Citadel Vechta
Coordinates: 52 ° 43 '36.6 " N , 8 ° 16' 40.8" O The Citadel Vechta was a 1666 in the city Vechta erected and 1769 looped citadel . In the 1990s, the former fortifications were partially reconstructed and today form the site of the Citadel Park with various cultural institutions, such as the museum in the armory and the Castrum Vechtense .
history
The prince-bishop of Münster, Christoph Bernhard von Galen , began building the citadel and fortress Vechta, which was originally called "Sancta Maria", in 1666. Construction was completed in 1669. The citadel protected the west of the city, the east was covered in the south by the castle, in the north by a large ravelion on the site of the abandoned suburb of Klingenhagen. City and citadel were together as an irregular fortress covered by ramparts, moats and glacis.
The main reason for the construction of the fortress to have lain in the fact that after the end of the Thirty Years' War , the forward back the Protestant Sweden and its allies from the direction of Bremen in the Catholic-dominated parts of Germany over the as Heerweg usable Pickerweg have to be prevented. From 1719 the citadel was a Münster outpost against the Electorate of Braunschweig-Lüneburg .
On August 8, 1684, a devastating city fire occurred, which spared only a few buildings. As a result, the military considered rebuilding the city elsewhere in order to get a clear field of fire around the citadel. After the citizens resisted it, a compromise was reached exactly one year after the fire: the buildings west of the main street up to the market square were not rebuilt, existing ones were removed. Bishop Christoph Bernhard von Galen ordered the residents to build new houses further east in the Klingenhagen area. This created a clear field of fire for the citadel, which now stood alone as a fortress. The fortress ring was completely closed around this, the citadel was now converted into a regular fortress.
The city, on the other hand, was completely “raided”, all fortifications and structures that an enemy could use were removed. In the course of this, the castle was also torn down, and the stones of the massive castle tower were used to build the casemates under the curtains and bastions of the citadel.
The fortress was built in the old Dutch manner according to a system developed by the Dutch fortress builder Henrick Ruse and the French fortress builder Sébastien Le Prêtre de Vauban and consisted of a regular pentagon with the bastions of St. Paulus , Christoph Bernhard , Maximilian , Ferdinant and Friedrich Christian . The bastions are named after the diocese saints and the bishops involved in the construction.
The over 30 hectare facility with a diameter of 700 meters could accommodate 200 soldiers with their families in peacetime and 800 soldiers in wartime. The citadel thus had the same spatial extent as the then city of Vechta itself. In times of war it even had the same number of inhabitants (around 1,100 people around 1700). In addition to the defense function for the Prince Diocese of Münster, she also ensured internal security and order through her police duties.
With its supply facilities such as bakery, brewery, workshops, hospital, chapel, prison, administration and living quarters, various stores and magazines, it formed its own "small town" ( Italian: cita della ) - a fortress town.
It was first besieged in 1758 during the Seven Years' War . Since it could no longer be successfully defended militarily, it was handed over to the Prussian- Electoral Hanoverian armed forces without a fight .
In 1769 the citadel was razed . The armory and caponier of the citadel have been preserved. The remaining area of the fortress was initially converted into garden land after 1769.
The Gulfhaus on the grounds of the Vechta Citadel has a bizarre history, deep in the former tribal land of the Saxons , where you would not expect any houses in the style typical of the Friesland : The house without living quarters owes its existence to rehabilitation measures in the penal system of the 19th century. An East Frisian prisoner at the Vechta JVA, a carpenter by trade, created the wooden structure during his imprisonment in 1886 in order to transport it home after his release and to complete it with a living area. But the prisoner died during his imprisonment in Vechta, so the building remained on the citadel grounds and served as the institution's own stable building. Today the building, together with a neighboring new building, is called the "GulfHaus" and belongs to a youth club operated by the company "Haus der Jugend Vechta GmbH".
Reconstructions
Citadel and Citadel Park
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After extensive archaeological excavations between 1987 and 1991, a park was built on the site of the Vechta Citadel as a partial reconstruction of the old fortress with the complete Friedrich Christian bastion and half of the Maximilian bastion. The area of the citadel park and the citadel square in front of the armory cover a total of 22 hectares. There are several gardens in the freely accessible outdoor area, including a rose garden with an open baroque pavilion. The partial reconstruction is limited to the north and west by moats, which are accompanied by a 2 km long avenue with a cycle path. To the east, the park area is bounded by the Delmenhorst – Hesepe railway line , which pedestrians and cyclists have been able to cross over a bridge since spring 2018. The bridge can directly from the Citadel Park via stairs and an elevator accessibility can be achieved.
The part of the former citadel to the east of the railway line is not available for reconstruction purposes; therefore the caponier, the second surviving building of the citadel, could not be included in the reconstructed complex.
The cemetery on the citadel grounds was only created after the garrison church was demolished in 1772. The Gulfhaus, a youth center located next to the armory, was only built between 1989 and 1991. The penal facilities on the other side of the armory were also only built after the citadel had been razed. All of this shows that only partial reconstructions of the citadel were possible to the west of the railway line.
In 2006 a vineyard was laid out on the wall in front of the citadel moat behind the armory. In this mature muscatel that of Vechtas Hungarian twin town Jászberény were donated.
