Denstedt Castle

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View of the castle from the Ilm cycle path
Denstedt Castle 2011

The castle Denstedt lies on a flat mountain ridge west of the town. Denstedt belongs to the community of Ilmtal-Weinstrasse and is located about 8 km northeast of Weimar .

The terrain slopes down towards the Ilm in the north and towards the Erlenbach in the west. In the southern valley there is a park that the Erlenbach flows through. The striking keep of the castle complex to the west of the town is visible from afar when coming from the road from Tiefurt .

Construction and owner history

With the exception of the extension from 1699, different assumptions can be found in the literature that has appeared so far about the construction time of the castle. Despite the lack of clear building certificates, there must have been a previous building at the site of the current castle complex. When this came about and what it might have looked like, we can no longer understand today.

The first reliable assignment of the place Denstedt is dated to the year 874 , since Duenestat ( Bad Tennstedt ) and Denesteti (Denstedt) are literally separated for the first time. The place name went through many changes in the next few years (Thegenstete - Deginstete - Deinstete - Deynstete) until 1548 the name Denstedt, which was created by contraction (ege - ei - e), appeared for the first time. This name probably goes back to a Thegan ( knight's seat or Juncker's seat) (ahd. Thëgan = young warrior or follower).

Early 12th century - 1415, von Denstedt family

Since the knight dynasty , named after Denstedt , appears for the first time in the historical tradition with Gerboto von Degenstede around 1206, it is reasonable to assume that this dynasty was the owner of the manor . As early as the 12th century, the Denstedt manor had close economic ties with the Hugistorff ( Heusdorf bei Apolda ) and Oberweimar monasteries . There is also a monastery in Denstedt for a short time , the cellar of which has been preserved under the restaurant until today. The grain and oil mills below the castle also belonged to this monastery between 1170 and 1513 . This property must have been lucrative, because they are mentioned in the fiefdom transfers and have often been objects of dispute.

With the signature of Witego von Deginstete in the documents of the monastery of Oberweimar , the first reliable evidence of the von Denstedt family was created in 1249. Witego possessed besides Denstedt the " care jurisdiction " over the villages Süßenborn , Rödigsdorf , Schwabsdorf and half of Klein- Kromsdorf . The " court over Halß und Hand " enabled the respective manor owners to collect hereditary interest and other taxes and the delivery of agricultural products. The numerous members of the von Denstedt family can be found in the 14th-16th centuries. Century in various positions outside the village. When the family died out around 1700, they hadn't been in Denstedt for a long time .

1423–1586, Gans family

In the next few decades, the manor house experienced a huge boom under the rule of the von Gans family over the complex, the place and the Denstedt care court . The von Gans are also an old family and were resident in Denstedt even before they were enfeoffed. In 1513 the brothers Eckhart and Dieterich received the two Denstedt mills as a fief. On March 12, 1514 the castle and the noble farm Denstedt are mentioned in the feudal deeds, with which they are enfeoffed on that day.

In 1530 Dietrich Gans had the castle built. Other sources assume a redesign of an existing medieval residential building or an increase in the second floor. It is also claimed that the arched curtain windows were added to the medieval residential building at a later date. According to new investigations, it can be assumed that the castle in its current form dates from the 16th century and was built by the von Gans family with the inclusion of the late medieval keep . As under the von Denstedt family, the Gans brothers exercised jurisdiction over the Denstedt care. The family's high level of debt is a sign of the extensive construction activity at this time. In 1574, Eckart Gans owed the Saxon Chamber Council in Weimar , Lucas von Tangel 10,000 guilders. On April 29, 1579, the plant was sold to von Tangel " because he could not have paid for anything other than having to buy the goose goods against his will ". His great-grandchildren Georg Wolf and Heinrich von Tangel lived in the palace and the noble farm until 1668. Two well-preserved tombstones with the goose as a coat of arms are still preserved in the church in Denstedt .

1579–1668, from Tangel

The circumstances of the Thirty Years' War had made the Tangel property heavily in debt. Many farms in the villages that belonged to the Denstedt Care Department burned down, fields remained untilled and their residents often fled to Weimar . In 1640 the entire population of Denstedt had to be evacuated to Weimar for a short time . The castle deteriorated with the indebtedness of its owners. In 1652 the owners tried to sell the property "in debt ". The war also led to the decline of the Edelhof, which in 1673 became a bankruptcy estate. When Georg Heinrich von Thangel finally died without leaving a male heir, the castle was briefly administered by his relatives from Ostramondra . Wolff Adolf Freiherr von Werther from Wiehe / Unstrut, von Thangel's son-in-law, acquired the castle in 1673 for 25,542 guilders.

1698 to 1892, Linker von Lützenwick family

On December 22, 1689, the Kurtrier diplomat Johannes Lyncker von Lützenwick acquired the Denstedt estate as an investment for 33,000 guilders in Meissen currency . After his death in 1698, the castle passed to the “ electoral Mainzischen Rath zu Erfurt ” Johann Daniel Linker, Knight of Lützenwick (1631–1712), his younger brother, who lived in Erfurt . With the acquisition, the Linker became the court lords of Denstedt for the next four generations.

