Schelmenburg

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Schelmenburg
View of the only surviving part of Schelmenburg from the south (2014)

View of the only surviving part of Schelmenburg from the south (2014)

Alternative name (s): Gruckau, rogue lock
Creation time : late 12th century
Castle type : Niederungsburg, moth
Conservation status: Only the main building from the turn of the 16th to the 17th century, which was built on the foundations of the previous building, has survived.
Standing position : Ministeriale
Place: Frankfurt-Bergen-Enkheim
Geographical location 50 ° 9 '21.2 "  N , 8 ° 45' 5.9"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 9 '21.2 "  N , 8 ° 45' 5.9"  E
Height: 175  m above sea level NN
Schelmenburg (districts of Frankfurt am Main)
Schelmenburg

The Schelmenburg , also called Schelmenschloss or Gruckau , was a medieval moated castle in what is now Frankfurt-Bergen-Enkheim in Hesse . For several centuries it was an ancestral seat of the rascals of Bergen . Today a baroque water castle is still preserved from the Schelmenburg , which was built in 1700 on the foundation walls of the former core castle.

location

Formerly located on the northwestern edge of the medieval town center of Bergen, the Schelmenburg is now in the center between the streets "Am Weißen Turm" and "Marktstraße" west of the town hall, which was inaugurated in 1978. On the southern slope below the Berger Warte and not far from a crossroads of the Hohen Strasse that had existed since Roman times , the square was of strategic importance in the high Middle Ages. In the absence of an elevation for defense, the castle was secured by a moat, which seems unusual on the Berger slope about 80 m above the level of the Main (distance 2.6 km). Several springs above provided water, which was drained into a covered canal to the south towards Marktstrasse.

history

Emergence

There are few historical or archaeological sources about the time when the Schelmenburg was built, due to the centuries of later overbuilding . A term ante quem results from the first mention of a rascal from Bergen in 1194.

A Roman fort and a Franconian fortification were assumed to be the predecessor buildings, especially in older and local history works . However, several more recent archaeological investigations could not confirm this, so that the existence of a fort is no longer recognized in archaeological research due to the lack of findings from the fort. Finds of legionary bricks from an early period are attributed to several Roman villae rusticae documented in the Berger district as a secondary use , including in particular the large-scale excavation "Auf dem Keller" north of Bergen. An archaeological investigation in the area of ​​two rooms with no basement in the main building of the Schelmenburg revealed evidence of a wooden hilltop castle (Motte) from the 12th or 13th century as the earliest detectable system.

The Schelmenburg, like numerous castles in the Frankfurt area, was probably built at the time of Emperor Barbarossa . In addition to larger imperial castles such Friedberg or Münzenberg smaller systems such as the guaranteed Burg Vilbel , castle Dorfelden , Burgwache book or even the rogue castle the country.

High Middle Ages

Although it is located outside the fencing of Bergen, the history of the castle is closely linked to that of the place. In 1272 Werner Schelm von Bergen received part of the tithe in Bergen from the Lords of Eppstein , and in 1274 another part from the Bartholomäusstift .

The local noble family of Schelme von Bergen first appeared as imperial feudal people or imperial knights. The place Bergen came together with the Bornheimerberg office increasingly under the control of the Lords and Counts of Hanau , who had rights in Bergen since 1269. In 1354 the rascals of Bergen were forced to serve Ulrich III as vassals . to step from Hanau and keep the castle as a fief . A stone extension is probably connected with this change of ownership, because the castle is referred to as a " permanent house " in the following . In 1357 the town of Bergen finally came to Hanau as an imperial pledge.

As with so many members of the knightly class, the fall of power of the noble family led to robbery . Often the victims were merchants who were traveling to or from Frankfurt am Main on the nearby trade route . Therefore, the rogues increasingly came into conflict with the city of Frankfurt. In the course of a feud, Frankfurt occupied the castle in the winter of 1381/82 without significant resistance, as the moat was frozen over, again in 1389 at the instigation of the Rhenish Association of Cities . Sibold and Gerlach Schelm had to swear primal feuds and serve the city for two months a year. The city also reserved the right to open . With the Kronberg feud in 1389, Ulrich IV. Von Hanau succeeded in releasing his feudal people from their obligations.

Between 1500 and 1520, Adam Schelm von Bergen had an outer moat built, which now also protected the castle's farm buildings. Their outer walls were reinforced and looped through. But the defense value of the complex was likely to have been low, especially because the owners could hardly afford a number of soldiers appropriate to the new size. The safest refuge in the castle was still the stone house in the main moat.

