Schauenburg (Friedrichroda)
| Schauenburg | ||
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 Explanatory board on the ruins of the Ludowinger family castle, the Schauenburg near Friedrichroda |
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| Creation time : | around 1044 | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | Trench remnants | |
| Standing position : | Counts, clericals | |
| Place: | Friedrichroda | |
| Geographical location | 50 ° 50 '46.8 " N , 10 ° 33' 20.3" E | |
| Height: | 620 m above sea level NN | |
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The Schauenburg is an abandoned, high medieval castle or castle remnant in the district of the Thuringian city of Friedrichroda in the district of Gotha .
Geographical location
The ruins of the Höhenburg are located 1.5 kilometers southwest of the city center on the summit of the mountain of the same name, which belongs to the northern edge of the Thuringian Forest . The clearest traces of the castle are on the eastern edge of the mountain summit, which is already naturally secured by steep slopes and rugged rocky areas, at around 610 to 630 meters above sea level.
Strategic location
From the choice of the location of the Schauenburg, conclusions can be drawn about its original purpose. The mountains in the immediate vicinity - east of the Gottlob (571 m), west of Tannenkopf (621 m) and Abtsberg (697 m) and the upstream Reinhardsberg (483 m) appeared unsuitable despite certain advantages.
The fortification secured and blocked high medieval roads from their chosen position , which crossed the Thuringian Forest in the section Friedrichroda and Finsterbergen in a southerly direction, the pass roads "Burgweg" and "Roter Weg" met at today's Heuberghaus (688 m), three kilometers south of the Burg, on the Rennsteig. At the same time, the Schauenburg also controlled a section of the Rennsteig east of the Inselsberg. The Inselsberg , the highest elevation and landmark of the western Thuringian Forest, is six kilometers to the west. The Wartburg near Eisenach , also built near the Rennsteig, is 22 kilometers northwest, the former Reinhardsbrunn monastery is three kilometers north.
At older castles in the neighborhood of the Schauenburg, the early historical Wallburg Torstein near Tabarz and the Wallburg “Baldrichstein” near Waltershausen appear, the latter being taken over by the later Landgraves and re-fortified as Tenneberg Castle .
history
Since the 11th century there has been evidence of Count Ludwig in western Thuringia , who acquired land on the edge of the old settlements near Gotha through land purchases and donations and founded a number of places with his entourage, including Friedrichroda.
In a document that Heinrich III. , Son and successor of Conrad II , exhibited in Bamberg on August 28, 1044 , not only were purchases and donations confirmed to him anew, but he was also given permission to build a castle. In the center of his possessions, on Wolfsstieg near Friedrichroda, from where he could "survey" his property, he built the Schauenburg.
Ludovingian castle
Count Ludwig the Bearded was the progenitor of the Ludowingian counts. By marrying Cäcilie von Sangerhausen, he was able to quickly expand his possessions and influence in Thuringia. When he died after 1055, he left the Schauenburg to his sons, which was now on the edge of his own rule. During this time the plans for the occupation of the areas adjoining to the west on the lower reaches of the Hörsel with the later Wartburg in the center may have matured and prepared in the count family . According to the founding legend of the Wartburg, this task was taken over by Count Ludwig II , known as the Springer. In the battles that King Heinrich IV had to wage against the Thuringians and Saxons, Count Ludwig the Springer appeared to be on the side of the king. When he was suddenly forced to flee during an army campaign in 1080, Ludwig escorted him to a safe area, possibly with a short rest at the Schauenburg.
With the construction of the Wartburg and the nearby Tenneberg Castle, the former importance of the Schauenburg disappeared. From then on it may have served above all as a protective castle for the nearby house monastery Reinhardsbrunn, in addition to the necessary security of the regional traffic routes.
Protective castle of the Reinhardsbrunn monastery
The Reinhardsbrunn monastery, which was built as a Ludowingian house monastery and burial place of the family, was founded around 1085 by Count Ludwig the Springer. In the Landgraviate, Reinhardsbrunn acquired the reputation and importance as the religious and intellectual-cultural center of the country. The monastery had quickly become wealthy through countless donations and donations, which could arouse covetousness. The nearby Schauenburg served as a military umbrella and protection for the monks.
