Michelbach Castle on the Bilz

The Michelbach lock on the Bilz in Michelbach an der Bilz in the district of Schwäbisch Hall in Baden-Wuerttemberg was in the early 17th century as a widow seat of the taverns of Limpurg built. However, the castle was never used for its intended purpose and was never used by a lordship; instead, living and office rooms were set up in the Small Castle for lordly officials and the main building was used for agricultural purposes. The castle gradually fell into disrepair and was not restored until 1926 by Ludwig Wunder to set up a vegetarian country school. Today it houses part of theEvangelical School Center Michelbach .

history

Originally there was no permanent manor house in Michelbach an der Bilz . The place belonged to the Limpurg taverns from the 14th century at the latest . Schenk Friedrich VII von Limpurg assigned the place to his first wife Margarethe von Erbach as Wittum in 1558 . After Margaret's death, he assigned the place to his second wife Agnes von Limpurg-Gaildorf-Schmiedefeld in the marriage contract of 1567. This in turn took her widow's residence in Obersontheim and gave Michelbach to her son, Wilhelm Schenk von Limpurg , so that he could show a Wittum for his wife Dorothea zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg , who was born in 1606 and was a countess of Reuss-Plauen . In 1608, the Limpurg taverns, which at that time managed their property as a condominium for seven brothers and had to build several widow's residences, decided first to build a simple widow's house in Michelbach. Schenk Wilhelm wanted to win the Graubünden masters Gilg Vältin and Hans Rigeis as master builders , but they had been busy with orders for years. However, Vältin and Rigeis brokered a third Graubündner, Nicolas Androi from Roveredo , who presented plans for a widow's building in Obersontheim in the spring of 1609 and concluded a work contract with the Limpurg taverns in June 1609. Androi and his servants moved to Michelbach during the summer months in the following years and supervised the construction work, which was largely outsourced to local craftsmen. Schenk Wilhelm was meanwhile active in Göppingen until 1618 and from then on lived with his wife again in Obersontheim, from where the completion of the Michelbacher Castle was driven forward. According to the accounts received, the expansion of the castle dragged on at least until 1628.

The castle consists of a three-storey rectangular main building with a volute gable and stair tower as well as the two-winged two -storey extension called the Small Castle . However, it remained without residents, as it was not needed as a place of residence and Dorothea, who was thus a widow's residence, died in 1631 before Schenk Wilhelm. Schenk Wilhelm died in 1633, after his death there were protracted disputes about his inheritance, ultimately the princes of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg later benefited from the castle .

The castle survived the Thirty Years' War without any major damage. While the main building was still empty, office rooms and an official apartment for the forester of the Michelbach office were set up in the small castle . A widow from the von Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg family also had her widow's residence in the same building. In the 18th century there were plans for the main building to be used by the manor, as indicated by conversions in the court room from that time. However, the castle was not occupied, so that most of the time the main building was essentially used as a hay barn and granary for other purposes. In the early 20th century, the company finally considered selling it for demolition.

In 1926, the reform pedagogue Ludwig Wunder leased the dilapidated castle from the Counts of Löwenstein for 50 years, made a makeshift renovation and founded a vegetarian country school in it, which existed until 1945. The usage conditions included the obligation to renovate the castle within nine years, which Wunder succeeded in half the time. In 1940, Wunder also had the attic of the palace expanded in order to gain additional space for classrooms and student rooms. After the Second World War, many of the refugees and displaced persons pouring into Michelbach were quartered in the castle. In 1946, the newly founded Michelbach / Bilz teachers' college was located in the castle. In 1954 the school was converted into a Protestant advanced high school. In the first few years, the school could only use part of the castle, as refugees were still quartered and the buildings had to be extensively renovated after they moved out. Later the school was able to move into the entire castle and also built some new buildings in the vicinity of the castle. The castle is still part of the Michelbach Evangelical School Center .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Androi is also referred to in the documents as Nicolas Untrew von Roffle in Sachsenthal .
2. ↑ Giszlen Sedlaczek: History of the Vegetarian Landerziehungsheim Schloß Michelbach an der Bilz . In: Michelbach an der Bilz. Contributions to the past and present , Michelbach an der Bilz 1980, pp. 310–327.
3. ↑ Erich fearful: The difficult lot of the refugees and expellees . In: Michelbach an der Bilz. Contributions to the past and present , Michelbach an der Bilz 1980, pp. 388–390.
4. ↑ Werner Hehl: The Michelbacher Gymnasium in the past and present . In: Michelbach an der Bilz. Contributions to the past and present , Michelbach an der Bilz 1980, p. 328/329.
5. ^ Report on the castle from the Evangelical Radio, accessed on November 14, 2013

literature

• Karl-Werner Hahn: From the development of the community Michelbach an der Bilz and its sub-communities . In: Michelbach an der Bilz. Contributions to the past and present , Michelbach an der Bilz 1980, pp. 61–137.
• Clauß / König / Pfistermeister: Art and Archeology in the Schwäbisch Hall District , Stuttgart 1979, pp. 294–299.

Web link

• ZDF report on the castle, accessed on November 14, 2013

Coordinates: 49 ° 4 ′ 14.3 "  N , 9 ° 45 ′ 46.6"  E