Frauenfeld Castle

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Frauenfeld Castle from the southwest

The Schloss Frauenfeld is located south of Frauenfelder old town on the banks of the Murg . The 19 m high keep made of large-format masonry was built in the first third of the 13th century; further extensions were added in the 14th century. The castle stood within the city wall, but was separated by a moat.

history

middle Ages

Since 1094 the Kyburger were the lords of the Landgraviate of Thurgau . Around 1230 they built a strong defensive tower on the Molasse rock above the Murg to strengthen their rule . The tower, built from large boulders , forms the center of the castle today. The entrance, originally accessible via a wooden arbor, was at the height of today's second floor. You can still enter the tower through it today. The small room with its thick walls and two small windows (one was built later) could be heated by an open fire. The oak ceiling beams of this room were dendrochronologically dated to around 1231, those of the floor above to 1235. On all four sides of the tower, wooden outside arbors were attached to the level of the second floor. This is evidenced by three beam holes in each of the supporting beams and the beam imprints or remains of four vertical guide timbers. At the same time as the tower, the so-called Murgturm, actually the Palas , was built on the Murg side of the defense tower , which contained the living rooms. On the plinth made of boulders there was probably a wooden log house. The entrance to the hall was on the first floor. This lower room, which was also habitable at the time, was accessible through an opening in the beam ceiling of today's armory, which was dendrochronologically dated to 1235. Since there was no direct connection between the somewhat less secured hall and the defense tower , one could have withdrawn into the tower in case of danger.

In 1264 the Kyburger died out. Rudolf von Habsburg (1218 to 1291) inherited it. A kennel was added to the side of the castle, presumably with a battlement and wooden structure. In 1273 Rudolf von Habsburg obtained the German royal dignity, the castle became the seat of a Habsburg-Austrian administrator. Under King Albrecht (1248 to 1308) Jakob von Frauenfeld (killed in the Battle of Morgarten in 1315) was Vogt in the castle, but rose to become the king's court master and therefore rarely stayed in Frauenfeld. Nikolaus Hofmeister († 1344), son of Jakob von Frauenfeld and from 1334 Bishop of Constance , had the castle chapel extended. The kennel was given a new two-story structure, the outer walls of which are still partially preserved today.

Early modern age

Towards the end of the 14th century, the court masters sold the castle to the Lords of Hohenlandenberg . After the unsuccessful attack by the Appenzell family in 1407, they dug a deep ditch between the castle and the city and surrounded it with a double strong curtain wall in places. The little door in the inner wall, which led to the lower palace garden, enabled the lord of the palace to leave the castle even when the city gates were closed. The castle now received the bolted , protruding structure that gives it its characteristic appearance. At the same time, the first level entrance next to the defense tower, which is still in use today, was broken out. The former chapel next to the castle became a residential building and a barn was built against the current town hall. In 1460 the Swiss conquered Thurgau and gradually built up their rule. Only after the Swabian War of 1499 did the bailiffs, who replaced each other every two years, reside permanently in Thurgau.

In 1534 the confederates bought the castle from the impoverished Landenbergers. From then on, the bailiffs had their seat there. They enlarged the windows and set up the large courtroom on the second floor, and probably also had the corridor on the second floor and the mansion painted elegantly. No more significant changes were made. Every two years a new bailiff came, in rotation from the seven old towns of Zurich, Lucerne, Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Zug and Glarus. From 1712 Bern also took part in the rule. The most important household items remained in the castle so that not every new bailiff had to bring some with him.

Later use

The old rule ended with the French Revolution in 1798 ; the governors no longer came. In 1803 the castle fell to the now independent canton of Thurgau, which initially used it for apartments. From mid-1809 it served as a provisional breeding and workhouse establishment. In 1811 the prison phase of the castle was over: the institution was moved to Tobel . From the following year the castle served as the official building for the state treasury, and government councilor Johann Conrad Freyenmut (1775–1843) also had his apartment in it. In 1834, the canton added the part of the building facing the town hall in order to accommodate the financial administration in the castle. The state safe was built into the tower . A little later, the lower palace garden and moat were filled in and the outer curtain wall was torn down while the inner wall was made lower. In addition, the castle shed was built in the courtyard facing the town hall, for the rear of which the old city wall was used.

With the construction of the government building from 1864 to 1866, the castle became redundant as an administrative seat and was sold by the canton. Thanks to resistance from the population, the sale to a bank did not take place, which would have demolished it and built a new building in its place. In 1867, Chief Justice Johann Jakob Bachmann-Wegelin bought the castle in Stettfurt for his son Dr. Jakob Huldreich Bachmann, who furnished apartments in it and also lived in the castle himself with his family. His daughter Marie Bachmann bequeathed it to the canton in 1955 on condition that it house the historical museum . In 1960, when Thurgau celebrated 500 years of membership in the Swiss Confederation, the palace was completely restored inside and out, and the museum was set up to display the prehistoric and prehistoric and historical collections, including the Frauenfeld miter .

  • Castle with the surrounding area

  • North facade in winter

literature

Web links

Commons : Schloss Frauenfeld  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 47 ° 33 '19 "  N , 8 ° 53' 48"  E ; CH1903:  709.74 thousand  /  two hundred and sixty-eight thousand one hundred and ninety-three