Kannawurf Castle is a Renaissance castle in Rimbach 6, Kannawurf , Sömmerda district , Thuringia.

History

In 1564 Georg II. Vitzthum von Eckstedt built the renaissance castle Kannawurf on the estate, which has been in the family since 1539; there were also three other manors in the village. Inscriptions on doors and windows date between 1563 and 1565. Instead of a medieval moated castle, a three-wing complex was built around an almost square inner courtyard, the fourth side of which is closed off by a shield wall with a central round tower. The roof is adorned with a row of dwelling houses . With this form of the so-called fort type , Georg II. Vitzthum cited the construction of the Dresden residential palace begun around 1547 by Elector Moritz von Sachsen , in whose service he was marshal.

The preserved bell tower from 1586 is decorated with the family coat of arms. The north wing housed the state rooms, including a large hall; the south wing was reserved for economic and residential functions, u. a. the castle kitchen was located there. The dungeon, bell tower, a wooden gallery from the 16th century and imposing cellars complete the ensemble. After George's death in 1570, his five sons received the castle. Johann Friedrich I. von Eckstedt leased the property in 1661, as he was in debt due to the Thirty Years War.

In 1685 the von Bose family bought the property. In a renovation phase around 1717, changes were made to the room layout and the roof landscape under the aegis of Bose, creating a continuous second floor. In the window niches of the ballroom and also in the small hall there are fragments of wall paintings (including Ovid's Metamorphoses ). In 1726 the property went to the von Helmholt, later to other owners, in 1839 to the princes of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen .

After 1860 the agricultural use was expanded and a large farmyard was created, which was surrounded by spacious barns and stables. In 1914 the estate became a state domain. At the time of the Soviet occupation zone and the GDR it was a people's own property . The palace garden had to give way to stables and new farm buildings. The castle fell into disrepair, and the north wing collapsed in the 1980s. The final decay seemed sealed. After the fall of the Wall at the beginning of the 1990s, the collapsed components and roofs were secured from federal and state funds, followed by renovation measures.

Since 2007 owned by the Thuringian Monument Preservation Center and the Künstlerhaus Thüringen e. V., the partially renovated castle is now used for cultural events.

Schloss Kannawurf

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Die Untere Sachsenburg, auch Unterburg oder Hakenburg genannt, ist die Ruine einer Höhenburg bei Sachsenburg, einem Ortsteil der Gemeinde An der Schmücke im Kyffhäuserkreis in Thüringen.

Von der mittelalterlichen Burg sind noch der Bergfried, Teile der Ringmauer sowie Keller erhalten. Die Anlage befindet sich seit 2002 im Besitz der Stiftung Thüringer Schlösser und Gärten.

Geschichte

Bei der Burg handelt es sich um die Ältere der beiden Sachsenburgen. Der Zeitpunkt der Erbauung der Burg ist nicht abschließend geklärt. Für eine gelegentlich in der Literatur angegebene Erbauung durch einen Ritter von Hake um 940 fehlen jegliche Nachweise. Jedoch dürften die thüringischen Hagke bis zum 13. Jahrhundert als Ministerialen die Herrschaft für deren Inhaber verwaltet haben. Als Erbauer der Burg könnten die Grafen von Orlamünde, denen die Herrschaft bis Mitte des 11. Jahrhunderts gehörte, oder die Landgrafen von Thüringen, denen die Herrschaft spätestens seit 1180 gehörte, in Betracht kommen. Aufgabe der Burg war es, den Zugang in das zentrale Thüringer Becken zu sichern.

Nach dem Tode des letzten ludowingischen Landgrafen Heinrich Raspe im Jahre 1247 besetzte der Graf Siegfried von Anhalt (reg. 1252–1298) die Pfalzgrafschaft Sachsen. Er dürfte dabei auch die Burg eingenommen haben. Zur Verstärkung ließ er die Obere Sachsenburg erbauen.

Aus den folgenden Auseinandersetzungen mit den Markgrafen von Meißen gingen diese als Sieger hervor. Ob die im Weißenfelser Vertrag von 1249 festgelegte Schleifung der Burg „Saxinberg“ tatsächlich erfolgte, ist zweifelhaft. 1287 muss die Burg nämlich vorhanden gewesen sein, denn sie wurde erfolgreich gegen Adolf von Nassau verteidigt.

Durch die Heirat Dietrichs von Hohnstein mit Sophia von Anhalt kam die Burg 1316 an die Grafen von Hohnstein.

1319 wurde urkundlich erstmals zwischen der oberen und der unteren Burg unterschieden. Nach einer Fehde mussten die Grafen von Hohnstein die Lehenshoheit des Landgrafen Friedrich I. (1292–1323) anerkennen.

