Wersau Castle

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Wersau Castle
Wersau Castle around 1690

Wersau Castle around 1690

Creation time : before 1155
Castle type : Niederungsburg, moated castle
Conservation status: Burgstall
Standing position : Nobles
Place: Reilingen
Geographical location 49 ° 17 '23 "  N , 8 ° 34' 52"  E Coordinates: 49 ° 17 '23 "  N , 8 ° 34' 52"  E
Wersau Castle (Baden-Württemberg)
Wersau Castle

The castle Wersau is an Outbound lowland castle near the village Reilingen , located in the Rhine-Neckar between Heidelberg and Speyer . The history of this facility, which was later converted into a mill, is still largely unknown and has therefore been specifically researched since 2010.

Historical peculiarities

The fact that Wersau Castle must have had a special meaning is z. B. can be recognized by the fact that the papal bull establishing the University of Heidelberg by the envoy of Pope Urban VI. was not presented in the city itself, but at Wersau Castle. In addition, the existence of a Wendelin brotherhood in Reilingen has been documented since 1451 , the history of which is also directly connected to Wersau Castle and the local chapel, consecrated to St. Wendelin . A “praiseworthy brotherhood” in which - and that is what is special - the electoral family was also a member.

history

In 1782 the castle was still in ruins

Medieval foundation

When looking at the history of the municipality of Reilingen, it is noticeable that the fate of the village and the entire area has always been shaped by Wersau Castle. As early as 1286, when "Villa Reitling" was mentioned for the first time in the Lorsch Codex , the district was located in the border area of ​​the two old royal forests Lußhardt and Schwetzinger Hardt . The Lußhardt, i.e. the forests that extended to the Franconian royal court in Bruchsal , was already in 1056 by King Heinrich III. was given to the diocese of Speyer . Only seven years later, Heinrich IV expanded the episcopal forest property to include today's Schwetzinger Hardt.

Domain

From old documents we know that the kings on the Kraichbach already owned a castle, which was called "Walsrhawe". From this the term "Wersau" developed over the years . At that time, the well-fortified castle complex had the task of protecting the surrounding forests and the traffic routes. The villages of Reilingen and Hockenheim and, for a short time, Oftersheim and St. Leon belonged to the domain . Since there are no precise documents from this period, historians now assume that the villages and the castle came with the donation of the forests to the Speyer bishops.

Gift from Wersau

The diocese then appointed a ministerial family to administer it, the von Wersau taverns. As the first of them, a Dietrich was named as a donation from the Hochstift as early as 1155 without any reference to Wersau. Eberhard, the son of the Schenken von Hockenheim, is mentioned in 1198, and it wasn't until 1236 that there was a Schenk von Wersau. From this time on, the taverns are always named in the documents under the name of their castle and were considered to be Speyer servants. In the dark of history the ownership of Wersau Castle changed to the taverns, because in 1286 it can be read that Eberhard von Wersau sold half of his castle to the Bishop of Speyer. Since he did not have the money, he passed on his purchase as a pledge to Count Palatine Ludwig II, who already owned the other half of the castle from Markward von Annweiler (also: von Kropsberg ) and the brothers von Erligheim (all relatives of the Wersauer Schenken) bought. The villages of Reilingen and Hockenheim were also mentioned again as accessories to the castle complex.

Electoral Palatinate property

In the division of the Palatinate, the castle and all its possessions came to the Palatinate-Mosbach line of the Wittelsbach family . In 1429, Duke Otto prescribed Wersau to his wife Johanna von Bayern, who later pledged the castle and the villages to Stephan von Pfalz-Simmern-Zweibrücken . Only after the battle of Seckenheim (1462) did the Wersau rule finally come into the possession of the Palatinate electors, who were becoming ever more powerful . After an eventful history, at the end of the Thirty Years' War of Wersau only a few walls, vaulted cellars, stables and a dilapidated tower with old bells stood. The ruins were poorly repaired and served the elector as a hunting lodge for a long time. In addition, the Wersau was the seat of an electoral cellar .

