Reichenberg Castle (Odenwald)

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Reichenberg Castle
Inner defensive wall with the hall of the "Krumme Bau" (photo 2009)

Inner defensive wall with the hall of the "Krumme Bau" (photo 2009)

Alternative name (s): Reichenberg Castle, Reichelsheim Castle, Rychenburg, Richenburg
Creation time : around 1150
Castle type : Hilltop castle
Conservation status: essential parts received
Standing position : Uradel from the ministerial family
Place: Reichelsheim (Odenwald)
Geographical location 49 ° 42 '57.5 "  N , 8 ° 50' 55"  E Coordinates: 49 ° 42 '57.5 "  N , 8 ° 50' 55"  E
Height: 328  m above sea level NN
Reichenberg Castle (Hesse)
Reichenberg Castle

The Reichenberg Castle is located in Reichelsheim in Odenwald , 100 m above the town and 328 m above sea level. It is not an actual castle , but the ruins of a hilltop castle , the palas and buildings of the outer castle are used again today and are privately owned.

history

Entrance to the outer bailey
The Gothic Michael’s Chapel next to the castle gate
Castle café and conference center

According to a source, the first castle is said to have been built by the Lords of Crumpach around 1150. Shortly after 1200 the area around Reichelsheim went to the Schenken zu Erbach . According to another source, the Erbacher Schenk Johann I (d. 1296) is said to have built the castle between the middle and the end of the 13th century. But already his father Eberhard III. Schenk von Erbach (died 1256) is documented in 1251 as zu Reichenberg . Around December 8, 1307, Reichenberg Castle was first mentioned as "burg zu Richenburg". Schenk Eberhard von Schenk and Lauterbach Eberhard smoke from Lauterbach herein included a Burgfrieden . The agreement lasted fourteen years before peace was made again due to an atonement for the "Rychenburg Castle" and other goods. The cause of the dispute was the division of the Erbach taverns into two main lines at the end of the 13th century, one of which resided in the castle. But the castle remained common property. The castle was the namesake and official seat of the Reichenberg office .

In the late 14th century extensions took place in the east and south, while the outer bailey was built with several farm buildings to the east and the secured rising south of the main castle at the gate, the Gothic St. Michael's Chapel modeled as part of the outer defense wall. The builder of the chapel was the pious donor Eberhard X. and his wife Marie von Bickenbach , whose son Dietrich grew up in the castle and in 1434 became Archbishop of Mainz and Elector. Another son was Philipp Schenk von Erbach († 1467), Benedictine - abbot of the monastery Weißenburg in Alsace. “Since parts of the archive of the Counts of Erbach in Darmstadt were bombed on 11/12. Burned September 1944, little is known about the chapel of Reichenberg Castle ”. Soon after the Reformation, the chapel was abandoned as a place of worship and fell into disrepair. It was not until the end of the 20th century (equipped with a temporary roof in 1947) that the chapel was restored, now shines in new splendor and has been used again as a church since its re-opening in 1988.

In the War of the Bavarian-Palatinate Succession , the Erbach territory as a vassal of the Electoral Palatinate, despite its neutrality, was not spared from acts of war. In 1504, Landgrave Wilhelm von Hessen besieged the castle. After the castle commandant threatened to put the daughters Erasmus von Erbach on the walls, the siege was broken off. The castle could not have withstood a siege with artillery and firearms and shared the fate of Schönberg Castle .

At the beginning of the 16th century, the old keep was demolished and the hall expanded as a crooked structure . A draw well in the inner courtyard shows the coat of arms of those of Erbach and the Palatinate as well as the dates 1557 and 1567. Since 1531, when the Michelstädter line of taverns in Erbach expired, the castle belonged to the later imperial count Schenk Eberhard XIII , who had it rebuilt in the Renaissance style. The castle survived an attack by marauding Croats and French on Sunday, June 23, 1622, during the Thirty Years' War . Although the castle was rebuilt again in 1723, it only remained the residence seat until 1731, now mostly known as Reichenberg Castle. At this time, Count Georg Wilhelm moved to Erbach, in the newly built castle. In a picture from 1804, the lock was in good condition. As early as 1825, however, the office building was relocated to the town of Reichelsheim, the castle fell into disrepair and was used as a quarry.

The former office building became the seat of a boys' educational institution in the 19th and 20th centuries . This "educational institution" was founded by the well-known Odenwald pastor Georg Anthes (* February 15, 1821, † March 22, 1901) in 1875 and in 1894 handed over to his second oldest son. As the "German Family School Schloss Reichenberg" it was the training place for the sons of wealthy families from all over Europe. In 1923, in the wake of inflation , it had to be closed for good.

In 1924 Schloss Reichenberg was bought by Jakob Siefert from Reichelsheim, to whom it is also thanks that the Krumme Bau could be saved from final ruin and who set up a pension in the former official building. Sold in 1963 to the Deutsche Bundespost, they used it as a rest home. In 1979, the Young Christians Offensive (OJC) acquired parts of the facility and converted it into an international meeting and conference center with a public castle café.