Ebenfalls durch Heirat kam die Burg von 1335 bis 1407 an die Grafen von Beichlingen. Ab 1407 war die Burg Eigentum der Landgrafen von Thüringen und Herzöge von Sachsen. Sie diente von diesem Zeitpunkt ab als Sitz des Amtes Sachsenburg.

Mit der Verlegung des Amtssitzes in den Ort im Jahre 1815 verlor die Anlage ihre Bedeutung und wurde aufgegeben.

Untere Sachsenburg

Die Obere Sachsenburg ist eine Burgruine bei Sachsenburg, einem Ortsteil der Stadt und Landgemeinde An der Schmücke im Kyffhäuserkreis in Thüringen.

Von der mittelalterlichen Burg sind noch der Bergfried sowie die Ruine des Palas erhalten.

Geschichte

Die Burg dürfte in der zweiten Hälfte des 13. Jahrhunderts vom Grafen Siegfried von Anhalt (reg. 1252–1298) erbaut worden sein. Dieser hatte nach dem Tode des letzten Ludowinger Landgrafen Heinrich Raspe (1241–1247) die Pfalzgrafschaft Sachsen besetzt.

Nachweislich der vorliegenden Funde hatte die Burg einen fränkischen Vorgängerbau aus dem 7. und 8. Jahrhundert. Die Burg sicherte den Zugang in das zentrale Thüringer Becken und diente der Verstärkung der bereits im 12. Jahrhundert errichteten Unteren Sachsenburg.

Ob die im Weißenfelser Vertrag von 1249 festgelegte Schleifung der Burg Saxinberg tatsächlich erfolgte, ist zweifelhaft. 1287 muss die Burg nämlich vorhanden gewesen sein, denn sie wurde erfolgreich gegen Adolf I. von Nassau (1277–1298) verteidigt. 1319 wurde urkundlich erstmals zwischen der Oberen und der Unteren Sachsenburg unterschieden.

Durch die Heirat Dietrich von Hohnstein mit Sophia von Anhalt kam die Burg 1316 an die Grafen von Hohnstein. Ebenfalls durch Heirat kam die Burg von 1335 bis 1407 an die Grafen Beichlingen. Ab 1407 war die Burg Eigentum der wettinischen Landgrafen von Thüringen und Herzöge von Sachsen. Im Gegensatz zur Hakenburg blieb die obere Burg jedoch außerhalb des Bezirks des Amts Sachsenburg und wurde 1539 von Herzog Georg von Sachsen an die in Kannawurf ansässige Familie von Bendeleben verliehen, die sie bis zum Dreißigjährigen Krieg bewohnte. Sie verblieb bis zu deren Aussterben im Jahre 1825 im Besitz der Familie von Bendeleben.

Um 1640 wurde die baufällige Anlage aufgegeben. 1890 wurde in die Ruine des Palas eine Gaststätte gebaut, die 1945 ausbrannte. Am 15. April 1992 wurde der Sachsenburgenverein gegründet, der sich ausschließlich um den Erhalt und die Sicherung der Burgruinen der Oberen und Unteren Sachsenburg widmet. Seit 2002 befinden sie sich im Besitz der Stiftung Thüringer Schlösser und Gärten.

Obere Sachsenburg

The fortress Heldrungen is a fortress used until 1712 with two moats , four Vauban bastions and five roundels and is located in Heldrungen in Thuringia , district of An der Schmücke on the southern edge of the Golden Aue, southeast of Bad Frankenhausen . The core of the fortress appears as a bastion castle from 1519, while the surrounding ramparts and bastions date from 1668. The main gate of the fortress is in turn flanked by two mighty round towers.

History

The first fortification was probably a wooden refuge castle for the residents of the nearby manor "Roter Hof". The first documentary mention took place in 1126. The castle was owned by the Lords of Heldrungen . A first stone, Romanesque castle complex was built around 1190 . Around 1400 the castle came into the possession of the Counts of Hohnstein . Due to high debt, they had to sell the castle to Count Ernst II von Mansfeld-Hinterort (1479–1531) in 1479 . From 1501 Count Ernst II von Mansfeld had the castle renovated and converted into a residence. The four-wing renaissance was built from 1512 to 1518-Schlossanlage for Count Ernst II. And his second wife Dorothea von Solms . In the years after 1519, fortifications with a total of 12 rondelles were built in two fortress belts and a double moat around the castle. The moated castle became a fortress, which in its time was considered impregnable. The complex of castle and independent fortress belt is characterized by the early Renaissance emerging in the Saxon region and represents an early example of the “bastionized castle”. Hartenfels Castle in Torgau , Wittenberg Castle in Wittenberg and Moritzburg in Halle are comparable .