Castle description

Site plan of the castle after a geophysical soil survey in 2008

In its heyday, the Wersau was a stately castle with a curtain wall , a palace , probably four large towers and numerous other buildings. With the outer bailey , mill, chapel and sheep yard, 24 or more buildings belonged to this complex. The entire castle complex was surrounded by a wetland area and moats . In 1686 the castle estate comprised 154 acres of arable land and 30 acres of meadows in the Ketschau (Rhine valley between Hockenheim and Ketsch ) that could be built on. According to a plan from around 1690, the castle was an oval structure, the dilapidated outer walls of which were supported by buttresses. The complex was destroyed in 1689 during the Palatinate War of Succession . The mill and dairy that had meanwhile been set up at the castle also burned down to the ground . The stones became u. a. a cemetery wall was built, but they were also used for the construction of the first stone Kraichbach Bridge in Hockenheim by the electoral builder Rabaliatti . With the exception of the walls uncovered by the archaeologists, almost nothing can be seen of the entire castle and palace complex. Only an old deep well could still come from the heyday of Wersau Castle.

Wersauer Hof

Wersauer Hof

Towards the end of the 17th century, an estate was built east of the castle for agriculture and sheep farming, which was initially under the administration of the Electorate of the Palatinate. Later it was administered from Schwetzingen , and only a stately Wiesenknecht was still employed in Reilingen. After the estate was dissolved, the Wersauer Hof was initially owned by farmers. At the turn of the 20th century, the barons von Wamboldt took over the estate, which was finally sold to the Evangelical Nursing Schönau in 1927 . The farm is still in their possession today.

Castle mill

Castle mill building 2014

The mill by the castle has been in use since 1596, but it has existed for some time. The building stock that was demolished in 2015 was essentially from 1911. Operations ceased in 1959. The main building was then used by a wholesaling company for many years. The engine house with the stump of a chimney, which was converted for residential purposes, is still preserved. The building and the property have been owned by the municipality of Reilingen since 2007, whose council decided at the beginning of 2017 to build an archeology park with a museum there in the coming years.

Francis turbine

The castle mill was driven by a so-called Francis shaft turbine until 1956 , which was best suited for the small mill canal. The turbine is currently on display in the castle grounds. .

Monument protection

The "Burg Wersau" is now a ground monument and protected according to the Monument Protection Act of the State of Baden-Württemberg (DSchG). Investigations and targeted collection of finds are subject to approval, and accidental finds are reported to the monument authorities. Official entry in the list of cultural monuments: "The existence of Wersau Castle has been documented since 1155, but it is likely to be a lot older and former royal property. However, more precise statements on the early history of the castle can only be expected from the archaeological evidence. The castle was built in 1622 and 1689 The mill by the castle has been in use since 1596, but has existed for a long time. The remains of the mill and the castle are valuable historical testimonies. Together with today's so-called castle mill, they form a memorial Conservation for scientific and local history reasons is in the public interest. "

research

The excavation in the gate area (2011) reached the pile grid from the 12th century.

The archaeological excavation work carried out by the State Monuments Office for the first time in summer / autumn 2010, based on a geophysical report drawn up in 2008, not only confirmed the existence of the "castle under the sward", but also brought many new findings.

In summer 2012, the Institute for Prehistory and Protohistory at Heidelberg University carried out a teaching excavation on the castle grounds. Numerous other finds were made, some of which point back to prehistoric times. In the area of ​​the former Wersau Castle, however, there are no confirmed or verifiable Roman building or settlement findings. This also applies to any earlier settlements on this site. Thus the assumptions of the Baden historian Franz Josef Mone could not be archaeologically confirmed so far. Regardless of this, the intensive research work of the Burg Wersau working group of the "Friends of Reilinger History" and the AK traces search (archive and environmental research), newly established in 2014, continue in multidisciplinary cooperation.

After the historically insignificant mill buildings from the early 20th century were demolished, the first archaeological investigations were carried out in this area at the end of 2014. Remnants of the foundations of the former castle mill were found along with the remains of the former outer bailey. As part of another excavation campaign by Heidelberg University, this area has been investigated in more detail since February 2015. Numerous new archaeological finds confirm the view that the former Wersau Castle must have been a castle and fortress that was previously far underestimated in local and regional research. The sometimes surprising and spectacular wall and floor finds are being scientifically processed and publication is planned.

