Simmern Castle
The Castle Simmern is located in the Rhein-Hunsrück town of Simmern in Rhineland-Palatinate .
history
A castle in Simmern is first mentioned in 1311, still under the rule of the Raugrafen . In 1358 the castle, town and rule came to the count palatine . 1410 received Stefan von Pfalz-Simmern-Zweibrücken when Simmern was divided. The castle became the seat of the newly founded Duchy of Pfalz-Simmern . Stefan's son, Duke Friedrich I , expanded the castle into a palace . The castle was the residence of the Simmern dukes from 1410 to 1598 and from 1610 to 1673 . For the year 1595 125 people are recorded as servants . Major repairs were carried out in 1655. The invoices issued for this at that time have been preserved. Among other things, 280 window panes and numerous pieces of furniture had to be rebuilt.
During the Palatinate War of Succession , the city of Simmern was almost completely destroyed. As early as May 1689, the city wall was pulled down, the large watchtower destroyed and all the houses burned down. The destruction of the city ended on September 17th, 1689 when the castle was blown up.
The current New Palace was built from 1708 to 1713 as the seat of an Electoral Palatinate governor . Napoléon donated it to the city in 1802. From then on it was used as a court , school, garrison, detention center and official residence.
architecture
The castle, which was destroyed in 1689, is shown on some copper engravings . It consisted of a rectangular complex surrounded by a moat . The palace complex included a palace garden and the so-called Red House with a printing shop and mint.
Today's castle consists of a main building and two protruding side wings. In earlier times the buildings were surrounded by a castle pond on both sides.
Todays use
Today the building houses a ballroom, a senior citizens' room, the Hunsrück Museum, the wedding hall of the Simmern / Hunsrück registry office and the Simmerns city library. The exhibition by the painter and sculptor Friedrich Karl Ströher is housed in the attic .
literature
- Willi Wagner, Gustav Schellack: 650 years of the city of Simmern in the Hunsrück . Simmern 1980.
- Wolfgang Heinemann, 300 years of the New Castle in Simmern, special issue of the Hunsrücker Heimatblätter No. 139, vol. 49, Argenthal 2009.
- Alexander Thon, Stefan Ulrich, Achim Wendt: "... where a mighty tower still looks down defiantly". Castles in the Hunsrück and on the Nahe . Regensburg: Schnell & Steiner 2013, ISBN 978-3-7954-2493-0 , pp. 134-137.
Web links
Coordinates: 49 ° 59 ′ 0.6 ″ N , 7 ° 31 ′ 13 ″ E