During the Peasants' War, the fortress played an important role as a retreat for the regional nobility. After the Battle of Frankenhausen , the farmer's leader Thomas Müntzer was imprisoned and tortured in the castle in May 1525 until he was executed . In the Schmalkaldic War there were battles for the fortress in 1546 and 1547 . During the Thirty Years' War, the fortress was conquered on October 23, 1632 by Wallenstein's troops under General Merode . All the fortress residents were murdered after the conquest. Until 1645 the fortress changed during the Thirty Years Waroften the owner before it was conquered by the Swedes in 1645 . The fortress was badly damaged during the siege . The outer walls were razed in 1645. From 1664 to 1668 Johann Moritz Richter built a new, modern outer fortress based on the Vauban system. From 1680 the fortress lost its importance and the entire complex slowly fell into disrepair. The last garrison that was on the fortress was passed on December 17, 1712 by the Council of War of Tottleben. As a result of the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the Heldrungen fortress and site came to the Kingdom of Prussia. Because of its lack of military importance, the fortress was removed from the list of Prussian fortresses in 1860.

The first value preservation measures were carried out from 1930. After the Second World War , some families used the buildings of the Wasserburg as apartments. Later, a youth hostel was opened on the moated castle and a Müntzer memorial (museum) was set up, which was removed after 1990. Extensive renovation and restoration measures were carried out by the GDR from 1974 to preserve the building fabric. This work continued even after German reunification. In particular, the inner and outer fastening rings with the bastions could be saved from decay. In 1990 the Burgcafé was opened, which has since been closed again.


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Festung Heldrungen

The Runneburg (modern name; in the Middle Ages called Burg Weißensee ) is located in the town of Weißensee in the Sömmerda district in Thuringia .

History

The assumption that the Runneburg was built on the remains of a hill fort from the 6th century has now been archaeologically refuted. From 1168 the Ländgräfin let Judith of Hohenstaufen , a half-sister of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa , the Runneburg to a residence of the Landgrave of Thuringia with a two-storey palace , fünfgeschossigem residential tower , castle gate and castle walls to expand. The castle was first mentioned as "Wyssense" in 1174 in a document from Landgrave Ludwig III, the Mild, of Thuringia . Weißensee came into the focus of German history in 1180, when Heinrich the Lion defeated the Thuringian Landgrave Ludwig III in the Battle of Weißensee . and defeated his knight. Unsuccessful sieges of the castle followed, first in 1204 by King Philip of Swabia and in 1212 by Emperor Otto IV , who also used a trebuchet as a siege device .

1220 was Palas increased by a party hall. Landgrave Ludwig IV the Saint of Thuringia , husband of Saint Elisabeth , held a court day on the Runneburg in 1225. With the death of King Heinrich Raspe in 1247, the Ludowinger family died out. After the Hessian-Thuringian War of Succession , the Thuringian parts of the country and thus Weissensee and the Runneburg fell to Margrave Heinrich III. the illustrious of Meissen. The Wettin margraves stayed at the castle frequently and regularly. In 1382 the Runneburg came back into the possession of the Thuringians. In May 1440 the last Landgrave of Thuringia, Friedrich IV., The simple-minded , died on the Runneburg, which then came into the possession of the Dukes of Saxony .

During the Peasants' War in 1525, the rebellious peasants were refused entry into the town and the castle. From 1554 the Runneburg served as the widow's seat of the Electors of Saxony . In the years 1580/1581 new residential buildings were built. The gatehouse was built around 1600 and the carriage house was built in 1738. Due to disrepair of the old Roman already had about 1750 Bergfried (armed tower) are removed. From 1656 to 1746 Weißensee and the Runneburg belonged to the Duchy of Saxony-Weißenfels . After the Congress of Vienna , the city and castle came under the Kingdom of Prussia in 1815 ; The lord of the castle became the King of Prussia. In the following years the castle was rebuilt for administrative purposes. Instead of an old military magazine barn, the new Prussian district office for the then Weissensee district was built on the castle in 1890 .

After the Second World War , the Palas was used as a school in the GDR from 1952 to 1995, before the building was closed by the building authorities due to serious structural defects. Building archaeological studies have been carried out at the castle since 1988.

