Wolfsburg (castle)
| Wolfsburg | ||
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 Wolfsburg castle ruins as seen from the Gypsy rock |
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| Creation time : | 1120 to 1300 | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | Ruin with partially restored surrounding walls | |
| Standing position : | Counts, clericals | |
| Construction: | Humpback cuboid | |
| Place: | Neustadt an der Weinstrasse | |
| Geographical location | 49 ° 21 '35.7 " N , 8 ° 6' 29.4" E | |
| Height: | 270 m above sea level NHN | |
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The Wolfsburg is the ruins of a hilltop castle on the western outskirts of Neustadt on the Wine Route ( Rheinland-Pfalz ).
geography
The castle is located above the Schöntal district on a ledge of the Wolfsberg, which belongs to the Haardt mountain range, about 130 m above the left (north) bank of the Speyerbach , which is 270 m above sea level. Corresponds to NHN . From the castle you can still see the original valley path towards Lambrecht , on which traces of Roman settlements were discovered.
The Wolfsburgstrasse and Schlossstrasse, which lead in a wide curve uphill for about 2 km, serve as access to the castle. A 1 km long footpath begins at the western beginning of Wolfsburgstrasse, from whose serpentines there is a broad view to the southeast towards the valley exit.
investment
Because of the elongated shape of the mountain spur on which the Wolfsburg was built, the ruin is only about 30 m wide with a length of about 140 m. The longitudinal axis of the system points from northeast to southwest.
The castle slope drops more or less steeply in three directions. The northern side, which faces the mountain, was separated from the rising mountain slope by a deep neck ditch carved into the rock and protected with a shield wall behind it .
The rock platform behind this wall was once encased in the same way as the corners of the shield wall with humpback blocks and supported a square keep , which is now completely destroyed. In front of the shield wall was a fence wall , which tightly enclosed the entire main castle and the somewhat lower outer bailey. Access to the Zwinger was provided by a gate to the northeast , which, like the actual castle gate, no longer exists today.
The core facility and the lower bailey are surrounded by a shared circular wall further inside . In the area of nuclear plant adjacent to the shield wall, the ruin of the dominated transversely to the longitudinal direction built former Palas to the underlying stay spaces for guests lower classes and guards.
history
To protect the connection from Neustadt to Kaiserslautern with its imperial palace , Wolfsburg was probably built at the beginning of the 13th century by Count Palatine Ludwig the Kelheimer . It was first mentioned in a feudal deed in 1255 as Castrum Volfperg together with the city of Nova Civitas (Neustadt). The castle served Albrecht von Lichtenstein as a residence, which he had received as a fiefdom from Elector Ludwig the Strict and was no longer allowed to leave without the permission of the elector under threat of deprivation of the fief .
After a temporary pledge at the beginning of the 14th century by Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian , the Electoral Palatinate and Upper Palatinate were separated from the other Bavarian possessions of the Wittelsbachers by the house contract of Pavia and the descendants of Count Palatine Rudolf I , namely Rudolf II. And Ruprecht I. . , awarded.
Until 1423, the castle served the governors of the Palatinate electors as their residence and, together with the Frankenstein and Hardenburg castles about 15 km away, formed an important part of the defense of the old Palatine territories. Since the later electoral officials, like their lower aristocratic predecessors, were initially subject to the residence obligation at Wolfsburg, in return for keeping and protecting the fortress they received not only monetary payments but also wine, grain, the right to hunt in the electoral forest and the permission to use timber for construction if required Keeping the castle in the surrounding woods to beat.
During the Peasants' War in 1525, the castle was conquered and looted twice within a short period of time. After the uprising was put down, it was rebuilt. In the first years of the Thirty Years War , the fortress served as a refuge for the population from the surrounding towns, until it was burned down and razed by imperial troops in 1633. It has been in ruins ever since.
Wolfsburg did not play a historical role again until 1848, when Neustadt citizens who were convinced of democracy in the course of the so-called March Revolution celebrated a national festival on Wolfsburg and hoisted the black, red and gold flag.
Current condition
Today the castle grounds are part of the nature reserve on Wolfsberg , which includes the ruins and the southwest slope of Wolfsberg. The statutory ordinance on this in Section 3 also expressly emphasizes the protection of the monument worth preserving.
The archaeological excavations and maintenance work that were carried out in the courtyard and around the castle during the second half of the 20th century unearthed a lot of small finds such as coins, tools and weapon points, but also cellars, remains of foundations, gate pillars with anchoring holes for gate hinges and Castles. These finds give clues to the former appearance of the ruins and the location of individual castle areas. Because there are no historical images of Wolfsburg, an exact reconstruction is not possible. Postgraduate studies are therefore always based on found similarities with other castle ruins and on the experience of the draftsman.
Since the 1970s, the Schöntal Citizens' Association has carried out security and restoration work with the help of the city of Neustadt and the state monument offices in Mainz and Speyer . For example, excavations were carried out in the inner courtyard and the old shield wall was secured and largely rebuilt as true to the original as possible. The slope under the castle has also been returned to its historical state and freed from excessive vegetation, so that Wolfsburg is now visible from afar at the entrance to the valley behind Neustadt.
literature
- Alexander Thon (Ed.): "How swallows' nests glued to the rocks ..." - Castles in the North Palatinate . 1st edition. Verlag Schnell and Steiner, Regensburg 2005, ISBN 3-7954-1674-4 , p. 162-165 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Ordinance on the nature reserve "Am Wolfsberg". (No longer available online.) City of Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, January 19, 1984, formerly in the original ; Retrieved December 15, 2011 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Citizens' Association Schöntal e. V. (No longer available online.) Schöntal Citizens' Association, archived from the original on May 5, 2013 ; Retrieved December 15, 2011 . 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.
