Erffa moated castle
| Erffa Castle | ||
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 Erffa Castle (around 1685) |
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| Alternative name (s): | The old castle at Erffa | |
| Creation time : | after 1100 | |
| Castle type : | Niederungsburg | |
| Conservation status: | Burgstall | |
| Standing position : | originally noble free | |
| Place: | Friedrichswerth | |
| Geographical location | 50 ° 59 '32.3 " N , 10 ° 32' 40.8" E | |
| Height: | 225 m above sea level NN | |
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The Erffa moated castle is a defunct fortification built in the Middle Ages on the Nesse near Friedrichswerth in the Gotha district in Thuringia .
location
The structural remains of the moated castle are hidden under the Friedrichswerth palace complex in the east of the village. The castle with the associated farm wing formed an area on the Nesse that was separated from the village .
history
The Lords of Erffa come, first documented in 1170 with Hartungus de Erfaha as a knight in appearance, this noble family, accordingly, as Thuringian nobility . As early as the beginning of the 9th century, today's town of Friedrichswerth is mentioned in a list of the goods of the Hersfeld Monastery, built by Archbishop Lullus († 786) of Mainz, under the name of villa Erphohi . It is unclear and not verifiable whether there is a direct connection between the high medieval knight family and this early medieval name. The lower Nessetal was ruled in the High Middle Ages by the Fulda monastery and the court officials of the Thuringian landgraves , who built the castle complexes in Goldbach , Wangenheim and today's Friedrichswerth. Originally noble , the lords of Erffa became feudal men of the Wettins after the war of succession and expanded and modernized their castle complex.
Whether the castle was involved in the fierce fighting between King Adolf of Nassau and the Wettins cannot be found in the chronicles. In 1390, Landgrave Balthasar bought the fiefdom of Fulda. Until 1677 the castle and village remained in the possession of the Erffen. A pen drawing in the report from the tower button found in 1898 provides the only known representation of this castle complex. In 1677–1680 all the buildings described were removed and the old moat filled with rubble.
investment
The castle consisted of by a wide moat surrounding the main castle , and the east upstream economic courts of the bailey . The core castle consisted in the south of the inner courtyard, which was surrounded by three high defense towers and a wall, in the north was the outer courtyard with farm and residential buildings. Access to the outer bailey is via a wooden walkway in the east of the inner bailey. A low wall enclosed the outer courtyard of the main castle, another wall in front of the inner courtyard as the boundary of the moat. The moat had connecting ditches to the Nesse in the east and west to enable water to be exchanged and to regulate the water level. The outlying farm buildings formed three generously dimensioned courtyards, each separated by walls and fences, which were also completely sacrificed for the later palace construction.
Current situation and usage
The castle complex is no longer available above ground due to the subsequent castle construction . The castle with park is a designated architectural and ground monument . The outdoor area is open to the public.
literature
- Franz Brumme: The castle of Erffa and Friedrichswerth (reprint from the Ortschronik Friedrichswerth from 1899) Bad Langensalza 1994, Verlag Rockstuhl, ISBN 3-929000-37-7
- Thomas Bienert: Friedrichswerth, Burg Erffa In: Medieval castles in Thuringia, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2000, p. 73, ISBN 3-86134-631-1
Individual evidence
- ↑ Thuringian Land Survey Office TK25 - sheet 5029 Waltershausen N , Erfurt 1995, ISBN 3-86140-049-9
- ↑ Original in the StArchiv Marburg, Stift Hersfeld