After German reunification, the “Association for the Rescue and Preservation of the Runneburg in Weißensee / Thür. e. V ". founded. Extensive structural security measures have been and are being carried out. The residential tower had to be protected from collapse by a steel corset. In 1993 the first castle festival and the 825th anniversary of the Runneburg took place. In the same year the museum (treasure vault) was opened on the ground floor of the hall. In 1995 the Weißensee Historical Archive was founded on the Runneburg.

The transfer of the Runneburg to the Thuringian Palaces and Gardens Foundation based in Rudolstadt took place in 1996. In the same year, the Landgrafen-Schenke castle restaurant was opened and the Runneburg Betriebsgesellschaft Weißensee mbH was founded. To commemorate the siege of the castle by Emperor Otto IV, a large slingshot was built from 1996, which was successfully tested on June 1, 1997 with a stone throw over the city's allotment gardens. On August 11, 1999, the day of the total solar eclipse , a fireball was first thrown with a slingshot .

In 1998 the historian Michael Kirchschlager discovered the Weißensee Purity Law of 1434 for the brewing of beer ( hops , malt and water ) in the historical archive Weißensee on the Runneburg . In December 1999 the first beer brewed in accordance with the Weißensee Purity Law (Runneburger 1434er) was tasted at the castle.

In 2010, however, the association stopped its activities on the Runneburg. The restaurant and museum were closed. The slingshot was already sold in 2009.

Structural renovation measures have been taking place since 1996 and are to be completed in 2017.

With its Romanesque gate and the basement of the keep dating from the same period, as well as the palace with its additions, which were extended around 1220, the castle has almost as much original high-medieval building fabric as the Wartburg and is one of the most important castles in Thuringia.

The 3B-Weißensee educational and meeting center has been located in the former Prussian district office since 2013.

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Runneburg Fortress

The Schloss Beichlingen located in the village of Beichlingen 9 km north of Kölleda in Thuringia .

History

Beginnings until 1945

To the north and south of the current castle, extensive prehistoric or early historical ramparts have been preserved, which extend well beyond the later medieval castle.

The castle Beichlingen probably by King Henry I created to protect an important pass road to the Unstrut Valley. It was probably originally an imperial estate . Beichlingen was first mentioned as a castle in 1014 in a writing by Bishop Thietmar von Merseburg . His cousin Werner von Walbeck had conquered the castle in order to kidnap the castle mistress Reinhilde, probably a daughter of the Saxon Duke Hermann Billung , and force her to marry. The count was seriously injured in the fighting that took place. His loyal friends brought him to Wiehe , where he passed his stay to Emperor Heinrich II.was betrayed. His agents arrested him to take him to the imperial court, but he died on the way, at Allerstedt Castle , from his injuries.

During an armed conflict between King Henry IV and the Margrave Dedo II , the castle was captured and destroyed in 1069. In the following years it was rebuilt and around 1080 it was the dowry and residence of Countess Kunigunde von Weimar-Orlamünde . She was first married to a Russian prince and then to Kuno von Northeim , who called himself Count von Beichlingen and was murdered in 1103. After the death of her third husband, Count Wiprecht von GroitzschIn the year 1124 Kunigunde only managed to maintain the property with difficulty until her death in 1140. Presumably her daughter Mechthild from her first marriage or her son inherited the property. From 1141 onwards, Count Friedrich von Beichlingen was named as the lord of Beichlingen and founder of the Beichling family of counts , he was probably the son of Mechthild with a Count Günther from the Sizzonen family .

From 1330 the economic decline of the Beichlinger counts began. In 1519, Count Adam von Beichlingen finally had to sell the castle and most of the county to Hans von Werthern from Wiehe (Thuringia). Soon afterwards, Dietrich von Werthern, son of Hans von Werthern, took up residence at Beichlingen Castle. Dietrich's son, Wolfgang von Werthern, had the desolate castle rebuilt together with his brothers.

Subsequent generations of the von Werthern family continued to expand and remodel the castle. From 1588 Johann von Werthern engaged well-known regional artists to decorate the castle. Around 1650, Friedrich von Werthern invested considerable financial resources to repair the damage to the castle caused by the Thirty Years Warhad left behind. In the decades and centuries that followed, the von Werthern family, who had been raised to the rank of count in 1840, increasingly redesigned the castle into a castle in line with contemporary tastes. From 1901 to 1904 the interior was completely redesigned. The von Werthern-Beichlingen family produced many important personalities in the civil service and highly decorated officers. A number of members of the noble family were confirmed by emperors in the office of "Reichserbkammer-Türkekeer of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation". They were responsible for ensuring that the respective emperor elections in Frankfurt took place in secret.

