Lower Hardheim Castle

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Lower Hardheim Castle
Remaining today: the keep, called the Stone Tower, entrance side

Remaining today : the keep, called the Stone Tower , entrance side

Alternative name (s): Lower Castle, Stone Tower
Creation time : High Middle Ages (around 1200)
Castle type : Niederungsburg
Conservation status: only keep preserved
Standing position : Gentry
Construction: Odenwald sandstone
Place: Hardheim
Geographical location 49 ° 36 '26 "  N , 9 ° 28' 33.2"  E Coordinates: 49 ° 36 '26 "  N , 9 ° 28' 33.2"  E
Height: 268  m above sea level NHN
Lower Hardheim Castle (Baden-Württemberg)
Lower Hardheim Castle

The Lower Hardheim Castle (also called Lower Castle ) was a low castle from the High Middle Ages on the southern edge of the center of the municipality of Hardheim , located on the northeastern edge of the Neckar-Odenwald district in Baden-Württemberg . What is left of them, the stone tower , the former donjon , is now a cultural monument in the village.

location

It is assumed that the Niederungsburg, located on the southern outskirts of Hardheim, northeast of the confluence of the Riedbach in the Erfa , which forms a large eastern arc here, was once built as a moated castle to protect the place to the south . The stone tower, which is now exposed, is located east of today's B27 (Walldürner Straße) and is visible from afar, delimited by Holzgasse and Riedstraße.

history

Coat of arms of the Lords of Hardheim from Siebmacher's book of arms

The castle is believed to have been built around 1200. Their masters, the Hardheim nobility, are documented in the place from 1197 (with Heinricus von Hartheim as a witness in a deed of donation from Rupertus von Dürn ) until they died out in 1607. The castle was first documented between 1323 and 1326.

At first it was probably a reinforced aristocratic residence that was surrounded by a castle wall and a moat and turned into a moated castle. The castle is considered to be the older of the two stately castles in Hardheim, the northernmost of which, the Upper Castle, was later expanded to become Hardheim Castle and is now the town hall . While the Upper Castle was a fiefdom of Kurmainz , the Lower Castle belonged as an allod to a main line (first line) of the Hardheimers, who took it from the Lords of Wertheim as a fief. Due to disputes with their feudal lords, the property situation in the 14th century is often uncertain. Ownership was divided between local lordships, so in 1330 the parish received 3/9, Count von Wertheim 1/9 and Reinhard and Walter von Hartheim received 5/9 of the income.

In the middle of the 15th century, Konrad IV von Hardheim was forced to pledge parts of the Lower Castle for financial reasons and thus justified its decline. In 1444 the castle was destroyed in robbery and feuds by a co-owner Horneck von Hornberg against the Bishopric of Würzburg . Horneck von Hornberg used the castle as a shelter, which was then stormed and destroyed by Würzburg troops. Three years later, unable to repair the damage to the castle, Konrad IV was forced by Hardheim to sell the half of the lower castle that had not yet been pledged to the bishopric . He offered it to the Würzburg prince-bishop Gottfried IV. Schenk von Limpurg as a personal asset to secure the old age for himself and his wife and was also awarded it in a contract. In 1474, in an agreement between Wertheim and the sons of Conrad IV, the purchase contract was canceled and the castle, which had not been completely destroyed, was returned to the Lords of Hardheim (also called Junkers of Hardheim). Only eight years later in 1482, with the death of Konrad's last descendant Werner V, the branch of Konrad I von Hardheim, who verifiably owned the Lower Castle as a Wertheim fief in 1325 and again a son of Reinhard II, mentioned as a witness in 1286, went out. was.

At the end of the 16th century, in 1595, the castle was already largely in ruins. It is only mentioned as an old, dilapidated, desolate ruin . Around 1711 the remains were the property of various Hardheim citizens. In the 19th century, however, parts of the castle ruins are said to have been visible.

In 1987 the keep was released as the last remnant of the Lower Castle as part of the local renovation, extensively renovated in 1995 and a staircase installed.

description

Side view with loopholes

Today only the remaining keep can be written on. The square tower, built of quarry sandstone, about 30 meters high with a side length of 6.4 meters and a wall thickness of 2.1 meters in the lower area is only provided with humpback blocks in the corners , which also allow the interpretation of the time of construction. The tower has on its eastern access side, in addition to the round-arched entrance gate with sandstone portal that is now at ground level, a high entrance about 10 meters higher slightly offset to the north , on other sides only a few loopholes . In addition, just a few meters above the current entrance there is an almost square window opening that was presumably installed at a later date.

Todays use

The renovated keep of the castle , which was otherwise abandoned , is now a landmark of Hardheim and is surrounded by a meadow and can be visited on guided tours of the city . Since kestrels nest on the stone tower, it is closed to visitors during the breeding season. An information board explains the history of the castle and tower.

Others

There is a legend that the lower and upper castle were once connected by an underground passage.

In the Erfatal Museum there are pieces from excavations in the area of ​​the Lower Castle on loan from the Baden-Württemberg State Monuments Office .

literature

  • Peter and Marion Sattler: Castles and palaces in the Odenwald. Verlag Edition Diesbach, Weinheim 2004, ISBN 3-936468-24-9 , p. 112 f.
  • Castles and palaces in the Rhine-Neckar triangle: Everything you need to know about the 128 castle complexes in North Baden, South Hesse and the Upper Palatinate. Schimper-Verlag, Schwetzingen 2000, ISBN 978-3877421512 .
  • Handbook of the historical sites of Germany: Baden-Württemberg. VI. Tape. Alfred Kröner Verlag, Stuttgart 1965, p. 242.
  • Achim Wendt, Viola Eigenbrodt: A probe in the "Lower Castle" in Hardheim, Neckar-Odenwald district. In: Journal of Archaeological Excavations in Baden-Württemberg. Stuttgart 1989, pp. 250-252.

Web links

Commons : Untere Burg Hardheim  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Geography BW Online: Hardheim (Altgemeinde / Teilort) , accessed on January 13, 2016
  2. ↑ a b c d Website of the Hardheim community: Untere Burg - Steinerner Turm , accessed on January 13, 2016
  3. ↑ a b Untere Burg Hardheim on www.burgenwelt.de , accessed on January 13, 2016
  4. ↑ a b website at burgenarchiv.de , accessed on January 13, 2016
  5. ↑ a b Website of the local government association, accessed on January 13, 2016
  6. ^ Entry on Hardheim: Untere Burg, Niedere Burg in the private database "Alle Burgen". Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  7. ↑ Hardheim over the centuries. The Erfatal Museum website, accessed on January 13, 2016