Burgpreppach Castle

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The Burgpreppach castle located in the center of the market Burgpreppach in district Haßberge ( Lower Franconia ). The large, unfinished baroque complex is still inhabited and can only be viewed by appointment and on special occasions.

history

General view from the north
West side with the moat

Originally the gentlemen from Breitebach (Preppach) sat in the village. In the 12th century a "Gerung" and a "Runold von Breitebach" were documented. In the High Middle Ages, the Preppach were servants of the Counts of Henneberg, later the rule came to the Lords of Milz.

Burgpreppach has been owned by the Fuchs since the early 14th century , and their numerous branch lines were named after their places of residence. The Burgpreppach foxes died out in the 16th century. The Fuchs von Bimbach took over the inheritance . Today this old Franconian aristocratic family has died out in the male line, the current lady of the castle is the daughter of the last baron of this name.

A moated castle stood in the place of today's castle until the 18th century, which was completely removed when the new building was built. The castle name in the place goes back to this residence . Construction of the new building is scheduled to begin around 1715. The builders were the guardians of the young owner Johann Philipp Fuchs von Bimbach and Dornheim, whose marriage coat of arms was later placed above the main portal. The Prince of Würzburg City and Country Architect Joseph Greissing was won as the architect . After his early death in 1721, a court architect, now Balthasar Neumann , was brought in to complete the interior, especially the staircase. Nevertheless, the extremely demanding construction concept could only be partially implemented. For example, the planned second floor of the main building is missing, which is why the four-story corner pavilions tower over the wings. The planned external plaster has also been dispensed with to this day. The courtyard of honor was actually supposed to be closed by a narrow frame building, based on the French model, which would have given the castle a playful, fort-like character, as Greissing only indicated by an arcade in Heilgersdorf Castle . Volker Rößner sees here the builders' conscious recourse to older symbols of power in castle and fortress construction. According to this interpretation, the rural population should be shown a kind of fortress and at the same time be reminded of the knightly origins of the Fuchs family. But even in its reduced form, Burgpreppach is considered to be one of the most important examples of baroque palace architecture in Lower Franconia. However, the facility has received little attention from academic research.

The owner of the castle, Monica von Deuster, began an extensive renovation of the property in 1986. Since 1996, the east wing has served as the private residence of the Deuster-Fuchs von Bimbach and Dornheim family again. The castle has now been connected to the sewer system , and the roof areas have also been re-covered. Central heating and new, stylish windows ensure living comfort . In summer, classical concerts are held in the historic ballroom on the first floor.

The owners allow interested groups or individuals to visit the interior of the castle by prior arrangement. Thanks to the family's commitment, the historical ensemble was able to regain its central role in Markt Burgpreppach.

description

Entrance and main courtyard
The east wing

The three-winged palace complex stands on a platform made of ashlar and is surrounded by a moat that is largely dry today. The main courtyard opens to the south. The side wings connect single-storey added arcades with the two two-storey entrance pavilions. Outside, a brick bridge spans the former moat. Despite the missing upper floors and the external plastering, the complex looks very representative and reveals the planning by important builders of the Franconian Baroque. The guardians of the underage first owner also included the Würzburg prince-bishop Johann Philipp von Greiffenclau-Vollraths , who himself was “obsessed with building worms” ( Gereuth Castle ) and commissioned his master builder Joseph Greissing with the planning. The new building dragged on until around 1730, Greissing's plans were completed by Balthasar Neumann . One reason for the elaborate planning of this rural residence was certainly the fear of an impending devaluation of the Franconian guilder, which at that time had reached a high value. Therefore one wanted to invest one's wealth safely in real estate.

The structure of the palace is kept simple and consists of embossed corner pilasters , profiled window walls and a cornice between the floors. A planned richer structure was reduced in 1718 for cost reasons. Each wing of the main building is accessible through its own portal , at the ends of the side wings additional round-arched entrances provide access to the utility and cellar rooms. The aforementioned Fuchs - Würtzburg marriage coat of arms adorns the segmental arch of the main portal (marriage 1726).

The two-story main building is flanked by four-story, protruding corner pavilions. Just like the gate pavilions, these components have slated mansard roofs . The rest of the building is completed by tiled hipped roofs with dormers .

Inside, the large ballroom in the middle of the north wing deserves a special mention. The 28-meter-long room is decorated with stucco leaves and strips (1735). The walls are decorated with large, painted panels of fabric with ancient mythological and historical scenes that were probably not originally intended for this hall.

The large main staircase in the central building is based on a design by Balthasar Neumann. The staircase was built between 1732 and 1735 under Johann Philipp Dietrich Ernst Freiherr Fuchs von Bimbach and Dornheim. The execution took the Eberner master mason Johann Georg Dantzer, who had already run the shell of the castle. 389 Reichstaler were agreed upon as wages.

At the same time, Neumann designed the entire sequence of rooms in the central building (vestibule, stairs, vestibule and ballroom). The Würzburg master builder was able to fall back on plans made by Joseph Greissing, who died in 1721, but created a two-way, counter-rotating stone staircase that was integrated into the vestibule and anteroom of the ballroom.

The runs of the staircase are accompanied by balustrades with Tuscan balusters and profiled handrails, which are interrupted by pedestals . The vestibule is reminiscent, with its twelve Tuscan pillars round more to the crypt of a medieval church as to a stately reception room.

The mummified hand

A woman's mummified hand is kept in the castle . Possibly the object once served as a symbol of lordly authority in court proceedings. Since the 16th century the foxes had the right of high jurisdiction ( blood jurisdiction ). The magistrate usually acted as judge, who might have issued the severed hand as a deterrent. At the time of the new baroque palace construction, however, the hands of convicted thieves were no longer chopped off.

literature

  • Volker Rößner, Bernd Marr: Balthasar Neumann's main staircase in Burgpreppach Castle ( series of publications by the historical association of the Haßberge district. Supplements 5). Historical Association of the Haßberge district, Haßfurt 2008, ISBN 3-938438-07-X .
  • Johannes Mack: The builder and architect Joseph Greissing. Main Franconian Baroque before Balthasar Neumann. Dissertation Saarbrücken 2007; also in: Publications of the Society for Franconian History. 8th row: Sources and representations on Franconian art history. Volume 16, Würzburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-86652-816-1 .
  • Anton Rahrbach, Jörg Schöffl, Otto Schramm: Palaces and castles in Lower Franconia - A complete representation of all palaces, manors, castles and ruins in the Lower Franconian independent cities and districts . Hofmann Verlag, Nuremberg 2002, ISBN 3-87191-309-X , pp. 42-43.
  • Volker Rößner: Palace building of the 18th century in the knightly canton of Baunach (= publications of the Society for Franconian History Würzburg eV , 8th series: Sources and representations on Franconian art history, Volume 12). Degener, Neustadt / Aisch 2000, ISBN 3-7686-9272-8 (also: Bamberg, Univ., Diss.).
  • The art monuments of the Kingdom of Bavaria. Volume 3: The art monuments of Lower Franconia & Aschaffenburg. Issue 5: Georg Lill, Felix Mader : District Office Hofheim. Oldenbourg, Munich 1912 (Unchanged reprint. Ibid 1983, ISBN 3-486-50459-2 ).

Coordinates: 50 ° 8 ′ 27.2 ″  N , 10 ° 39 ′ 6.1 ″  E