1945 until now

The palace complex was not damaged in the Second World War . From 1944 onwards, refugees were quartered in the castle buildings . In 1945 Beichlingen initially belonged to the zone of occupation of the USA . The castle was used by members of the US Army as a command post. After it was handed over to the Red Army and incorporated into the Soviet occupation zone , Beichlingen Castle was expropriated without compensation as part of the land reform . The count's family - the count had died in France in 1940 - had left the castle before the Red Army moved in. The castle was then partially looted.

From 1946 to 1951, the castle initially housed a teacher training institute. From 1952 to 1955, the GDR used the castle as a training center for kindergarten teachers. From 1955 to 1962 the school of the Association of Mutual Peasant Aid was housed in the castle . Then from 1962 to 1969 it was used as a technical school for veterinary technicians. In 1969 this technical school was converted into the engineering school for veterinary medicine . From 1970 onwards, numerous buildings in the farm yard were rebuilt or demolished for this school and replaced by new buildings that fundamentally changed the appearance of the farm yard: “Massive structural interventions”."Today, and certainly for some time to come, the major damage caused by the unrelated use of the castle complex and the loss of the historically grown building fabric remain." 

Since the 1970s, Beichlingen Castle was intended to be the central isolation camp of the Stasi for the Erfurt district in an "emergency" . 

After German reunification, the engineering school came to an end; it was closed in 1992. As early as 1991, a support association for the rescue and maintenance of Beichlingen Castle was founded. The castle has been privately owned again since 2001, but the association can continue its work. Today, a hotel and a restaurant are operated in the castle.

Today's castle

The castle complex consists of the "Lehnshaus" with the "Cold Gate" as a passage, the "High House" as the oldest component from the 13th century with valuable Renaissance rooms, the "New Castle" with beautiful Renaissance portals and windows, the palace chapel and a boarding school from the GDR era. The castle church, built from rubble stones, was extended in the 17th century by a north wing and is connected to the castle by a rare "church corridor", a truss bridge built over it. Inside there are stucco workin the style of the late Renaissance and the baroque furnishings with a valuable stucco ceiling. The high house has a rich interior with unadulterated original painting of the wooden walls and ceilings as well as stucco frames of the portals depicting biblical motifs. This is the description from 2007 by the German Foundation for Monument Protection , which among other things sponsored the restoration of the castle chapel, the castle church and the old distillery. 



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Schloss Beichlingen

The Frankenhausen Castle in Bad Frankenhausen in Thuringia was one of the side residences of the Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt family . Today the castle houses the district home museum of the Kyffhäuserkreis .

Historical Overview

The castle goes back to a castle from the Middle Ages , which was once located on the outskirts of the Frankenhausen settlement at the water gate of the city fortifications. The small fortress was also referred to as the lower castle , analogous to the upper castle, of which the so-called Hausmannsturm can still be found above Bad Frankenhausen.

At the end of the 14th century, the complex and the settlement came into the possession of the Schwarzburg Counts , who later became the Princely House of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt . The counts first expanded the former castle in the north of their territory into a fortress in order to be able to cope with the corresponding structures of the Counts of Mansfeld - fortress Heldrungen , the Beichlinger counts and the county of Stolberg . In addition to the residence function, the castle was also important for the administration of Frankenhausen and its saltworks .

During the peasant wars of the 16th century, the majority of the Franconian population converted to the rebels and rose up against their authorities. The castle was badly damaged in the process and was rebuilt in the Renaissance style from 1533 to 1536 . Matthias Merian's cityscape from 1650 shows a magnificent building typical of the time with stepped gables and roof extensions. The great city fire of 1689 succumbed to a large part of the Franconian town development, and the castle was also directly affected. Only the east facade retained its renaissance style. However, there was a lack of funds for the necessary repairs, which is why efforts were made to be economical when repairing the castle.

20th century and present

The building remained in the possession of the princely family until 1918. After Prince Günther Victor's abdication , the castle came into public Thuringian ownership. From 1919 onwards , the castle was used by District Administrator August Reinbrecht and his family as an official residence with an annex. From 1920, District Administrator Reinbrecht set up the local history museum he founded in the side room and housed the Sondershausen-Frankenhausen District Library, which he had also founded, in his previous official residence. The district court later moved into some rooms. In the turmoil of the Second World Warparts of the museum's holdings were outsourced. They were lost in the post-war period. In connection with the preparations for the anniversary of the Peasants' War, the palace was extensively renovated from 1973 to 1975.

Today's Kreisheimatmuseum was reopened on September 1, 1953 with a natural history department with a focus on Kyffhäuser and Goldene Aue and, in addition to the city-historical component, also as a memorial for Thomas Müntzer and a peasant war memorial . It is open all year round and offers a variety of exhibitions in addition to the museum. There is a café in the castle and the castle grounds are accessible to visitors at all times.

