria)
Weissenstein ruins
The " Eating House "

The Weißenstein castle ruins are the ruins of a rock castle on a 758 meter high quartz rock, the pile ("castle hill") in the Weißenstein district of the town of Regen in the Regen district in Bavaria .

history

The castle was built by the Counts of Bogen around 1100. After this dynasty of counts died out in 1242, the castle fell to the Bavarian dukes. In 1308 Otto and Stephan von Niederbayern enfeoffed the knight Eberwein von Degenberg with the rule of the castle. In 1339/40 the castle became the property of the Degenberg family.

When the Degenbergs rose up against Duke Albrecht IV in the Böckler War , ducal troops under Georg von Lerchenfeld appeared in front of the castle on December 9, 1468. Shortly before Christmas, Weißenstein Castle was captured and burned down. The Degenbergs rebuilt the castle and stayed there until it died out in 1602 due to the death of Hans Sigmund von Degenberg.

The castle fell to Elector Maximilian I , who set up the seat of the electoral caretaker there. In 1633 the castle was ravaged by the Swedes during the Thirty Years War . In 1740 the south side of the castle collapsed, in 1742 Franz von der Trenck and his Pandours destroyed the castle for good.

The castle has since fallen into disrepair, the official residence and farm buildings have been restored. In 1762 a tower-like building was added, which, as a so-called grain box, also served as a grain store for the tithe levies of the subjects. In 1918 the writer Siegfried von Vegesack bought the house and made it his apartment. Because of the high costs it incurred, he called it "The Eating House". This is what he called his novel, published in 1932.

description

The ruin, an elongated complex on a rock terrace, is separated from the farm buildings. In addition to some masonry, the square residential tower in particular has been preserved. The Weißenstein castle ruins have been owned by the city ​​of Regen since 1996 . The castle ruins were renovated from 1991 to 1995 and are now accessible.

A museum and a literature archive on the poet Siegfried von Vegesack have been located in the "Eating House" since 1985. In addition, sacred art, equipment for flax and linen production and a large collection of snuff are exhibited. Poetry readings and other events are occasionally held there.

Below the castle ruins is a chapel from 1836 with a baroque altar and numerous votive tablets .

Nature reserve

The Pfahl nature reserve near the Weißenstein ruins was created by the government of Lower Bavaria and the Upper Palatinate (April 18, 1940, RegAnz. Issue 112/114). It is 6 hectares and extends over the rocky area with the ruin. Above all, this measure prohibits quartz mining on the stake. The castle hill is overgrown by trees than the rest of the pile due to the centuries of fertilization with waste. Sycamore maple, elderberry, birch and ash thrive there.

  • View of the castle ruins from the south

  • Inside the residential tower

  • View from the residential tower to the ruins of the castle

The legend of Weissenstein Castle

According to a legend, a knight's wife wanted to drown her newborn sevenlings. The returning knight prevented this and had his children raised in the Rinchnach monastery, but did not tell his wife anything. The children returned to the castle as grown men. When the lord of the castle asked what should happen to a person who had their own children killed, his wife replied that the person should be walled up alive. As a result, she was walled in and can still be seen today as a "white woman" in the ruins.

Web links

Commons : Burg Weißenstein (Regen)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files