Reichenschwand Castle

The Reichenschwand Castle is a former moated castle in Reichenschwand in Middle Franconia Nuremberg County in Bavaria . The castle was built in the 13th century by the Lords of Strahlfels on the Pegnitz River and was first mentioned in 1312. The castle has been privately owned since 1986 and today functions as a restaurant, hotel and headquarters of the Wöhrl Academy.

Reichenschwand Castle, today

history

The castle in the Middle Ages

The moated castle was built around 1300 by the ministerial family von Strahlfels after they had to leave their ancestral seat, the castle Strahlfels , and was first mentioned by name in 1312 in the Salbuch of Emperor Karl IV . Despite the protective river Pegnitz and the four watchtowers , Emperor Charles IV did not want to include the castle in his castle network. From 1515 to 1531 the manor in Reichenschwand was occupied by knights. Knight Ulrich von Ratz was lord of the castle until 1531. According to tradition, he made his living through massive tolls from Nuremberg merchants' trains on their way to Prague .

Bonaventure I of Furtenbach

The wealthy merchant Bonaventura I. Furtenbach from a Nuremberg family first mentioned in 1371 bought the castle , had it demolished in 1531 and a new Renaissance castle built. As a gesture of grace and gratitude for financial support, Emperor Charles V gave him the right to call the moated castle "Reichenschwand Castle". As lord of the castle, Bonaventura I bought the parish loan from the cathedral chapter of Bamberg and undertook to build a rectory and maintain it, including the pastor's salary. Thanks to the friendship between Bonaventure I and Emperor Charles V, he was given back the right of jurisdiction that had been withdrawn from the von Ratz family. After his death in 1564 the property was transferred to his son Bonaventura II.

1618 to 1900

Death shield of Georg Sigmund von Furtenbach († 1703) in the parish church of St. Afra Reichenschwand

In the Thirty Years War from 1618 to 1648, the palace and town of Reichenschwand were largely destroyed. In 1703 the castle was ravaged by looters and thieves until the great-grandson of Bonaventure I, Johann Wilhelm von Furtenbach, significantly redesigned the castle between 1700 and 1770. In 1768, the Furtenbach on Reichenschwand were included among the "legally competent families" of the imperial city of Nuremberg and thus in the second class of society after the Nuremberg patriciate .

After the French Revolution in the 18th century, the city of Reichenschwand went bankrupt because the French King Louis XIV was unable to repay money borrowed from the city. In 1816 the castle was sold to the Royal Bavarian Chief Postal Director von Axthelm, who 13 years later sold it to the knight Franz Otto von Stranski, who had it redesigned in the neo-Gothic style by the architect Carl Alexander Heideloff . After completion, he sold it to Adolf Wilhelm Fürst von Wrede , who in 1854 sold it to Christian Thon. He and his successors then restored the castle to its present form.

From the 18th century until today

A power plant that is still in operation today was built in 1905 to illuminate the castle, park and avenue. At the end of the Second World War in April 1945, American officers directed the fighting for Nuremberg from there. After the Second World War, the castle was converted into a Schroth sanatorium ; Reichenschwand Castle became a well-known health resort by 1975.

The four towers

The four towers

The four towers that still characterize the castle today date from the 13th century. At that time the former moated castle served as a weir system. The towers were connected with massive walls and water ditches in front to ward off intruders and thieves. The northeast tower was the castle's ice bunker. Large blocks of ice were stored there in winter, which should cool the food supplies until autumn. The southeast tower was used as a chapel. The two western towers, also known as "torture towers", served as interrogation rooms, torture chambers and prison. As part of the hotel restoration, these were converted into suites and are now known internally as “wedding rooms”.

Todays use

Reichenschwand Castle is surrounded by a 33,000 m² park. As early as the 18th century, the owners at that time began to plant rare trees with a great passion for collecting, some of which are only a few specimens left in Europe. No motorized vehicles are allowed on the entire site: Hotel guests and visitors must park their vehicles in front of the property line in order to preserve the recreational and health resort character of Reichenschwand Castle. A gourmet restaurant has been operating in Schloss Reichenschwand since 2009.

Use as an academy

The Wöhrl Academy was founded in 1988 as a facility for internal further training for the employees of Rudolf Wöhrl AG . The initially non-profit company was based at Schloss Reichenschwand. A comprehensive modernization of the property in the 1990s created the conditions for modern seminars; Structural additions were added later, such as the administration building completed in 2004, which is located in the immediate vicinity of the castle.

Head of the Wöhrl Academy:

• 1988–1994: Karl-Heinz Gerber
• 1994–1996: Uwe Salzenberg
• 1996–1999: Karl-Heinz Denzler
• 1999-2005: Gerd Weigand
• 2005–2009: Thomas Weckerlein
• 2009–2010: Sigmund Freundorfer
• 2010–2015: Sebastian Gradinger

literature

• Robert Giersch, Andreas Schlunk, Berthold Frhr. von Haller: Castles and mansions in the Nuremberg countryside. Published by the Altnürnberger Landschaft, Lauf an der Pegnitz 2006, ISBN 3-00-020677-9 , pp. 351–355.
• Walter Heinz: Former castles in the Rothenberg area. Part 2. Published by the Heimatverein Schaittach eV, Schnaittach 1992, pp. 109–118. (From Rothenberg and its surroundings, issue 15/2)
• Ruth Bach-Damaskinos, Jürgen Schnabel, Sabine Kothes: Palaces and castles in Middle Franconia. Verlag A. Hoffmann, Nuremberg 1993, ISBN 3-87191-186-0 , pp. 32-33.
• Wilhelm Schwemmer: The art monuments of Middle Franconia, Volume X: District of Hersbruck. R. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 1959, pp. 259-260.

Web links

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

• The castle on the castles and manor side in the Nuremberg countryside
• Website of the Reichenschwand community

swell

1. ^ Reichenschwand In: Gustav Adolf and his army in southern Germany.
2. ↑ Wöhrl Academy ( Memento of the original from June 9, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ Robert Giersch, Andreas Schlunk, Berthold Frhr. von Haller: Castles and mansions in the Nuremberg countryside. P. 351.
4. ↑ http://www.herrensitze.com/strahlfels.html
5. ↑ Family register of the patriciate of the former imperial city of Nuremberg
6. ↑ Furtenbach
7. ↑ http://www.herrensitze.com/reichenschwand-i.html

Coordinates: 49 ° 30 ′ 36.3 "  N , 11 ° 22 ′ 35.6"  E