Frankenhausen Castle 

The Imperial Castle of Kyffhausen (German: Reichsburg Kyffhausen) is a medieval castle ruin, situated in the Kyffhäuser mountain range in the German state of Thuringia, close to the border with Saxony-Anhalt. Probably founded about 1000, it superseded the nearby imperial palace (Kaiserpfalz) of Tilleda under the rule of the Hohenstaufen emperors during the 12th and 13th centuries. Together with the Kyffhäuser Monument, erected on the castle grounds between 1890 and 1896, it is today a popular tourist destination.

The ruins of the imperial castle of Kyffhausen are located on the northeastern rim of the range. They stand on the Kyffhäuserburgberg (439.7 m above sea level (NN)), an approximately 800 m (2,600 ft) long eastern foothill. The premises are part of the Steinthaleben parish, about 3 km (1.9 mi) northeast of the village of Rathsfeld (de), in the Thuringian municipality of Kyffhäuserland, near the town of Bad Frankenhausen in Kyffhäuserkreis. The Goldene Aue ("Golden Water Meadows", ca. 160 m above NN) plain in the north, including the villages of Sittendorf (de) and Tilleda roughly 280 metres below, are parts of the municipality of Kelbra in the Mansfeld-Südharz district of Saxony-Anhalt.

The castle grounds are part of the Kyffhäuser Nature Park (de) – situated about 300 m (980 ft) south of its northern boundary.

Archaeological findings of several shoe-last celts at the summit denote a settlement already in the Neolithic period. Excavated Bronze Age ceramics may stem from devastated tumuli erected on the prominent spur. In the 1930s, remnants of fortress dating from the Hallstatt era were discovered.

A first castle high above the Tilleda Kaiserpfalz was probably erected under the rule of the Salian emperor Henry IV, in order to protect his royal domains south of the Harz mountains. Nevertheless, it was not mentioned until 1118, when it was demolished by the Saxon duke Lothair of Supplinburg after his forces had defeated Emperor Henry V at the 1115 Battle of Welfesholz.

Reconstruction started shortly afterwards and was accomplished under the rule of the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick Barbarossa, who stayed downhill at Tilleda several times. The rebuilt castle complex of bright red sandstone then spread over large parts of the Kyffhäuserberg ridge; administrated by Hohenstaufen ministeriales, it was meant as an expression of imperial power in the region.

After the fall of the House of Hohenstaufen, the fortress lost its strategic importance. Rudolf of Habsburg, elected King of the Romans in 1273, ceded the premises to the Counts of Beichlingen, who from 1375 held the castle as vassals of the Wettin landgraves of Thuringia. Given in pawn to the comital House of Schwarzburg shortly afterwards and seized by the Counts of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt in 1407, the fortress was already mentioned as a ruin in the 15th century.

From the time of Weimar Classicism in the late 18th century, even more in the Romantic era, the picturesque castle ruins became a popular destination for writers such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who wandered in the Kyffhäuser range together with Duke Karl August of Saxe-Weimar in 1776. The king in the mountain legend of Frederick Barbarossa, perpetuated by Friedrich Rückert in an 1817 poem, became a symbol of rising German nationalism, illustrated by regular meetings of Burschenschaft fraternities and finally by the erection of the Kyffhäuser Monument from 1890 onwards. In 1900 the Kyffhäuserbund veterans' and reservists' association took its name from the historic site.

Kyffhausen Castle

From an architectural and art historical point of view Sondershausen Palace can be considered as one of the most important palace complexes in Thuringia. It is an irregular four-wing complex. With its imposing silhouette the former Schwarzburg residence dominates today's district town of Sondershausen in the Kyffhäuserkreis district.

There is proof that some of the oldest building fabrice of the castle dating from the end of the 13th century can be attributed to the Counts of Hohnstein.

The remaining tower was integrated under Count Günther XL of Schwarzburg when the Renaissance palace, consisting of the south, east and old north wings, was built between the 1530s and the 1550s.

Under Prince Christian William I of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, who reigned between 1666 and 1720, a busy building activity started in the 1680s. The three Renaissance wings of the palace were altered and enlarged in the Baroque style.

During the reign of Prince Christian Günther III of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, the new west and north rococo wings were started in 1764 under management of the Quedlinburg architect Johann Heinrich Breit and the former architect from Brunswick, Martin Peltier. At that time the palace received its final architectural layout of an irregular four-wing complex.

