Lichtenegg Castle (Epfendorf)

View from near Harthausen to Lichtenegg Castle

Lichtenegg Castle , formerly Harthausen Castle , is a historic castle northwest of Harthausen, a suburb of the Epfendorf municipality in the Rottweil district in Baden-Württemberg .

It stands on a hill above the Schenkenbachtal in the middle of a wooded area and is the only surviving and inhabited castle in the upper Neckar valley . Its roots lie in a medieval castle from the middle of the 12th to the middle of the 13th century, which was changed around 1560 to become today's complex. The buildings are privately owned and cannot be visited.

In 1986, Lichtenegg Castle was included in the Rottweil district's list of monuments as a cultural monument in accordance with Section 2 of Baden-Württemberg's Monument Protection Act .

history

Today's castle was built around 1560 on the site of a previous medieval building, of which some Romanesque parts have been preserved in the basement.

From the second half of the 13th century, the castle at that time - like the town of Harthausen - was a fiefdom of the Lords of Geroldseck and came from these in 1471 with Sulz to the House of Württemberg . The first officially guaranteed feudal takers were the heels of Harthausen, followed by the Lords of Ehingen and the Lords of Rosenfeld. In 1549 the complex came into the possession of the Lords of Stain , who rebuilt the building and had today's castle built. The family remained the owner until 1868 or 1870, when the buildings were sold to the barons von Neubronner by Baron vom Stain that year . They had the castle renewed in the style of historicism after the first renovation work had already been carried out in 1834.

Until 1836, the complex was still called Harthausen Castle before it was given its current name Lichtenegg.

Building description

The castle consists of two building wings with an asymmetrical floor plan, which are connected by a narrow connecting structure. The basement of the castle dates back to the Middle Ages , which is evidenced by the preserved Romanesque cellar vault and an archway from the same period. The stump of a tower still stands on the southern corner of the kennel wall .

The palace complex also includes the palace chapel in the late Renaissance style . It was built in 1720 and is dedicated to St. Michael . Inside, a tombstone commemorates the former lord of the castle and writer Karl Heinrich von Neubronner .

literature

• Max Miller , Gerhard Taddey (ed.): Handbook of the historical sites of Germany . Volume 6: Baden-Württemberg (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 276). 2nd, improved and enlarged edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 1980, ISBN 3-520-27602-X .
• Karl Heinrich von Neubronner: Lichtenegg Castle, legend, preservation of monuments and history . In: Rottweiler Geschichts- und Altertumsverein (Ed.): Rottweiler Heimatblätter. Country and people - yesterday and today from the Black Forest, Baar and Alb . Volume 19, 1952.

Web links

• Information about the castle on the website of the municipality of Epfendorf
• Black and white aerial view of the castle

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Website of the Epfendorf community , as of October 28, 2008.
2. ↑ burg-ruinen.de , as of May 3, 2018.
3. ↑ M. Miller, G. Taddey: Handbook of the historical sites of Germany
4. ↑ swr.de, as of October 28, 2008.
5. ↑ Fred Oberhauser (ed.): Literary guide through Germany . 1st edition. Insel-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1983, ISBN 3-458-14083-2 , p. 620.

Coordinates: 48 ° 16 ′ 8 ″  N , 8 ° 37 ′ 29 ″  E