Wasenburg
| Wasenburg | ||
|---|---|---|
 The castle ruins (2004) |
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| Alternative name (s): | Château du Wasenbourg | |
| Castle type : | Höhenburg, rocky location | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Place: | Niederbronn-les-Bains | |
| Geographical location | 48 ° 57 '37 " N , 7 ° 36' 59" E | |
| Height: | 432 m | |
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The Wasenburg (French Château du Wasenbourg ) is the ruin of a medieval rock castle in Alsace .
geography
The castle stands on a 432 meter high northern foothill of the Reisberg above Niederbronn-les-Bains and the Falkensteinerbachtal , an important connection between Bitche and the Upper Rhine Plain .
history
prehistory
Where today the ruins of Wasenburg stands, once stood a Roman Mercurius -Sanctuary and a speculum . Parts of the temple were rebuilt in the 19th century.
middle Ages
Nothing is known about the founding of the castle. Duke Luitfried's castle may have stood at this point as early as 730. The first records exist from 1280, when Konrad von Lichtenberg expanded the (probably already existing) castle.
The Wasenburg was a fiefdom from the Bishop of Strasbourg to the Lords of Lichtenberg . The oldest surviving testimony that the castle belongs to the Lichtenberg property comes from 1335. Here it was assigned to the Wörth office, which was established in the 13th century. In 1378 the castle was pledged to Wilhelm von Born (or Burne). This could mean the father of the later Würzburg bishop Johann II von Brunn , Wilhelm von Brunn († 1401). The castle was redeemed again in 1400 by Johann von Lichtenberg . In 1407 it was pledged again and later redeemed. When Jakob von Lichtenberg, the last male member of the house, died in 1480 , the inheritance was shared between his two nieces, Anna and Elisabeth. Anna had married Count Philipp IV of Hanau (1514–1590), Elisabeth von Lichtenberg (* 1444; † 1495) Simon IV. Wecker von Zweibrücken-Bitsch . The Wörth office - and thus Wasenburg as well - came to Zweibrücken-Bitsch when it was divided.
Modern times
The castle was damaged during the German Peasants' War in 1525 and then gradually fell into disrepair. In 1570 there was another inheritance that brought the Wörth office to the County of Hanau-Lichtenberg : Count Jakob von Zweibrücken-Bitsch (* 1510; † 1570) and his brother Simon V. Wecker , who died in 1540, each left only one daughter as heir. Count Jakob's daughter, Margarethe (* 1540; † 1569), was married to Philipp V von Hanau-Lichtenberg (* 1541; † 1599). The legacy resulting from this constellation also included the second half of the former Lichtenberg rule, which was not already governed by Hanau-Lichtenberg.
In 1677 the castle was finally destroyed by the French. With the reunion policy of France under King Louis XIV , the Wörth office and with it the Wasenburg came under French suzerainty. After the death of the last Hanau count, Johann Reinhard III. , the inheritance - and with it the Wasenburg - fell in 1736 to the son of his only daughter, Charlotte , the hereditary prince and later Landgrave Ludwig (IX.) of Hesse-Darmstadt . In 1770 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe visited Wasenburg. An inscription still reminds of this visit today.
investment
Large parts of the walls of the former castle have been preserved , especially the mighty shield wall . The windows still preserved on the first floor of the Palas are worth seeing .
literature
- Nicolas Mengus, Jean-Michel Rudrauf: Châteaux forts et fortifications médiévales d′Alsace. Dictionnaire d′histoire et d′architecture . La Nuée Bleue, Strasbourg 2013, ISBN 978-2-7165-0828-5 , pp. 335–337.
- Bernhard Metz, Thomas Biller: Wasenburg. In: Jürgen Keddigkeit , Ulrich Burkhart, Rolf Übel (eds.): Palatinate Castle Lexicon. Volume 4.2: St-Z (= contributions to the history of the Palatinate . Vol. 12.4.2). Institute for Palatinate History and Folklore, Kaiserslautern 2007, ISBN 978-3-927754-56-0 , pp. 230-239.
- Thomas Biller, Bernhard Metz: The early Gothic castle building in Alsace (1250-1300) (= The castles of Alsace. Architecture and history. Vol. 3). Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-422-06132-0 , pp. 255-264.
- Fritz Eyer: The territory of the Lords of Lichtenberg 1202-1480. Investigations into the property, the rule and the politics of domestic power of a noble family from the Upper Rhine . In: Writings of the Erwin von Steinbach Foundation . 2nd edition, unchanged in the text, by an introduction extended reprint of the Strasbourg edition, Rhenus-Verlag, 1938. Volume 10 . Pfaehler, Bad Neustadt an der Saale 1985, ISBN 3-922923-31-3 (268 pages).
- JG Lehmann: Thirteen castles in Lower Alsace and Bad Niederbronn. According to historical documents . Strasbourg 1978.
- Charles Matthis: The Wasenburg. An Alsatian knight's castle in the 14th century and a Roman temple of Mercury . Heitz, Niederbronn-les-Bains 1906.
Web links
- Description and photos (French)
- History and photos (French)
- Brief History of the castle (English)
- History and photos (German)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Eyer, p. 141.
- ↑ Eyer, p. 148.
- ↑ Eyer, p. 239.
- ↑ History of Wasenbourg Castle (French)
- ^ New German biography: Johann II. Von Brunn