Schelmenburg, site plan at the time of greatest expansion (18th century). Building clockwise: A-core castle / main building, B-oven, C-laundry room, D-brewery, E-the new building, F-stables, G-pleasure garden, H-barn, I-pigsty, J-wine press house, K- Chicken house, L source.

Modern times

With the loss of its military function, the Schelmenburg has increasingly become an estate. The system only underwent major changes again with Friedrich Adolph Schelm zu Bergen. He had been in the service of the Elector Palatinate at the Heidelberg court. In 1672 Friedrich Wilhelm , the "Great Elector", asked for quarters in Bergen during the Dutch War . Since the Gruckau moated castle no longer met the expectations of the time, the elector had to stay in Bergen. This event may have given the impetus that Friedrich Adolph had the main building removed down to the basement in a construction period of over ten years and the baroque palace that is still preserved today was built on it. The moat and the bridge were preserved. Friedrich Adolph also had a sandstone relief placed at the entrance to the castle on which the double-headed imperial eagle can be seen with the signature "SVB VMBRA ALARVM TVARVM", probably an indication that he did not enter the Hanauian service and saw himself as a free imperial knight.

With the extinction of the rogues of Bergen in the 19th century, the rogue castle had finally become a larger courtyard and the castle building a manor house. In 1830 Johann Georg Kalbhenn acquired the entire property. Kalbhenn moved the courtyard gate from Siboldsgäßchen to its current location in 1850, the farm buildings in the castle courtyard were demolished or built over in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the outer moat was filled in as early as 1840. In the 20th century, the castle was also named Schillingshof or Bickelhof after its owners at the time . In 1942 the municipality of Bergen-Enkheim acquired the property for 100,000 Reichsmarks, but let the building continue to be leased, and the farm was used for agriculture until 1962. After extensive renovation, the mayor's office and parts of the municipal administration moved in in 1967. After 1977 a social station was located here, later the community library and club rooms. Today the castle houses the youth music school on the ground floor and 17 clubs of the association ring in the basement, upper floor and attic. In 2002, the Schelmenburg was appointed the house of associations by the head of the property office, Alfred Gangel. This happened with the approval of Mayor Achim Vandreike. Part of the building is again in dire need of renovation.

The surrounding area, including the former Burggarten, was largely built on with new buildings after the Second World War , including larger residential buildings for refugees from the east (1951), the Bergen City Hall (1978) and a savings bank.

In 2000, a renovation measure had to be carried out due to moisture penetrating the inner castle. It made it possible to investigate the area archaeologically, which provided further clues about the building history of the Schelmenburg.

investment

The presumed medieval layout of the Schelmenburg is very similar to that of the fortified aristocratic courts nearby in the Frankfurt area, such as Hof Goldstein , Kühhornshof or Holzhausenschlösschen . Archaeological evidence suggests a tower hill castle (moth) as the origin .

main building

The only thing that has been preserved from the Schelmenburg is the baroque water castle with a building inscription from 1700, which was placed on the foundations of the former core castle. According to archaeological evidence, the area of ​​the building has not changed since the construction of the permanent house. The northern part (about a third) does not have a cellar today and probably corresponded to the former tower hill. There is a Romanesque arch between the two basement rooms.

The current three-storey building measures 16 (front and rear) × 18 meters (sides). It has a covered with slate hipped roof and middle patch on the front and back lucarnes . The condition goes back to the renovations around 1700. It can be proven that there were several construction phases before, starting with a tower hill castle, which was replaced by an at least partially two-story half - timbered building. With the change of feudal lordship in 1354, the complex was expanded into a permanent house by the financially stronger lords of Hanau. Finds of stove tiles prove a representative interior design. Further alterations followed in the 16th century until the facility got its present appearance around 1700.

Both the main castle and the following building could be reached via a bridge from the courtyard, which initially only spanned the moat halfway, the part directly adjoining the building had an easy-to-throw wooden plank construction. Today the bridge has two arches.

