Goldstein castle

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Goldstein castle
Reconstruction after Carl Theodor Reiffenstein

Reconstruction after Carl Theodor Reiffenstein

Alternative name (s): Goldstein farm, Wiesenhof
Creation time : probably 14th century
Castle type : Niederungsburg
Conservation status: Burgstall
Standing position : Gentry
Place: Frankfurt-Goldstein
Geographical location 50 ° 5 '0.3 "  N , 8 ° 36' 36.8"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 5 '0.3 "  N , 8 ° 36' 36.8"  E
Height: 96  m above sea level NHN
Wasserburg Goldstein (districts of Frankfurt am Main)
Goldstein castle

The Wasserburg Goldstein (also Hof Goldstein or Wiesenhof ) is a defunct fortified aristocratic seat southwest of Frankfurt am Main in the area of ​​today's Frankfurt-Goldstein settlement in Hesse . Apart from today's Goldsteinpark, nothing of the facility is visible.

Friedrich Philipp Usener: Hof Goldstein near Schwanheim , 1832
L. Grünbaum: Emilie Ortlepp, Countess von Reichenbach-Lessonitz, around 1825

history

Moated castle

Unlike most of Frankfurt's districts, the Goldstein settlement did not emerge from a medieval suburb. The older literature assumed a royal Meierhof as the first facility on the site of today's settlement, as this is located in the area of ​​the former imperial forest. However, such a previous building could neither be documented nor proven archaeologically.

If one continues to follow the older literature, the Meierhof was owned in the 14th century by the lower noble family “zum Goldstein”, which has been tangible since the middle of the 13th century. The origin of the name is unclear. In 1348 a representative of the family named Johann Goldstein is said to have built a "castle" here, in which the former moated castle can be seen. However, this tradition contradicts the privilege of Emperor Ludwig IV. Of 1336, according to which no castle-like structure could be built within five miles of the city .

Regardless of this, the documentary mentions and recent archaeological investigations indicate the existence of a strongly fortified complex that was clearly superior to that of the other courtyards in the urban area of ​​the 14th century. Among other things, there is talk of "Burg", "castrum" and "arx Chrysolia". In 1382 the aldermen Johann von Holzhausen owned one part of the court and an Ortwin von der Ecke owned the other part, as can be seen from a donation made to the court chapel in the same year.

Ortwin von der Ecke must have sold his stake to the builder family in the coming years. For 1397 included Johann von Holzhausen and Gutgen Goldstein as a joint owner of a truce with the city of Frankfurt. In the same year, Herte Goldstein and Guda Offenbachin sold half of the castle to the city; the city was able to acquire the other half three years later from Johann von Holzhausen, Gutgen Goldstein and Herte von Breitenbach, so that Goldstein had been in full municipal ownership since 1400. The city then suspended there as bailiff Wolf von Praunheim-Sachsenhausen , a brother of the then incumbent city mayor Rudolph III. von Praunheim , a.

In the prince uprising that followed the Schmalkaldic War , the castle complex was set on fire and destroyed on August 8, 1552 by the soldiers of Albrecht Alcibiades , who moved away after an unsuccessful siege of the city . It was rebuilt as an estate from the beginning of the 17th century. By ceding a part of the area to Kurmainz , the Wiesenhof was created south of Hof Goldstein .

Goldstein Estate

In 1826 the city ceded sovereignty to the Duchy of Nassau and was given land in Niederrad . In 1840, Countess Emilie von Reichenbach-Lessonitz , mistress and later second wife of Elector Wilhelm II of Hesse-Kassel , bought the court. After her death (1843), her children Louise and Wilhelm inherited half of the estate and shared the income. After her marriage to Privy Councilor Imperial Count Carl August von Bose in 1845, Louise paid off her brother and had a new octagonal courtyard built. For this purpose, the moats were filled and the remains of the medieval buildings leveled. The English Garden laid out by Heinrich Siesmayer from 1845–46 was Siesmayer's first major commission. The design was carried out by his father Philipp Siesmayer and still exists today, even if it has been reduced in size.

After the death of her sister Amalie Wilhelmine and the suicide of her first husband, Wilhelm von Luckner, Louise von Bose took her son Felix in with her. Felix, her favorite nephew, inherited the Goldstein estate after Countess Bose's death in 1883. Since he lived in Dresden and hardly used it, he offered it to the city of Frankfurt for sale in 1895 for one million gold marks (including 650 acres of fields and meadows). However, the magistrate refused.

