Location: Witzenhausen, Hesse Map
Constructed: 1415
Burg Ludwigstein stands in Witzenhausen, Hesse region in Germany. Burg Ludwigstein was constructed in 1415 by Count Ludwig I of Hesse. The castle was reconstructed in the middle 20th century by the Wandervogel ("wandering bird"), German youth organization originally found in the late 19th century. Ludwigstein Castle also contains a memorial that is dedicated to its Wandervogel members who died during World War I.
The castle is located in the northern foothills of the Soodener Bergland near the Witzenhausen district of Werleshausen, which is about 700 m northeast of the castle on the other side of the Werra in the Lindewerra-Werleshäuser Schlingen natural area; to the west of the castle is Wendershausen (to Witzenhausen) and southeast of Oberrieden (to Bad Sooden-Allendorf). The elevation belonging to this natural area (approx. 236 m above sea level), on which the castle stands, drops to the east, north and west along the Werra, which tends to flow to the northwest. The tri-border region of Hesse-Lower Saxony-Thuringia lies about six kilometers north-northeast.
The Ludwigstein is a hilltop castle on the top of a
mountain cone. The four-winged, rectangular closed complex of the core
castle is grouped around a rather narrow inner courtyard. The keep
stands next to the gate on the western narrow side. The eastern narrow
side is occupied by a former wide residential building with a steep
roof, the narrower wings in the north and south are two-storey. Most of
the quarry stone masonry that has been preserved dates back to the
original building from 1415, with the fortified ring wall also forming
the rear wall of the inner building. The inner sides of the wings were
built in a half-timbered construction in a conversion phase around
1560/1580, when the castle was expanded as an official residence and no
longer had any fortificatory significance, but it is assumed that the
original buildings were already half-timbered. Only the south-eastern
corner room also has quarry stone masonry on the inside, possibly an
archive was to be protected against fire here. The wooden gallery on the
upper floor facing the inner courtyard dates from 1702. The windows in
the quarry stone masonry were also renewed in the 16th century (with the
exception of the keep) and inside you can see niches with curtained arch
windows worked into the wall. The simple, pointed arched gate to the
inner courtyard also connects to the outside at ground level; there is
no ditch as an obstacle to approach. The round keep has two vaulted
floors at the bottom, above which three floors with flat wooden ceilings
are attached. Today's pointed helm of the keep was put on in 1857.
Today's building of the Ludwigstein is characterized by the
conversion to a youth castle, whereby modern extensions were also added.
According to the documentation of the structure before the conversion,
the ground floor of the north wing was a stable. The upper floor had
five rooms accessed by a corridor, which were probably created by
subdividing an original large hall. The eastern wing had (like the
modern building) the kitchen on the ground floor and living rooms (with
a porch and fireplaces) on the upper floor. Living quarters are also
accepted in the south wing.
For the original construction of the
Ludwigstein, an outer bailey with farm buildings has been handed down,
but no trace of it has survived.
The castle was built from the summer of 1415 under
Landgrave Ludwig I of Hesse to protect the disputed border with
Eichsfeld in Mainz and Hanstein Castle in Mainz. Whether there was an
earlier fortification at the same place has not been proven.
Until 1664, the castle was the seat of a Hessian bailiff and the center
of administration and jurisdiction in the Hessian Werra area, but never
had supra-regional importance. Hans von Dörnberg the Elder, previously a
Hessian marshal and bailiff in Homberg an der Efze, became the first
bailiff of the new office of Ludwigstein on April 28, 1416, and of the
office of Witzenhausen, which was first mentioned in 1361. According to
a register from 1466, the office included lands and income in the
villages of Oberrieden, Wendershausen, Hilgershausen, Hundelshausen,
Weißenbach, Roßbach, Kleinalmerode, Bischhausen and in Witzenhausen; in
the 16th century other villages around Witzenhausen, Eichenberg and
Friedland were added. Hans von Dörnberg was succeeded by a number of
Hessian nobles - including members of the Berlepsch, Herda, Boyneburg,
Buttlar, Diede, Hanstein, Meysenbug and Steinberg families. At times
they were also lien holders of the castle. Among them, Hans von Dörnberg
the Younger (1427-1506), the son of the first magistrate, was of
outstanding importance; he was 1462-1497 Hessian steward.
