The Johanniterburg Kühndorf , later also referred to as Kühndorf Castle , was built in 1315 by the Order of St
The Johanniterburg Kühndorf , later also referred to as Kühndorf Castle , was built in 1315 by the Order of St. John on the remains of a previous castle as a fort made of wide residential towers and expanded to the last residence by the Counts of Henneberg . Since 1991 the castle has been renovated from private funds and can be visited. The Johanniterburg Kühndorf is the only private property on the Thuringia Castle Road .
History
Colonization
The Johanniterburg stands on old settlement land. Already in the Celtic times there was a settlement with a fortification on the Dolmar. After the Celts emigrated, the region was colonized by Germanic people. Up to the Thuringian Forest through the Thuringians, in the Werra Valley but through Franconia. With the colonization of the Franks, ordered villages were created and the first documents appear. Kühndorf is one of the first places in the region to be mentioned in a document: Chunitorpfe appeared as early as 795 in a deed of donation to the Fulda Abbey. Politically, Kühndorf has belonged to the Franconian District, which had its center in Würzburg, since the late Middle Ages.
Lords of Kühndorf
In 1137 a certificate was issued in the Kaiserpfalz in neighboring Rohr , on which the seal of Gottfried von Kühndorf hangs. The first time someone called himself by his last name after this place and one can assume that it is a noble who sat as a knight on a horse during the war and had a knight's seat in Kühndorf.
Predecessor castle
A castle, now owned by the Counts of Henneberg, is mentioned for the first time in 1274. Remains of this stone building can still be seen in today's Castle: The stump of the keep with humpback blocks from the first half of the 13th century and in the walls built spoils . This castle was torn down in 1315 and replaced by a new building for the Order of St. John.
Castle of the Order of St. John
Under Berthold VII, called Berthold the Wise , the county of Henneberg experienced a heyday. Berthold VII was one of the most important domestic political advisors to three German kings and emperors and was temporarily appointed as guardian of the Bohemian king and raised to the rank of imperial prince during this time. Berthold VI., The older brother of Berthold the Wise, was intended for the clergy and entered the Order of St. John in 1291 and held high offices there. In 1315 Berthold the Wise sold to his brother Berthold VI. and the Order of St. John the mountain Dolmar, surrounding villages and explicitly the Kühndorf Castle with the permission to build a new castle there. That the Order of St. John built a castle in the middle of the Henneberger Land is completely unusual, because the order had no military function in Central Europe. Only three other castles of the order are known in the German-speaking area, with Kühndorf remaining as the only one in Germany. As is typical of the order, the Johanniter Castle was laid out as a fort consisting of two wide residential towers. A coat of arms stone from the time of the building shows the division into secular and monastic areas.
Expansion by the Counts of Henneberg-Römhild
After Berthold VI. and his nephew Berthold VIII., who also lived at the Johanniter Castle Kühndorf as the Grand Prior of the German Tongue, died, the order lost interest in the Johanniter Castle. The castle is for sale and will eventually be shared among the various interested parties. In 1444 Georg I von Henneberg-Römhild finally bought all the shares and modernized the castle for a defense with firearms by placing a kennel with five towers around the castle.
Residence of the Counts of Henneberg-Schleusingen
The Römhilder line died out with Hermann VIII in 1549 and the Johanniterburg Kühndorf became the property of the Henneberg-Schleusingen line. Under Wilhelm IV von Henneberg-Schleusingen, a district court was set up for the surrounding villages in Kühndorf. His son Georg Ernst even moved his residence to the Johanniterburg Kühndorf for a short time in 1569. In 1583 the family died out with Georg Ernst von Henneberg-Schleusingen.
Inheritance from the dukes of Saxony
In 1583 the Dukes of Saxony inherited the Henneberger Land, who in Kühndorf only had the administrative and court seat of the Kühndorf office , so that the Johanniter Castle fell into a deep slumber. In addition to small modifications in the Torburg , the Johanniter Castle was preserved in the late Gothic style. At the Congress of Vienna in 1815 the Kühndorf office was ceded to Prussia and from then on belonged to the Province of Saxony .
Owner of the castle from 1900 to 1945
In 1902 Prussia sold the lower castle to Michael Keßler, a farmer from Kühndorf, who divided the castle among his six daughters and gave the upper castle to Rittmeister Simon. In 1920 the upper castle was sold to Dr. Treupel, a doctor from Jena, who set up a weapons room, a restaurant and a hostel here. In 1945 the upper castle was expropriated and became public property under the legal ownership of the municipality. In the post-war years, refugees and resettlers were quartered and school meals were set up.
Todays use
In 1991 Johann-Friedrich and Gudula von Eichborn , who also renovated Friesenhausen Castle in Lower Franconia, bought the upper castle from the community and the lower castle from private hands. Extensive renovation and maintenance work followed. The historical substance was exposed again and the castle was opened for sightseeing. In 2006 Konstantin and Sophie von Eichborn moved to Kühndorf and took over the management of the castle from their parents until 2013. Today the Johanniterburg is mainly used for family celebrations such as weddings, birthdays and family get-togethers or holiday stays. There are also guided tours and the so-called castle revitalization with actors in historical costumes and with old equipment.
The Johanniter Castle was the location for the fairy tale film “ Little Brother and Sister (2008) ” and the horror film “ Sin Reaper 3D ” (2012).
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Gratis
6.00 EUR
Ermäßigt: 3.00 EUR
auf Anfrage
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