In the turmoil of the civil war that was waged over the legacy of the Landgraviate after 1247, the Schauenburg had to be modernized and repaired at the request of the abbot in 1259. The neighboring Counts of Henneberg were appointed as guardians of the monastery, replacing the previous bailiffs, knights from the landed aristocracy, who until then had been allowed to call themselves Knights of Schauenburg.
At the end of the war, the majority of the fortifications and castles in the Landgraviate of Thuringia were destroyed, whereby the now useless Schauenburg is said to have perished.
Building findings
The sparse structural remains of the Schauenburg, which were already described in the 18th century and were described several times later, today only consist of worked rock sections and leveled sections of land on the summit of the castle hill. Based on the construction date and the circumstances, it can be assumed that the proportion of stone buildings in this castle was low. Wood may have been the preferred choice for the construction of the necessary fortifications, residential buildings, accommodation and commercial buildings. Under the white liver stones, a rock section on the western edge of the castle grounds, you can see the Mariaquell, probably the drinking water supply of the castle. There is also a bailey here .
The small finds uncovered during excavations in the 1950s consist of ceramics, metal scraps and broken bricks. The inventory of finds is kept in the regional history department of the Gotha museums.
The castle is now accessible by hiking trails and a ground monument under monument protection provided. The Schauenberg Cross greets you from a rock below the main castle to the east into the valley and far into the Thuringian Basin.
Appreciation
“ For the residents of Thuringia, there can be no more venerable monument from the earliest history of their country than the ruins of the Schauenburg. It was here where the tribe of the mighty Landgraves of Thuringia took root for centuries, from where the culture of such a large, as yet uncultivated, slumbering part of this country, still slumbering in the raw state of nature, proceeded. "
Others
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The Berlin composer Max Wagner from Gotha, who was on vacation in Friedrichroda in July 1892 , was inspired by the castle ruins for his symphonic poem Von der Schauenburg, Op. 18. First performed in Berlin in 1894, the work of the Schauenburg is a musical monument.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dr. August Beck: Die Geschichte des Gothaischen Land , Volume I, Geschichte der Regenten, Gotha, 1868. S. 57
- ↑ Volker Schimpff: The Heden places in Thuringia. P. 55 and note 144. Online: http://cma.gbv.de/dr,cma,011,2008,a,02.pdf
- ↑ Hans-Jörg Ruge Historical outline of Friedrichroda and Reinhardsbrunn . Friedrichroda 1995, pp. 11-30
- ^ Friedrich Gottschalck: The knight castles and mountain castles of Germany. Eighth volume. Hall 1831.
- ^ Kurliste von Friedrichroda and Reinhardsbrunn, No. 12, Friday, July 15, 1892 No. 4211
- ^ Neue Berliner Musikzeitung, weekly for the musical world, Volume 48, No. 43, October 25, 1894, pages 469-470
literature
- Steffen Raßloff , Lutz Gebhardt : The Thuringian Landgraves. History and legends . Ilmenau 2017, ISBN 978-3-95560-055-6 .
- Helmut Assing : The rise of the Ludowingers in Thuringia. In: Heimatblätter ´92 des Eisenacher Land, special part, Marburg 1993, pp. 7–52. (Eisenacher Presse, EP REPORT 3), ISBN 3-924269-95-5 , pp. 7-52.
- W. Bickel: The Schauenburg near Friedrichroda in the Thuringian Forest… . o. O. 1937.
- Claus Cramer: The beginnings of the Ludowingers. In: Journal of the Association for Hessian Stories and Regional Studies, NF Vol. 68. Kassel 1957, pp. 64–94.
- Hanns-Jörg Runge: Historical outline of Friedrichroda and Reinhardsbrunn. Book 1. Prehistory and early history and the Middle Ages. Friedrichroda 1995.
