Brenz Castle

Brenz Castle is a castle in Brenz an der Brenz , a district of Sontheim an der Brenz in the Heidenheim district in Baden-Württemberg .

history

Brenz Castle

The castle hill - formerly the site of a Roman manor with an Apollo Grannus sanctuary and a military road station - is a place with a long architectural history. From the subsequent construction of an Alemannic ruling dynasty and from the 8th century a Frankish manor house, history shows further developments, up to and including presumably a fortified, castle-like property had existed since the 10th or 11th century. After further architectural changes, the castle was again destroyed at the end of the Thirty Years' War - 1631 or 1634 - and large parts of it had to be rebuilt. In 1617, Brenz Castle went to Duke Julius Friedrich von Württemberg-Weiltingen as apanage . He began to expand Brenz Castle into a princely secondary residence.

The current palace building is the result of a construction phase that lasted from 1667 to 1672, presumably including older components. Using the felling date of the timbers installed in the roof structure, precise information about the construction progress can be made:

• North wing 1667/68
• West wing and corner south 1666/69
• South wing 1669/71 (whether the south wing was completely rebuilt at this time has not yet been verified).

outer facade

Presumably the measure in the outer area was finished in 1672 (see dating at the entrance to the courtyard side of the south wing). The equipment of the knight's hall should have been completed in 1674. Duchess widow Juliane is mentioned as the builder, who acted as guardian for the future Duke Friedrich Ferdinand and created a residence befitting her class through the renovation. She allowed her son to co-reign from 1672 and passed it on to him in full from 1680. When the Dowager Duchess died in 1691, the castle was probably only inhabited by domestics.

In 1721 Duke Eberhard Ludwig gave the castle to his mistress Wilhelmine von Grävenitz, who soon fell out of favor and had to leave Württemberg with all her goods.

After that it was no longer used, from 1756 or 1789 the castle was considered uninhabited. Due to the limited use of the building, the existing structure was probably not, or not significantly, changed or revised in the 18th century.

In 1847 or 1848 the state sold the castle to the municipality and used it as a council and school building. At this time, a description of the upper office was made, in which the ceiling paintings of the knight's hall, which have now been removed, are mentioned.

From around 1911, the renovation work in the castle in terms of room layout and the creation of separate living areas can be documented. In addition, the roughest damage was repaired and the wooden parts of the facades were painted with oil. In addition, the rooms of the Heimatmuseum, founded in 1906, were used for museum purposes. Initially, the knight's hall was used for this. From 1848, the knight's hall was initially a fruit store, then a carpenter's workshop, gymnasium and finally an interim church from 1893 - until it was used as a museum and was renovated in 1925.

The renovation of the castle gate at the entrance to the inner courtyard was also carried out in 1925. The Heimatbuch “Brenz und seine Umgebung”, published in 1973, mentions that maintenance measures have been carried out in the castle since the end of the Second World War , which were completed for the 300th anniversary in 1972 (renovation work on the facade and inside, probably in the knight's hall ).

After the school and town hall had been abandoned, the use of the museum was expanded. In 2010 a comprehensive renovation under monument protection law began, which was completed in October 2011.

Since October 2011, Brenz Castle has also been one of 26 information points of the UNESCO Geopark Swabian Alb .

literature

• The art and antiquity monuments in the Jagstkreis, Oberamt Heidenheim . Edited by Dr. Eugen Gradmann, published in 1913.

Brenz and its environs, Verlag Heimatmuseum Schloß Brenz, published in 1973. Museum and cultural center Sontheim in Schloß Brenz, historical study by Dr. Walther-Gerd Flech, created around 2000.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Heimatmuseum Schloss Brenz, Sontheim ( Memento of the original from May 19, 2009 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 ° 33 ′ 41.8 ″  N , 10 ° 17 ′ 35.6 ″  E