In 2016, the city presented a LEADER project with the official title "Explanation of the historic Parkanalage Zitadelle Vechta - Touristic and Educational Valuation". The project was justified by the fact that "[in] the Vechta Citadel Park [...] there is currently a lack of explanations and information about the historical significance of the extensive complex that visitors and school classes can work out for themselves outside of guided hikes through the museum." The implementation of the project consists in the fact that iron figures were set up scattered over the site, depicting scenes of soldier life. "The figures are intended to represent a connecting element between the previously isolated museum areas 'Museum in the Armory', the 'Citadel Park' and the 'Castrum Vechtense'."
Castrum Vechtense
Since 2012, Vechta Castle has been reconstructed on three islands that have now been completed in the style of an 11th century fortification as Castrum Vechtense . These islands were created in the northeast of the Citadel Park immediately west of the Delmenhorst – Hesepe railway line. The first construction phase was completed on September 28, 2013 with the inauguration of the 13-meter-high castle tower made of 48 cubic meters of raw oak .
The location of the Castrum Vechtense on the site of the former citadel does not correspond to the original location of the castle, which until the late 17th century was on the current site of the district court , the Niels Stensen house (the former district office) and the monastery church .
View over the islands of Castrum Vechtense and the Citadel Park from the bridge over the NordWestBahn line
Castle tower of Castrum Vechtense on the day of inauguration (September 28, 2013)
View from the tower of Castrum Vechtense during the Burgmannen Days 2016
Opposite view: The Castrum Vechtense behind the Friedrich-Christian-Bastion
Tour of the Citadel Park
View of the "nose" of the Friedrich Christian Bastion
View of the rose garden
One of several newly created beds along the western part of the circular route
Depiction of a situation that never occurred: The citadel was bombarded by Sweden
West entrance to the citadel
Landpartie "StadtgARTen" 2017. In the back left the armory, in the back right the "GulfHaus"
Youth club "GulfHaus"
Historical fighting equipment at the museum in the Vechta armory
Other historical fighting equipment
Foundation stones of the citadel in the bastion
Representation of the (fictional) defense of the Friedrich Christian Bastion
Viewing platform on the "nose" of the Friedrich Christian Bastion
New exit via the stairs or the elevator to the bridge over the NordWestBahn line
Events
The Center for Experimental Middle Ages, which is attached to the Museum in the Armory , organizes the Vechta Burgmannen Days , a medieval spectacle with knight fighters, a medieval market and many hands-on activities - with free admission - in addition to other events in the Citadel Park on the last weekend in September . On the weekend of the 1st Advent there is a medieval barbara market at the armory .
In addition, the “StadtgARTen” country party (beginning of June) and the wine festival (beginning of September) take place every year on the citadel grounds.
See also
literature
- CL Niemann: The Oldenburg Münsterland in its historical development . Volume 2: Until the union with the Duchy of Oldenburg . Oldenburg: Schulzesche Hof-Buchhandlung und Hof-Buchdruckerei, 1891 ( online ), therein:
- Wilhelm Lenz: The Kaponier in Vechta . In: Yearbook for the Oldenburger Münsterland 1971 . Vechta 1970, pp. 70–74 ( online )
- Dieter Zoller: Archaeological investigations on the Garther and Lether Burg as well as on the Citadel Vechta . In: Yearbook for the Oldenburger Münsterland 1984 . Vechta 1983, pp. 105-117
- Czaro Popko: Archaeological investigations at the Citadel Vechta . In: Yearbook for the Oldenburger Münsterland 1989 . Vechta 1988, pp. 142–166 and yearbook for the Oldenburger Münsterland 1990 pp. 188–202
- Joachim Eisleb: The Citadel Park in Vechta - An example of local recreation in the residential area . In: Yearbook for the Oldenburger Münsterland 1993 . Vechta 1992, pp. 319-333
- Ernst Andreas Friedrich : Das Kaponier von Vechta , pp. 154–155, in: If stones could talk , Volume II, Landbuch-Verlag, Hannover 1992, ISBN 3-7842-0479-1 .
- Wolfgang Stelljes: A city within a city. The construction of the citadel in Vechta began 350 years ago . In: Kulturland Oldenburg. Journal of the Oldenburg landscape . Issue 2/2016, pp. 30–33 ( online )
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ City of Vechta: The Baltic-Westphalian Way of the St. James pilgrims between Bremen and Osnabrück ( Memento from May 24, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Wilhelm Kohl: Germania Sacra . Volume 7: Diocese of Münster . Berlin / New York. Publishing house de Gruyter. 1999, p. 44
- ^ Friederich Matthias Driver: Description and history of the former county, now the office of Vechte in the Niederstift Münster . Publishing house Peter Waldeck. Münster 1803, p. 108f. ( online . pdf. 61.4 MB)
- ^ Friederich Matthias Driver: Description and history of the former county, now the office of Vechte in the Niederstift Münster . Publishing house Peter Waldeck. Münster 1803, p. 128 ( online . Pdf. 61.4 MB)
- ^ House of Youth Vechta GmbH: The Gulf House: Architecture and History ( Memento from March 28, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Tourist Information Nordkreis Vechta e. V .: Gardens: Vechta - Citadel Park
- ^ Rudolf Reinhardt: City Guide Vechta . Plaggenborg Publishing House. Vechta 1995, p. 76ff.
- ^ Rudolf Reinhardt: City Guide Vechta . Plaggenborg Publishing House. Vechta 1995, p. 69ff.
- ↑ LEADER Vechta: Explanation of the historical park area Citadel Vechta - Touristic and educational valuation
- ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives: Is a medieval world of experience emerging? (PDF; 348 kB). Oldenburg People's Newspaper . March 5, 2010