Witteborg
| Witteborg | |
|---|---|
| Alternative name (s): | Witteborch; Witte; Witteburg |
| Creation time : | 1220 |
| Castle type : | Uferburg |
| Conservation status: | destroyed |
| Standing position : | Sovereign (archbishop's) toll castle |
| Place: | Rekum or Lemwerder |
The Witteborch or Witteborg ( Low German for 'White Castle'), also called Witteburg or Witte for short , was a fortification of the Archbishop of Bremen on the banks of the Weser between Rekum and Lemwerder north of Bremen in the 13th century .
History of Witteborg
According to the chronicles of Rinesberch and Schene , Archbishop Gebhard II had a fortification built in 1220 to levy customs on shipping on the Weser. For this purpose, the river was blocked off with stakes between Rekum on the right bank of the Weser and Berne on the left bank of the Weser and only a narrow gate was left free that could be blocked off with a chain. The exact shape of the complex is not known. Presumably it was a rather small fortification, but at least it had a large tower and walls made of light-colored stone (hence the name "Witteborg").
The citizens of Bremen saw the construction of the customs barrier as a hostile act that would damage shipping on the Lower Weser - and thus the trade, which is important for the city. They then fitted out a large cog which, when the flood was flowing away and the wind was favorable, blew up the barriers below the Witteborg and pulled the piles out of the river. As a result, the Lippe knight Diedrich von Sachte mediated between the citizens and the archbishop, so that an escalation of the conflict could be prevented. In an agreement, Gebhard II left the Witteborg to the city, which in return undertook to finance the construction of a new archbishop's castle near Langwedel south of Bremen. Furthermore, the archbishop confirmed in a letter that this new fortification should not harm the citizens of Bremen. His successor, Archbishop Hildebold , had a new castle built near Versfleth in 1260 , but it was destroyed again in 1262 after fighting with the Bremen people.
In the summer of 1222 the customs fortification was broken off and the stones were brought to Bremen. Among other things, Langenstrasse was paved with them . About 300 years later, in 1564, the last remains of the Witteborg, the foundations of the walls and the tower, were removed and used for further building activities in the city.
Continuation of the name "Witteburg"
The location of Witteborg was usually mentioned as being south of Rekum on the right bank of the Weser. The Witteburg stoneware factory founded in Farge in 1852 was therefore named after the former fortification. The street on which this factory was located is now called Witteborg .
Meanwhile, a location of the fortress on the left bank of the Weser near Lemwerder is assumed, but this does not correspond to the historical sources:
- In Wilhelm Dilich's illustrated depiction of Bremen from 1603 ff. In the tabula octava (panel VIII) “Nienkercke & Blomenthal”) the name “Wittenborch” is to the northwest of “Farche”. Below is a ruined castle on the banks of the Weser (shown too high) and a ring wall east of the stream that still flows into the Weser here today.
- In his chronicle of the years 1647 to 1699, Hinrich Mahlstede reports the harsh winter of 1694/95 that at the beginning of March it was still possible to travel by horse and cart over the ice of the Weser from Witteborch to Elsfleth.
literature
- Johann Krueger: Pictures from the history of Bremen ... along with a short, geographical description of the Bremen state . Schünemann Verlag , Bremen 1855. ( full text in the Google book search)
- Herbert Black Forest : History of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen . Edition Temmen , Bremen 1995, ISBN 3-86108-283-7 .
- Hans Georg Trüper : The medieval castles "Versfleht" and "Witteburg" - origin, decline and localization . In: Bremisches Jahrbuch, Volume 94, 2015, pp. 25–45
Web links
- On the history of Witteborg. witteborg-online.de, accessed on October 10, 2010 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Thorough report by the LandesFürstlichen ErtzBischöfflichen Hoch- und Gerechtigkeit on the city of Bremen , 1652, facsimile Hermann Conring - text on the justification of the Swedish contestation of the imperial directness of the city of Bremen (Google book search March 11, 2015)
- ↑ a b Bremisches Jahrbuch ›Volume 87 (2008)› p. 237 ff. Bremen in the “Little Ice Age” ›p. 243
- ↑ See Günter Glaeske: Hildebold. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 9, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1972, ISBN 3-428-00190-7 , p. 119 ( digitized version ).
- ↑ Hans G. Trüper : Knights and Knappen between Weser and Elbe. The ministry of the Archbishopric of Bremen. Stade 2000, ISBN 3-931879-05-4 , p. 348.
- ↑ Urbis Bremae Et Praefecturaru [m , Quas Habet, Type [us] Et Chronicon, [Digitisatseite78] Tabula octava: Præfectura Nienkercke & Blomẽthal (Neuenkirchen and Blumenthal Office)]