When Prince Günther Friedrich Carl II, who reigned from 1835 to 1880, engaged Carl Scheppig, a pupil of Karl Friedrich Schinkel, in 1836, his aim was to give most parts of the entire palace complex a completely new appearance. Financial constraints, however, limited this project to redesigning the eastern place area towards the market (palace terrace, guard house and stairs between 1837 and 1839), to rebuilding the rococo wings in the neo-classical style (1846–1851) and to erecting the new stables (1847–1849).

As the last building measure a two-storey gallery, connecting the tower and the east and south wings, was erected in 1914 to 1915.

Prince Christian Günther gave the hall in order in 1760. The hall in the Rococo style extends over the two upper storeys and has galleries on both long sides. The dominant colors are blue and white, they reflect the state colors of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. In this hall one finds traces of traditional Baroque tectonics as well as transitional elements from Baroque to Neoclassicism and finally Rococo ornaments typical of the time. The large oval ceiling painting depicts the Callisto myth.

The construction of the hall going back to Count (later Prince) Christian Wilhelm of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen between 1680 and 1700. It is decorated in the style of the high Baroque with 22 ceiling paintings about scenes from Ovid's "Metamorphoses" and 16 larger-than-life figures in the round made of stucco and represents Greek gods. The fact that this hall was originally designed during the Renaissance explains the unusual proportions (26.6 x 13.2 metres) and the relatively low ceiling of 4.8 metres.

This room has preserved its original decorations from the 1770s. The name is derived from the wall covering consisting of small cut, polished and glazed tiles of plaster and limestone. In this form, the room is unique and it is known for its uniqueness as the "Amber Room" of Sondershausen.

Since 1994, the former residence of the princes of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen is the property of the Palace, Castle and Gardens Trust of Thuringia. Today it houses the Palace Museum of Sondershausen and the district school of music, called Carl-Schroeder-Konservatorium.

Sondershausen Palace

From an architectural and art historical point of view Sondershausen Palace can be considered as one of the most important palace complexes in Thuringia. It is an irregular four-wing complex. With its imposing silhouette the former Schwarzburg residence dominates today's district town of Sondershausen in the Kyffhäuserkreis district.

History

There is proof that some of the oldest building fabrice of the castle dating from the end of the 13th century can be attributed to the Counts of Hohnstein.

The remaining tower was integrated under Count Günther XL of Schwarzburg when the Renaissance palace, consisting of the south, east and old north wings, was built between the 1530s and the 1550s.

Under Prince Christian William I of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, who reigned between 1666 and 1720, a busy building activity started in the 1680s. The three Renaissance wings of the palace were altered and enlarged in the Baroque style.

During the reign of Prince Christian Günther III of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, the new west and north rococo wings were started in 1764 under management of the Quedlinburg architect Johann Heinrich Breit and the former architect from Brunswick, Martin Peltier. At that time the palace received its final architectural layout of an irregular four-wing complex.

When Prince Günther Friedrich Carl II, who reigned from 1835 to 1880, engaged Carl Scheppig, a pupil of Karl Friedrich Schinkel, in 1836, his aim was to give most parts of the entire palace complex a completely new appearance. Financial constraints, however, limited this project to redesigning the eastern place area towards the market (palace terrace, guard house and stairs between 1837 and 1839), to rebuilding the rococo wings in the neo-classical style (1846–1851) and to erecting the new stables (1847–1849).

As the last building measure a two-storey gallery, connecting the tower and the east and south wings, was erected in 1914 to 1915.

Schloss Sondershausen

Naumburg Cathedral (German: Naumburger Dom St. Peter und St. Paul, pronounced [ˈnaʊ̯mˌbʊʁɡɐ doːm] (About this soundlisten)), located in Naumburg, Germany, is the former cathedral of the Bishopric of Naumburg-Zeitz. The church building, most of which dates back to the 13th century, is a renowned landmark of the German late Romanesque and was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018. The west choir with the famous donor portrait statues of the twelve cathedral founders (Stifterfiguren) and the Lettner, works of the Naumburg Master, is one of the most significant early Gothic monuments.

The church was erected with the relocation of the Episcopal See from Zeitz in 1028, next to an old parish church. Thus it is the proto-cathedral of the former Catholic Diocese of Naumburg-Zeitz. With the Reformation, Naumburg and its cathedral became Protestant. Naumburg Cathedral remains a Protestant parish church to this day.

Naumburg Cathedral is a part of the tourist route Romanesque Road in Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1999, 'Naumburg Cathedral and the landscape of the rivers Saale and Unstrut, an important dominion in the High Middle Ages’.

