Herbsleben castle ruins
| Herbsleben Castle | ||
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 Exposed castle complex |
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| Alternative name (s): | Herversleyben, Herpfersleuben | |
| Creation time : | around 1230 | |
| Castle type : | Niederungsburg | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Standing position : | Aristocratic residence | |
| Construction: | Ashlar | |
| Place: | Autumn life | |
| Geographical location | 51 ° 7 '13.9 " N , 10 ° 50' 29.1" E | |
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The castle ruin of Herbsleben is a ruin in Herbsleben in the Unstrut-Hainich district in Thuringia . It is at the end of the main street in the direction of Bad Tennstedt . The entrance to the site is opposite the confluence of Schlossgasse and Hauptstrasse. The intact castle was demolished during the GDR era in 1958.
General
During the excavation work of the castle, which was demolished in 1958, which began in September 2000, the basement vault and considerable parts of the ground and first floor that had been preserved were found under the rubble of the originally three-story complex. A polygonal circular wall was uncovered, in which a chapel was enclosed, the structure of which dates back to around 1230. In places, the masonry, raised in astonishing quality of ashlar, is up to eight meters high. Further wall sections and cellar vaults as well as a mighty earth wall with a moat come from a construction phase from 1555 to 1557. The Renaissance master builder Nikolaus Gromann oversaw these extensions and had the Romanesque castle walls reinforced with an eight meter high and up to fifteen meter wide rampart. Further vaults were added shortly before 1600. In 1627, during a fire during the Thirty Years' War , parts of the castle fell victim to the fire and were rebuilt. The oval courtyard was provided with an arcade (1647–1690).
Under the former castle chapel of St. Jakobus, two rooms from the 16th century that can be interpreted as a dungeon were uncovered, as well as a toilet and sewer system. With the clearing of rubble and garbage from the extensive cellar and casemate complexes, the site was secured. Around half of the core castle has been excavated so far (2012), with the type and scope of the work (securing, preservation, addition, restoration of the walls) being determined on site in the course of the excavation. The earth wall is secured by laying gabions , whereby an appearance that comes close to the original is achieved through the use of inferior filling material.
Access to the castle is via a restored three-arched stone bridge over the moat. It dates from after 1747 and spanned a ditch 30 meters wide and six meters deep. The renovation work for this was completed in 2004. In 1958 the castle was demolished, presumably for political reasons, only the half-timbered office building on the inner bridgehead, built in 1820 directly behind the outer castle gate, remained. After the renovation work has been completed, it will serve museum purposes.
Starting from a previously unknown Romanesque castle complex over the foundations and cellars of the renaissance castle from the construction period 1594-1606 up to - after the destruction of the Thirty Years War on the same place - "Gotha Castle", the building history was archaeologically examined and the object as a building - and archaeological monument are secured. The castle also serves as a memorial and testimony to the GDR dictatorship. The remains of the wall and cellar uncovered from the hill of ruins can be traced back to a politically motivated destruction of the aristocratic residence, which was demolished during the GDR era .
Historical data at a glance
- around 1230: Construction of the Niederungsburg, probably under the Lords of Herversleyben
- between 1332 and 1340: Herpfersleuben Castle was first mentioned
- between 1394 and 1424: the castle can be proven as the residence of the Wettin dukes about 17 times
- 1485: owned by the Albertines
- from 1554: owned by the Ernestine court master and supreme commander of Grimmenstein Castle in Gotha, Knight Bernhard von Mila
- 1555 to 1557: Expansion and complete re-fortification of the castle under the master builder Nikolaus Gromann
- 1589 to 1641: owned by von Kerstlingerode
- 1594 to 1598: further expansion
- 1627: The castle and town are almost completely destroyed by fire
- 1647 to 1709: von Carlowitz family ; Reconstruction of the castle including the intact masonry, courtyard design with arcades,
- 1686 to 1690: further expansion
- 1709: The brothers Georg von Forstern and Jacob Wilhelm von Forstern bought the castle for 85,000 guilders
- 1810 to 1823: Privy Councilor Menz
- 1823 to 1826: Landgrave of Hessen-Rotenburg
- 1826 to 1847: Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst
- 1847 to 1907: Dukes of Ratibor
- 1907: Acquisition by Oskar Becker, establishment of a restaurant, pastry shop and café in the main castle, as well as a poultry farm and canning factory in the outer bailey
- around 1910: Establishment of a local history museum above the former St. Jacobus palace chapel
- 1945: Use of the living quarters for resettlers
- 1958 Demolition of the main castle
The Union
The "Verein Schlossruine Herbsleben eV" received the Thuringian Monument Preservation Prize in 2004 for its voluntary work in the field of archaeological monument preservation. The association regularly organizes various activities on the castle grounds in order to raise awareness of the monument to young and old and to do educational work. The castle ruins are open to the public. Guided tours can be booked through the association (see web link). Events such as concerts or theater events are possible on the premises.
Impressions
literature
- Udo Hopf: The castle ruins in Herbsleben , ed. Association "Schlossruine Herbsleben eV", 2008
Individual evidence
- ↑ «Herbsleben Castle Ruins» . In: Sparkassen-Kulturstiftung Hessen-Thüringen (Hrsg.): Cultural discoveries. Eichsfeld district, Kyffhäuserkreis, Nordhausen district, Unstrut-Hainich district . tape 1 (Thuringia). Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-7954-2249-3 , pp. 104-105 .
- ^ O. V .: Some important dates from the history of the municipality of Hersleben , in: Municipality of Hersleben. We introduce ourselves , 4th edition, ed. in cooperation with the municipality of Hersleben, Mering: Mediaprint Infoverlag, 2014, pp. 6–7; as a PDF document from total-lokal.de
- ↑ Thuringian Monument Protection Prize 2004
swell
- Information boards on the premises
Web links
- Website of the association Schlossruine Herbsleben Pictures and texts of the castle association, contact person for tours and events.