From
1545 to 1574 the Ludwigstein experienced a short interlude as a fief and
independent noble court. As a return transaction to provide for the
relatives of his bigamistic second wife Margarethe von der Saale,
Landgrave Philipp gave Burg and the office of Ludwigstein to his valet
Christoph Hülsing and his descendants as a fief. Only after lengthy
negotiations did Philip's son, Wilhelm IV von Hessen-Kassel, succeed in
buying back this property. After that, the castle again became the seat
of Hessian bailiffs, mostly civil servants.
In 1627, Burg and Amt Ludwigstein belonged to the
so-called Rotenburger Quart, the quarter of his land left by Landgrave
Moritz von Hessen-Kassel to his second wife Juliane von
Nassau-Dillenburg and the children of this marriage. In the course of
the further divisions of the only partially independent landgraviate of
Hesse-Rotenburg, the castle changed hands several times in the further
branching Hessian-Rotenburg princely house. It was not until 1834, when
these side lines died out, that the Ludwigstein returned to the
possession of the main line between Hesse and Kassel.
In 1664 the
office of Ludwigstein was combined with the mayor's office of
Witzenhausen and the Ludwigstein thus lost its function as the seat of a
sovereign bailiff. Instead, agricultural tenants moved in until the
current domain administration was moved to Wendershausen around 1830.
After that, the facility was used for various purposes, including as
a brewery, sheepfold and warehouse. In 1862 the demolition of the outer
castle began. After the Ludwigstein was released from the maintenance
obligation of the domain in 1882, the gradual decay of the inner castle
began.
Old walls held a great attraction for the
romantic-inspired migratory birds. At the beginning of the 20th century
the castle was largely in ruins. On a hike, the Ludwigstein was spotted
from the Hanstein and from then on was traded as an insider tip. More
and more groups of migratory birds met "accidentally" "on the air".
In 1913, the Freideutscher Jugendtag took place on the nearby
Meißner - which was officially called "Hoher Meißner" from then on. The
region, which had long been known as the fairytale land of the Brothers
Grimm, acquired a special meaning for the youth movement. The decision
was made to acquire the vacant castle and expand it into a spatial and
spiritual center for youth groups. Before these plans could be put into
action, however, the First World War began.
The war left the
youth movement in great turmoil. A year before the outbreak of war, a
new era had been conjured up on the Hoher Meißner and Kaiser Wilhelm II
had urgently asked in a telegram to keep the peace, but the flag was
then willingly followed. 50,000 migratory birds did not return from the
war. The Wandervogel Enno Narten and other youth activists founded the
"Jugendburg Ludwigstein" association on April 4, 1920 and acquired the
ruins in order to restore them as a memorial for those who died in the
war and as a visible symbol of a new reconstruction. Long rows of young
people handed the stones for the reconstruction from the Werratal up to
the castle. During the period of inflation after the First World War,
the Ludwigstein created its own currency, and youth movements from all
federations moved from there to the countryside as settlers to take
their lives into their own hands. The castle experienced a true heyday -
until it was taken over by National Socialism.
At the beginning of 1933, the castle became the first district leadership school for the Hitler Youth in Kurhessen; their sponsoring association submitted to the National Socialist Reich Youth Leadership. As a member of the Reich Association of German Youth Hostels and transformed into a circle of friends and sponsors of the Jugendburg Ludwigstein Memorial, the association was able to survive until it was finally banned on September 17, 1941. Since 1933, however, the Ludwigstein has mostly been used for the purposes of National Socialist youth work, since 1941 exclusively – from the training camp to sending children to the country.
After the end of the war, the castle initially served
as a refugee camp. In 1946 it was returned to the Ludwigstein Youth
Castle Association, which was re-admitted.
