Breitungen Castle
The Castle Breitungen (also: Castle Herrenbreitungen ) is a former castle and palace complex in the historic district Herrenbreitungen the community Breitungen / Werra in today Schmalkalden-Meiningen in Thuringia . Together with the striking basilica in the immediate vicinity, the renaissance castle shapes the appearance of Breitungen; the 28 meter high tower of the basilica is a landmark of the community.
history
In the 12th century, a Benedictine monastery was founded on the castle hill of the settlement Burgbreitungen, later called Herrenbreitungen . The basilica was consecrated as a monastery church of the Benedictine monks in 1112. The Herrenbreitungen Monastery existed until it was dissolved as a result of the Reformation in 1553.
1560 which made hen bergische Count Poppo XII. build a new renaissance castle using structural remains of the abolished monastery. When the Henneberg family died out in 1583, the castle came into the possession of the Landgraviate of Hessen-Kassel . The castle was damaged in the Thirty Years' War , but the original building fabric from the 16th century was largely preserved. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the castle served as a judicial office, prison and rent office. Further conversions as a result of the changing uses changed the building fabric to the state it is in today.
1993–1994 the basilica was extensively renovated; For reasons of species protection, consideration was given to the numerous breeding grounds of jackdaws , the largest occurrence in southern Thuringia . The castle has been privately owned since 2007 and is gradually being renovated.
architecture
Monastery church
The sandstone building in Romanesque style was a cruciform basilica with a three-aisled nave, transept and a choir, the three naves of which ended in apses . The basilica was partially destroyed in the Thirty Years War, but the Romanesque interior and the tower with its Renaissance dome were preserved. Since the renovation in 1994, the basilica has served as an exhibition and concert space and is also used for civil weddings.
Renaissance castle
The renaissance castle was built in the middle of the 16th century in the area of the former monastery as a four-wing building with an additional representative extension, now known as the "Kornhaus", and a castle tower. Of these, only the south wing (the Romanesque basilica with a Renaissance tower), the west wing in the immediate vicinity of the basilica as a three-story plastered sandstone building with spiral staircases above a high basement, three floors of the once taller castle tower and the three-story granary with its more than 30 meter long hall. The spacious interior is bounded by a stable building and a barn. On the property, which is surrounded by a natural stone wall, there is the former monastery garden and a pond.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Information board in the castle
Coordinates: 50 ° 45 ′ 33.7 " N , 10 ° 20 ′ 19.4" E