literature

  • Manfred Benner, Folke Damminger: Archaeological excavations in the former Wersau Castle near Reilingen. In: Archaeological excavations in Baden-Württemberg 2010. Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-8062-2499-3 , pp. 287-291.
  • Manfred Benner, Folke Damminger: Archeology under apple trees - Further excavations in the former Wersau Castle near Reilingen. In: Archaeological excavations in Baden-Württemberg 2011. Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2012, ISBN 978-3-8062-2626-3 , pp. 282–284.
  • Ernst Brauch: Hockenheim. City on the move and upheaval. 2nd Edition. Self-published, Schwetzingen 1965.
  • Folke Damminger, Thomas Meier, Justin Schmidt: The outer bailey under the mill - New findings on the former Wersau castle near Reilingen. In: Archaeological excavations in Baden-Württemberg 2015. Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2016, ISBN 978-3-8062-3375-9 , pp. 316-319.
  • Otmar Geiger: Hoggemer Geschichte (n) - A contribution to local history . Self-published, Hockenheim 1987.
  • Otmar Geiger: various specialist articles / essays on Wersau Castle and its history. In: Schwetzinger Zeitung. Hockenheimer daily newspaper. Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung and various weekly and official newspapers (1982–2012).
  • Otmar Geiger: 725 years of Reilingen - memories of the festival year 2011 . Community of Reilingen, Reilingen 2012.
  • Uwe Gross: Further finds from the area of ​​Wersau Castle. In: Kraichgau. Contributions to landscape and local research. 16, 1999, ZDB -ID 127933-6 , pp. 203-218.
  • Ludwig H. Hildebrandt: The Wersau Castle near Reilingen. In: Heimatverein Kraichgau (Hrsg.): Kraichgau. Contributions to landscape and local research. Episode 15/1997, Eppingen 1997, ISBN 3-921214-14-9 , pp. 105-136.
  • Ludwig H. Hildebrandt: Found again thanks to geophysics: the remains of Wersau Castle near Reilingen. . In: Schwetzinger Zeitung. and others, December 30, 2008.
  • Hans Huth: The art monuments of the Mannheim district, excluding the city of Schwetzingen . Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich et al. 1967 ( Die Kunstdenkmäler Baden ).
  • Hermann Krämer: History of Reilingen and Wersau . Self-published, Reilingen 1912.
  • Ulrich Mehlhaus: The Reilinger Finding Aid. Evidence of written sources on the history of Reilingen (with Wersau), Rhein-Neckar-Kreis . Friends of Reilingen History, Reilingen 1992.
  • Franz Josef Mone : Collection of sources on Baden regional history . Karlsruhe 1845–67, four volumes.
  • Meinrad Schaab : The royal people in the parts of the Electoral Palatinate on the right bank of the Rhine. In: Journal for the history of the Upper Rhine. 111, 1963, ISSN  0044-2607 , pp. 121-175.
  • Bernhard Schmehrer: 700 years of Reilingen. Chronicle of a community in North Baden . Reilingen community, Reilingen 1986.
  • Eugen Seyfried: Home history of the Schwetzingen district. A contribution to the history of the Baden Palatinate . Self-published, Ketsch am Rhein 1926.
  • State Archive Administration Baden-Württemberg (Ed.): The city and districts of Heidelberg and Mannheim. Official district description . Braun, Karlsruhe et al. ( The urban and rural districts in Baden-Württemberg ).
    • Volume 1: General Part . 1966.
    • Volume 3: The city of Mannheim and the municipalities of the Mannheim district . 1970.
  • Johann Goswin Widder : Attempt of a complete geographical-historical description of the electoral Palatinate on the Rheine . Theil 1. Frankfurt et al. 1786 (reprint: Verlag für Kunstreproduktion Schmidt, Neustadt an der Aisch 1995, ISBN 3-89557-034-6 ).
  • Johann Goswin Widder: Attempt of a complete geographical-historical description of the electoral Palatinate on the Rheine . Theil 4. Frankfurt et al. 1788 (reprint: Verlag für Kunstreproduktion Schmidt, Neustadt an der Aisch 1996, ISBN 3-89557-037-0 ).
  • Konrad Winkler: Walldorf. City between the woods . City of Walldorf, Walldorf 1969.

Movies

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ reilingen.de ( Memento of the original from January 12, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.reilingen.de
  2. ↑ Information board at the castle