History

Background

The history of the town of Naumburg begins at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries. Due to a lack of written documentation, details and exact dates are unknown. However, it is likely that Markgraf (Margrave) Ekkehard I of Meissen and the most powerful man on the eastern border of the Holy Roman Empire was the founder.

He erected a residence on a roughly 25 metres (82 ft) high rock above the right bank of the Saale river, near the mouth of the Unstrut. The location for this castle, which was called neweburg that later became "Naumburg," was chosen for its advantageous proximity to the intersection of so many well-trafficked commercial highways on the historic eastern border of East Francia (Kingdom of Germany) with the lands of the Polabian Slavs that were incorporated into the Saxon Eastern March.

Ekkehard was murdered in 1002 at Pöhlde Abbey in the Harz hills, but it was not possible to bury him at Naumburg yet, as neither castle nor the attached monastery were yet finished. Only once this was accomplished did his sons, the Meissen margraves Hermann and Ekkehard II have his body and those of his ancestors moved to the Georgenkloster at Naumburg.

Ekkehard's sons founded a small parish church in the western part of the area around the castle. It was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and was first mentioned in surviving texts of the Merseburg bishopric chronicle in 1021. In 1028, after some encouragement from the two brothers they won approval from King Conrad II and Pope John XIX to move the Episcopal See from Zeitz to Naumburg on the grounds that the castle would provide more protection for the see than it could get at Zeitz.

Early-Romanesque stage

Soon after the approval of the relocation of the Episcopal See, in the Spring of 1029, just to the east of the existing parish church the construction of the early-Romanesque cathedral was begun. In 1044, during the reign of Bishop Hunold of Merseburg, the church was consecrated and the patron saints of Peter and Paul were designated, adopted from Zeitz Cathedral.

This church stood in the same location where today's late Romanesque/Gothic edifice is located, but it was of smaller size. In c. 1160/70 a crypt was added to the building, the only room of the first cathedral to survive in the current structure more or less unaltered.

Late-Romanesque/Gothic stage

Rebuilding of the cathedral started around 1210. Of the old structure only the crypt survived and this lost its apse, but was expanded to the east and west such that it now extends not just under the new choir but also under the crossing.

This new cathedral was built under Bishop Engelhard [de] (1207-42). However, it did not remain in this late-Romanesque form long for by the mid-13th century the early-Gothic west choir was added, replacing the old parish church. It was likely finished by 1260. The western towers were raised by one floor shortly thereafter. In around 1330 the high-Gothic polygonal east choir was built, requiring the destruction of the Romanesque apse. Additional floors were added to the western towers in the 14th and 15th centuries. The Dreikönigskapelle was consecrated in 1416.

A fire damaged the cathedral in 1532, destroying the roofs. After that the eastern towers were raised. The fire also destroyed the three-aisled nave of the collegiate church dedicated to Mary next door to the cathedral, of which today only the choir remains. The collegiate church has its own cloister explaining the temporary presence of two of them, one to the cathedral's south and one to the north. The northern cloister is not extant but served to house the cathedrals clergy prior to the collegiate church's destruction.

Reformation

In the course of the Reformation, it became the see of the first German Protestant bishop, Nicolaus von Amsdorf in 1542. Upon the death of his Catholic "antibishop", Julius von Pflug in 1564, the Catholic Naumburg diocese was administrated by the Electors of Saxony and finally dissolved in 1615.

Later construction

The copper roofs and lanterns of the eastern towers were added in 1713/4 and 1725/8. Around mid-century the interior was turned into a Baroque church. This was undone by a "purification" in 1874/8 aimed at restoring the cathedral to a medieval, i.e. Romanesque/Gothic look, even at the price of replacing Baroque items with new Romanesque/Gothic Revival art.

The southwestern tower was boosted by three pseudo-Gothic floors in the late 19th century. At the same time gables and roofs were added to both western towers. A pseudo-medieval building was erected in the former location of the collegiate church's nave, initially used as a gymn for the cathedral school. Finally, the gate house was built only in 1940.

Today

Naumburg Cathedral remains a Protestant parish church.

It is a part of the tourist route Romanesque Road. Since 1999, 'Naumburg Cathedral and the landscape of the rivers Saale and Unstrut – an important dominion in the High Middle Ages' are included in the candidate list for UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Germany.

In 2017, the nomination of 'Naumburg Cathedral and the High Medieval Cultural Landscape of the Rivers Saale and Unstrut' as a World Heritage site will be discussed at the 41st meeting of the World Heritage Committee in Krakow, Poland (2 until 12 July 2017).

On July 1, 2018, Naumburg Cathedral was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The German officials were indifferent about the decision of excluding the surrounding landscape.