During this time, further extensive construction work took place. The most important building is probably the extension of the residential building to the west with a new extension in 1699. A coat of arms shows the inscription “ JOHAN DANIEL LINKER 1699 ” and a lamb, the heraldic animal of the family. Johann Jakob von Linker and Lützenwick (1665–1730) got the estate and its care in 1703 from his uncle. He continued the expansion of the manor . A coat of arms above the now walled-up gate of the Amtmannhaus shows the year 1714, as well as the symbols of the Linker family, the lamb and the pomegranate and two eagles as shield holders . In addition to the bailiff's house, which also served as a house for an administrator, as the owner and his family often stayed in Erfurt , the building northeast of the battlements, the so-called old judiciary, was also built around 1713/14.

The entire aristocratic seat was closed with a strong wall around the property. The southern terrace between the extension and the wall was built, as was the southern wall with the brick arches. The landscape park , which borders the castle grounds in the south, was started. Since Friedrich Karl Albrecht, Freiherr von Linker and Lützenwick (1773–1844) remained without male heirs for the office of heir and court lord, Johann decided to bequeath the estate to his son-in-law Wilhelm von Wegner (1799–1853). The last owner of the property was the Weimar Chamberlain Erich von Conta (descendant of Karl von Conta ), married to Mathilde von Wegner, named Lincker von Lützenwick and Niedertiefenbach. She sold the estate in 1892.

1892–1945, Koch family

The Rittmeister Johannes August Koch (1866–1944) acquired the estate in 1892 from the Contas. The tower and corner rooms on the 2nd floor were already empty at that time. The Linker cultivation in the west was used as a grain store and bulk floor on both floors.

After 1945

The property, expropriated without compensation after the occupation by the Red Army in 1945, was converted into one of their battle bases and then became public property . Agricultural use later determined the appearance of the facility. The VEG Schöndorf had installed an electric flour mill, all ancillary buildings fell into disrepair by the vacancy. From 1984 the remaining buildings belonged to the Agricultural Production Cooperative Kromsdorf (LPG), which gave up the facility in the 1990s. The strong interventions in the structure of the castle during its use as a flour mill and warehouse are particularly evident today in the storeys of the extension.

In 1991 the entire complex was sold to an investor who wanted to convert the castle into a sports hotel complex. The planning matured to the project and development plan, but was only implemented in 1994 with the demolition of the outbuildings, barns, the ox farm and the car depot. After the laying of the foundation stone, the investor disappeared and the castle increasingly fell into disrepair. Door and window openings were secured by the Denstedt volunteer fire brigade over the next few years, and in 1996 the emergency protection required by the German Foundation for Monument Protection was implemented. In 2001 the current owners bought the castle. Necessary securing work has been carried out since then. At the end of 2016, the "Sportpark Burg Denstedt" was set up in the palace complex.

literature

  • Uwe Albrecht : The noble seat in the Middle Ages. Studies on the relationship between architecture and way of life in Northern and Western Europe . Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-422-06100-2
  • Gunter Braniek: Denstedt Castle - between decay and hope . In: Symposium Rediscovering and maintaining locks - just a burden? . Thuringian State Office for Monument Protection, Erfurt 2001, pp. 36–38
  • Stephanie Eißing: Thuringia . Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-422-03095-6 ("Handbuch der Deutschen Kunstdenkmäler" founded by Georg Dehio ), p. 202
  • Wolfgang Heinrich: Walks around Weimar to geographical, geological, botanical, prehistoric and early historical and art historical sights (Weimarer Schriften; Issue 46). Stadtmuseum Weimar, Weimar 1991, ISBN 3-910053-21-1
  • Wilhelm Herrmann: The Denstedt Castle. Structural studies . In: Scientific journal of the University of Architecture and Building Weimar , 7th year (1959/60), issue 2, pp. 187 ff.
  • Hermann Heubach: Denstedt Castle near Weimar. Archival studies . (Scientific supplement to the 1912 annual report of the Grand Ducal Realgymnasium in Weimar). Hofdruckerei, Weimar 1912
  • Constantin Kronfeld: Regional studies of the Grand Duchy of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach . Olms, Hildesheim 2004 (repr. Of the edition Weimar 1879)
  • Klaus-Peter Lange, Roland Dreßler: Thuringian mansions on the Ilm . Wartburgverlag, Jena 1991, ISBN 3-86160-029-3 , pp. 69-75
  • Paul Lehfeldt: Architectural and art monuments of Thuringia . Verlag für Kunstreproduktionen, Neustadt / Aisch 2000 (Repr. Of the Jena 1893 edition)
  • BM Linker: The barons of Linker and Lutzenwick and of Lyncker in Thuringia. Family chronicle . Mindelheim 2005, pp. 95-161
  • Christian Misch: Denstedt Castle . In: Symposium Rediscovering and maintaining locks - just a burden? Thuringian State Office for Monument Protection, Erfurt 2001, pp. 33–35
  • Dorothee Reimann: Denstedt Castle - a doctor's dream . In: Monuments , 2004, issue 7/8, Bonn 2004
  • Manfred Salzmann u. a .: The district of Weimar. A local lore . Weimar City Museum, Weimar
    • 2. Cities and municipalities 1 (Weimarer Schriften; Vol. 41). 1982, p. 105 f.

Web links

Commons : Burg Denstedt  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 51 ° 0 ′ 2.8 "  N , 11 ° 22 ′ 56.7"  E