The showpiece of the building is the renaissance portal made of red sandstone, which may have been re-used. It was opened upwards so that a baroque gable was created. Inside is a cartouche with an inscription, on the left the coat of arms of the Schelme von Bergen with the two ribs and on the right that of the Lords of Venningen with two crossed lilies. The inscription reads:

View of the portal with inscription and coat of arms (2013)
Quod FELIX
FAUSTUMque SIT
Friederich Adolph Schelm
vo. u. to Bergen, Churpfältz. secret
u. Regirungs Rath Cämmerer and
Oberambtmann zu Stromberg
and
Anna Margretha Friderica v. Vennin
genes left those who had perished
Abort old parent company and
from the foundation new
build AD 1700

Castle courtyard and farm buildings

The courtyard, which is much larger in relation to the main castle, contained numerous farm buildings and was probably hardly fortified until the outer moat was built in the 16th century. In the event of armed conflict, only the core castle offered the residents protection. Various stables, barns, gardens and a brewery (demolished around 1820) were grouped around the courtyard to the southwest of the main castle. The right to brew beer was associated with the Schelmenburg court. Until the First World War , the “Schelmenbräu” was brewed in Bergen by the later owners.

Moats

The concept of the Schelmenburg as a moated castle is noticeable at the altitude, which drops to the south towards the Main valley . The moats were fed by several strong springs north of the complex. The ditch drained south in an underground canal to Marktstrasse, where it emerged again as a rogue spring before it leads through the Mühlbach Gorge to the valley. But the water was undrinkable due to the swampy and swampy ditch as well as the impurities from the lavatory . The water supply to the castle was ensured by a well in the basement of the core castle and two more in the outer castle (brewery and stable). With the renovation of the facility in the 1960s, the trench was then dredged, partially filled with gravel and paved with basalt stones. During the work a dagger, a crossbow bolt and a rider's spur were found, which were given to the local museum .

literature

  • Andrea Hampel: The Schelmenburg in Frankfurt-Bergen In: hessenARCHÄOLOGIE 2001. Published by the Archaeological and Palaeontological Monument Preservation of the State Office for Monument Preservation Hesse. Konrad Theiss-Verlag Stuttgart 2002. ISBN 3-8062-1749-1 , 145-147.
  • Andrea Hampel: The Schelmenburg In: Archeology in Frankfurt am Main: Find and excavation reports for the years 1997/2001. Habelt, Bonn 2002 pp. 13-21.
  • Werner Henschke: The rascals of mountains in legend, history and poetry . Published with the kind support of Frankfurter Sparkasse from 1822 (Polytechnische Gesellschaft), Frankfurt 1979.
  • Werner Henschke: Living Past - Historical Explanations . Published by the city council of Bergen-Enkheim, Bergen-Enkheim 1971 (2nd edition 1976)
  • Rudolf Knappe: Medieval castles in Hessen. 800 castles, castle ruins and fortifications. 3. Edition. Wartberg-Verlag, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2000, ISBN 3-86134-228-6 , p. 390.
  • Martin Schäfer: The Schelmenburg in Bergen. In: Monthly of the Kinzigtaler Vereinigung für Heimatforschung 11/12, 1930 pp. 1–4.
  • Rolf Müller (Ed.): Palaces, castles, old walls. Published by the Hessendienst der Staatskanzlei, Wiesbaden 1990, ISBN 3-89214-017-0 , p. 121f.
  • Heinz Schomann, Volker Rödel, Heike Kaiser: Cultural monuments in Hesse. Town Frankfurt am Main. Edited by the State Office for Monument Preservation Hessen and the City of Frankfurt am Main, 2nd edition 1994, ISBN 3-7973-0576-1 , p. 403 ( Monument topography Federal Republic of Germany ; materials on monument protection in Frankfurt am Main 1 ).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ E. Fabricius: The Roman road network in the lower Main area in the Taunus and in the Wetterau . ORL A II 2 line 3–5, Berlin and Leipzig 1936.
  2. ↑ Hans Schönberger : The Roman troop camps of the early and middle imperial period between the North Sea and Inn. Report of the Roman-Germanic Commission 66, 1985, p. 455.
  3. ↑ D. Baatz: The Romans in Hesse. (Stuttgart 1989) p. 301.
  4. ↑ A. Hampel 2002 Archeology in Frankfurt p. 21; hessenARCHEOLOGY p. 146.
  5. ↑ For the type, function and dating of such buildings see Dieter Barz: The “Feste Haus” - an early type of building of the Adelsburg. In: Castles and Palaces . Vol. 34, No. 1, 1993, pages 10-24.
  6. ↑ Schelmenburg needs sponsors - Frankfurter Rundschau from January 8, 2009
  7. ↑ Hampel 2002 Archeology in Frankfurt p. 20.
  8. ↑ Hampel 2002 Archeology in Frankfurt p. 216.
  9. ^ Find reports from Hessen 5, 1965, p. 176.

Web links

Commons : Schelmenburg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files