Waldemar Tower
The Waldemarturm is a former keep on the Amtsberg in Dannenberg (Elbe) . It is the only remnant of a medieval castle and the later Dannenberg Castle . The tower served as a defense , castle and prison tower, military camp, magazine, file warehouse and local history museum . Along with the St. John's Church, it is the symbol of the city of Dannenberg.
Building description
The Waldemarturm got its name from the Danish King Waldemar II , who was imprisoned there from 1223 to 1224. The tower is 33 meters high and has an outer diameter of around 12 meters. Due to its up to 3.5 meter thick brick walls in two-shell construction , the diameter of the interior is around 5 meters. The tower stands on a foundation made of field stones . 113 steps lead up to the top of the tower.
Inside the tower is divided into five floors. The dungeon was located on the lowest floor and was only accessible through the fear hole inside the tower. The dungeon served not only as a prison, but also to store supplies for times of siege. The tower was accessed via a castle building on the second tower floor. Only the third floor could be used as a living room, with a fireplace and a toilet . The former prison is believed to be there.
In 1967 a smaller archaeological excavation took place in the basement of the Waldemarturm , which for safety reasons only led to a depth of around one meter. The basement floor was covered with brick. In the sandy soil below, there were various ceramic vessels from the 14th to 16th centuries. Slavic sherds dating from the 9th to the 12th centuries were found in a deeper soil layer .
history
The tower was built around 1200 under Heinrich I, Count von Dannenberg (1169–1209), as the keep of a castle built around 1150. In the years 1223 to 1224 the Danish King Waldemar II and his son Waldemar the boy were hidden and imprisoned in the tower .
In 1569 a half-timbered structure with a spire was built on the tower. As a result, the height of the tower should have been 46.6 meters. In 1672 the tip burned down after being struck several times by lightning. It was not until 1720 that the keep was renovated and a stair tower was added . This was necessary because some parts of the dilapidated castle were demolished, from where the tower was accessed via a drawbridge at the level of the second floor. In 1732 the dilapidated spire was removed and the tower was crowned with a baroque roof dome, which still exists in its current form.
During the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714), a Danish diplomat was imprisoned in the tower for 10 years. In 1712 a French count was arrested in Dannenberg and imprisoned in the tower for a few days.
In the vicinity of the tower, the castle buildings were demolished between 1774 and 1776 except for the castle chapel, which was still used as a functional building for baking, washing and slaughtering and was demolished in the 19th century.
Since 1955, the museum of the town of Dannenberg, today a museum in the Waldemarturm Dannenberg , has been housed in the tower . The last renovation (with a modern interior) was carried out for the museum exhibition " Flood " in 2000. In addition to permanent historical exhibitions, the museum also shows topics such as "The Slavs in Wendland" and city history, the exhibition "100 days in rubber boots" on the flood in the Elbe valley . In addition, changing art exhibitions and museum educational offers complement the offer every year.
Site plan of Dannenberg Castle with the Waldemarturm, 1720
The Waldemarturm on an emergency note from 1919
Waldemar Tower, 2012
Section through the third floor, presumably used as a prison, with a toilet in the masonry (h) and access to the right of the stair tower
Lavatory in the masonry of the 3rd tower floor, referred to as the "Königsloch"
literature
- Berndt Wachter : From Dannenberg and its history , 3rd edition, supplemented by Wolfgang Meibeyer and P.-Fr. Miest, Dannenberg 2000
- Georg Schnath: You sat in the tower "Himmelhoch" , in: Hannoversches Wendland, Vol. 4/1973, pp. 7-12.
- Ernst Andreas Friedrich : The Waldemarturm von Dannenberg , pp. 76-87, in: If stones could talk , Volume II, Landbuch-Verlag, Hanover 1992, ISBN 3-7842-0479-1 .
- Wolfgang Jürries , Berndt Wachter (ed.): Waldemarturm in: Wendland-Lexikon . Volume 2: LZ 2nd edition. Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft Köhring & Co., Lüchow 2008, ISBN 978-3-926322-28-9 , p. 530
Web links
- Dannenberg Castle in the Lower Saxony Monument Atlas
- Museum in the Waldemarturm
- Brief description of the history and photos of the interior of the Waldemarturm
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 53 ° 5 '57.8 " N , 11 ° 5' 52.4" E