However, the youth
groups were scattered to the four winds, the archive had disappeared,
the castle was again on a border - but it was externally preserved. The
youth leagues were founded anew; so on the Ludwigstein in 1953 first the
"Zugvogel", which as the first travel group professed non-violence. In
1966 the "Ring of Young Unions" was formed at the same place. In
addition to the migratory birds, there were now also an increasing
number of scout associations and youth groups. The archive of the German
youth movement was rebuilt and - like the castle - transferred to a
foundation in 1970. It is now an integral part of the Hessian State
Archives. A training center was added in 1982, which supports the
contemporary continuation of the impulses of the youth movement.
On the occasion of the 37th anniversary of Enno Narten's death, the
foundation stone for the Enno Narten building was laid on January 10,
2010. This extension was inaugurated on September 15, 2012. According to
the builders, it is the "biggest straw bale house in the republic". At
the beginning of 2011, the project was named a UN Decade Project
“Education for Sustainable Development” by UNESCO.
Ludwigstein Castle, coat of arms of the Werra-Meißner
district, sees itself as a regional focal point - since 1989 also for
the neighbors in the Thuringian district of Eichsfeld. Against this
background, the “Initiative Zweiburgenblick” was launched together with
the Thuringian castle of Hanstein. In the 2011 stamp year of the Federal
Republic of Germany, the Federal Ministry of Finance issued a special
stamp “Zweiburgenblick im Werratal”.
The regular events at
Ludwigstein Castle, which are open to visitors, include Sunday castle
tours with refreshments and open evening singing by the fireplace. In
addition to the Euro Week, the "European Youth Weeks Working Group"
organizes an Easter market and an Advent market every year with guests
from all over Europe. These arts and crafts markets are very popular in
the region. There is close cooperation with the Witzenhausen tourist
information center for the joint development of leisure activities and
with the Witzenhausen cultural community for the implementation of
cultural events at the castle. The castle kitchen also likes to use the
offers of regional providers.
As a free youth hostel with currently 174 beds, the
Ludwigstein offers a place for open encounters. School classes have the
opportunity to explore the area on their own or to take advantage of the
offers of the educational institution. Paddling tours on the Werra or
the medieval programs, in which role-playing games are developed and
everyday objects are made using old techniques, are particularly
popular. Investigations in the archive are also possible - for example
to track down the youthful roots of the resistance groups "White Rose"
and "Edelweißpiraten".
One of the largest and most traditional
events is the family week, which always takes place in the week before
Easter. Originally launched by two extended families over 30 years ago,
these meetings are now being held in the fourth and fifth generation. It
is a nine-day community festival.
The preservation of folk songs
and dances, which the groups of the youth unions bring back from their
trips, was always an important concern of the youth movement. The
Ludwigstein plays a central role in this exchange – for example at the
annual festival of the “cultural initiative living alive”. With half a
dozen day rooms, a large ballroom and a spacious campsite, the castle is
also suitable for larger folklore gatherings. Every year in autumn there
is a big dance festival, to which groups from all over Germany come.
Things get even more colorful in the summer during the "European Youth
Week". For almost fifty years, three or four European guest groups have
been welcomed by the working group European Youth Weeks; they exchange
ideas in working groups for a week and promote the culture of their
region with dances, songs and culinary specialties.
In 2007, the Jugendburg was awarded the "Unit Prize"
for its "History Trekking" project. In 2010 it was a "Selected Landmark"
in the "365 Landmarks in the Land of Ideas" competition in the
"Education and Youth" category.
In 2006, Ludwigstein Castle was
awarded the “Youth on the Move” concept as a decade project “Education
for Sustainable Development” for the first time. At the beginning of
2011, the construction project "The Third Ring" was also designated as a
decade project.
On April 14, 1977, a stamp of 30 pfennigs with the motif Ludwigstein Castle was issued by the Deutsche Bundespost and the Deutsche Bundespost Berlin in the castles and palaces stamp series. On February 3, 2011, Deutsche Post AG issued a 90-cent stamp with the motif Zweiburgenblick im Werratal, showing Ludwigstein Castle in Hesse and the Hanstein Castle ruins in Thuringia on either side of the Werra.