Interior of the Michaelskapelle on Good Friday

Michael's Chapel

In the chapel, the historic building is combined with modern equipment details. The sandstone work (tracery, vaults, keystones and altar) were restored by the stonemason and sculptor Erich Schneider. One of the keystones depicts three rabbits, which are connected by only three ears and symbolize the Trinity . The other keystone shows a pelican, an early Christian symbol for self-sacrificing love. In 2014, the glass artist Robert Münch designed the windows of the chapel on the themes of gratitude, reconciliation, love, resurrection, commandments, mission, heavenly Jerusalem and Christ, the living water.

Todays use

The entire castle has belonged to the OJC since 1994. This has also restored the Gothic St. Michael's Chapel. In May 2011, the historic knight's hall, restored by the OJC, was inaugurated in the crooked building of the palace, which was rediscovered in 2006. In addition to being used as a conference and meeting place by the ecumenical community, there is also the field of religious education, paths to life, in the form of an adventure course for school classes, confirmands, youth, community groups and families.

Archaeological excavations

The continuous repair of the system always results in surprises. In 2011, construction workers came across foundations in the eastern part of the Zwinger, which presented themselves as the sanitary wing of the castle, the excavation of which will allow an insight into the history of the castle as far back as the 17th century. Archaeologists have even been able to restore entire pieces in some cases. In addition to the everyday stoneware , there was, for example, real Chinese porcelain , but also simple pottery from the Frankfurt and Hanau area , which was decorated with Chinese motifs, but whose shine was only achieved by a fired pewter glaze . Broken glasses from the late 17th and 18th centuries complete the picture, the various shapes of which can be easily assigned due to the changing fashions of the time. Remnants of wine bottles , broken decorations from a tiled stove and remnants of Dutch blue-patterned tile goods complete the picture of the past. In addition to the handle of a fan , there were also lots of animal bones, which show that the feudal lords had a protein-rich diet.

literature

  • Carl Bronner : Odenwaldburgen. Verlag von Karl Zibulski, bookstore, Groß-Umstadt 1924. P. 66 ff.
  • Ralf Klausmann: Construction-accompanying investigations at Reichenberg Castle via Reichelsheim. In: Hessen-Archeologie 2007 , pp. 135f.
  • Rudolf Knappe: Medieval castles in Hessen. 800 castles, castle ruins and fortifications. 3. Edition. Wartberg-Verlag, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2000, ISBN 3-86134-228-6 , pp. 554f.
  • Bernd Steinbring and Ralf Klausmann: utility glass from the latrine. Excavations at Reichenberg Castle in the Odenwald . In: The Odenwald. Journal of the Breuberg-Bund , Volume 62, Issue 2, June 2015, ISSN  0029-8360 , pp. 43–59.
  • Thomas Steinmetz: Burgruine Reichenberg , (Ed.) Forschungsgemeinschaft Schnellerts eV, Haage-Druck, Fürth 1983, 28 pages
  • Thomas Steinmetz: Castles in the Odenwald. Verlag Ellen Schmid, Brensbach 1998, ISBN 3-931529-02-9 , p. 71f.
  • Rolf Müller (Ed.): Palaces, castles, old walls. Published by the Hessendienst der Staatskanzlei, Wiesbaden 1990, ISBN 3-89214-017-0 , pp. 292–294.

Web links

Commons : Schloss Reichenberg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Views

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Ernst Hieronymus (Reichelsheim municipal archive): Interesting facts about castles and palaces in general and Reichenberg Castle in particular , 1995, viewed August 9, 2008.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Schloss Reichenberg ( memento of October 8, 2006 in the Internet Archive ), was an earlier link on Odenwald.de: Reichenberg Castle ( memento of October 8, 2006 in the Internet Archive ), seen August 9, 2008, not more achievable.
  3. ↑ Erbach, Eberhard III. Gift from. Hessian biography (as of July 21, 2017). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS). Hessian State Office for Historical Cultural Studies (HLGL), accessed on February 11, 2019 .
  4. ↑ a b c d Angela Ludwig: History of Reichenberg Castle and Chapel , as seen on July 22, 2008.
  5. ↑ Thomas Steinmetz: Reichenberg Castle Ruins , Ed. Forschungsgemeinschaft Schnellerts e. V., Brensbach-Stierbach 1983, p. 4 ff.
  6. ↑ The historic knight's hall inaugurated at Reichenberg Castle. Echo online, May 24, 2011, archived from the original on March 6, 2014 ; Retrieved May 28, 2011 .
  7. ↑ www.ojc.de
  8. ↑ Test faith. Echo online, October 29, archived from the original on October 29, 2010 ; Retrieved October 29, 2010 .
  9. ↑ Jeppe Rasmussen: Children discover castle and spirituality. Echo online, May 14, 2011, archived from the original on March 6, 2014 ; Retrieved May 28, 2011 .
  10. ↑ Bernd Steinbring and Ralf Klausmann: Utility glass from the latrine. Excavations at Reichenberg Castle in the Odenwald . In: The Odenwald. Journal of the Breuberg-Bund , Volume 62, Issue 2, June 2015, ISSN  0029-8360 , pp. 43–59.
  11. ↑ Reinhard Köthe: What ended up in the latrine with the Grafens (Reichenberg Castle: the nobility in the Odenwald dined from Chinese porcelain as early as the 17th century) Darmstädter Echo, January 18, 2013, p. 16.