In 1909 Felix's widow Mathilde von Luckner and their son Nicolaus Felix offered the city of Frankfurt the Goldstein estate, including 216 hectares of arable land. This time, under the far-sighted Lord Mayor Adickes , Frankfurt was interested in the large contiguous area and purchased it for 6.7 million gold marks. Since the amount could not be raised in full, two installments were agreed in addition to an immediate payment: 500,000 gold marks on June 23, 1924 and 2.1 million gold marks on the same date of the following year. The city had to pay in a stable currency after the inflation , so these payments were a great relief for the Luckner family, who had lost their fortune.

As early as 1911 August Euler built an aircraft factory on part of the site, and in 1913 the Frankfurt Golf Club leased 25 hectares and created a nine-hole course. In 1932 the construction of today's Goldstein settlement began . In 1975/76 the Frankfurt Association built a residential complex for the elderly on the site of the former castle . Only the classicist mansion, built around 1860, has been preserved and today serves as a meeting point.

investment

Floor plan based on a historical plan around 1575
View according to Carl Theodor Reiffenstein, 1849
Today's Goldstein Park

The complex leaned against the Schwarzbach flowing south with a double, in some places even triple ditch system . There were several farm buildings within the outer bailey. The main castle consisted of a residential tower in a pond. The tower was accessible via a drawbridge. The design corresponds to the pond houses common in Franconia , which can be found in many fortified fortifications in the Frankfurt area.

Investigations on the occasion of the new construction of the old people's home from December 1975 to May 1976 were able to uncover parts of the facility. They were initially carried out by the Schwanheim History Association, a later follow-up examination under professional guidance. Within the excavation, the three moats were first cut, which were marked by a muddy filling in the sandy subsoil. A corner filled with rubble was excavated from the pond in which the main tower stood. The foundation of the residential tower was finally uncovered during the follow-up examination. It consisted of a grate made of oak piles measuring 13 × 18 m. Dendrochronological studies dated it to the year 1369. The bridge leading to the tower was apparently added or replaced at a later stage, as it was built between 1466 and 1470. Several strip foundations made of sandstone blocks and limestone were documented from the outbuildings of the castle.

After evaluating the finds, the castle was probably built around 1348 without the central residential tower. A further expansion is likely to be related to the takeover by the city of Frankfurt from 1400. Small remnants of the once extensive moats can still be seen in today's park.

literature

  • Margarete Dohrn-Ihmig: The fortified court Goldstein, a moated castle in Frankfurt-Schwanheim. In: Guide to archaeological monuments in Germany. Volume 19 - Frankfurt am Main and the surrounding area, Theiss, Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-8062-0585-X , pp. 171-174.
  • Heinz F. Friedrichs: The ministerials from Bornheim and the Frankfurt patrician family Goldstein. Hanauer Geschichtsblätter 21, 1966, pp. 11–46.
  • Rudolf Jung, Julius Hülsen: The architectural monuments in Frankfurt am Main - Volume 3, private buildings. Self-published / Keller, Frankfurt am Main 1902–14, pp. 335–340.
  • Rudolf Knappe: Medieval castles in Hesse: 800 castles, castle ruins and castle sites. 3. Edition. Wartberg-Verlag, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2000, ISBN 3-86134-228-6 , p. 400.
  • Margret Lemberg: Countess Louise Bose and the fate of her foundations and legacies (publications of the Historical Commission for Hesse, Volume 46). Elwert, Marburg 1998, ISBN 3-7829-1154-7 .
  • Siegfried Nassauer: Castles and fortified manors around Frankfurt a. M. History and legend. Goldstein, Frankfurt am Main 1917, pp. 206-209.
  • Heinz Schomann, Volker Rödel, Heike Kaiser: Cultural monuments in Hesse. Town Frankfurt am Main. Published by the State Office for Monument Preservation Hessen and the City of Frankfurt am Main, 2nd edition 1994, ISBN 3-7973-0576-1 , p. 723 ( Monument topography of the Federal Republic of Germany ; materials on monument protection in Frankfurt am Main 1 ).

Web links

Commons : Wasserburg Goldstein  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jung, Hülsen 1902-14, p. 336.
  2. ^ "Wiesenhof, City of Frankfurt am Main". Historical local dictionary for Hessen. (As of November 4, 2011). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
  3. ^ Barbara Vogt: Siesmayer's gardens . Publisher: KulturRegion FrankfurtRheinMain gGmbH. Societäts-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2009, ISBN 978-3-7973-1151-1 , p. 27 f.
  4. ↑ Dohrn-Ihmig 1989, p. 172f.