Location: Halle, Saxony-Anhalt Map
Constructed: 10th century
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Giebichenstein Castle is a medieval castle in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt region of Germany. Giebichenstein Castle was constructed in the 10th century and served as a residence for the archbishops of Magdeburg. It was badly damaged at the end of the Thirty Years' War, when besieging forces demolished most of military fortifications in 1636. The gate tower that was originally erected in the 12th century is one of the original features of the castle that were well preserved despite centuries of neglect. It offers a great view of the Saale Valley below. Parts of the original citadel have been uncovered by the archaeologists since 1960's. Abandoned stronghold was largely reconstructed in the early 20th century.
The area around the Giebichenstein
was king country. In 961, King Otto I gave the Gau Neletici and its
main town to the Moritz Monastery in Magdeburg, with Giebichenstein
being mentioned for the first time: Netelici in qua est civitas quae
Givicansten nuncupatur ("Netelici, in which the Givicansten called
Burgward is"). Another copy of the document calls urbem Giviconsten
cum salsugine ("the city of Giviconsten with a saltworks"), whereby
the city only meant a larger settlement or the main town of
Burgward. In addition, the salty and sweet waters as well as German
and Slavic residents were transferred to the monastery, from which
the Archdiocese of Magdeburg was to emerge in 968. This document
speaks of two different Gauen Netelici, one with the Giebichenstein
stretches east of the Saale to Radewell on the Elster, the other
consists only of the area around Wurzen. Both were the settlement
area of the Sorbian tribe of the Neletici. As the deed of donation
says, there were not only Slavic but also German residents in
Burgward Giebichenstein. The importance of the settlement near salt
springs and a trade route shows the fact that Otto I issued
documents in Giebichenstein.
The first castle in
Giebichenstein existed in the 10th century at another location
nearby. It can only be assumed that it had the shape of a wall-moat
system reinforced with palisades, similar to the Suuemeburg near
Wengelsdorf (10th century). The exact location of the previous
castle has not been clarified with certainty. However, it is
considered likely that it was located on the hilltop east of today's
fortification on the area known as the Old Castle or the Official
Garden. A mention of castrum Givekenstein and the mention of a
castle chapel in 1116 probably still refer to this predecessor
complex. The pre-settlement assumed since Schultze-Galléra for the
old castle (Germanic people's castle and Franconian fort) could be
refuted on the basis of new findings. Archaeological investigations
in 1999, during which the site was excavated down to the oldest
layers of settlement, revealed only intensive traces of settlement
from the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age, whereas there was no
evidence of a settlement or inspection of the Giebichenstein during
the Roman Empire or the Migration Period. The use of the gable stone
as a Germanic or Slavic place of worship, which is mostly only
postulated due to the exposed location or based on place-name
studies, could not be proven by this study. Today's Upper
Giebichenstein Castle was only built in the 12th and 13th centuries.
The castle had a special meaning for the young Archdiocese of
Magdeburg, which today can no longer be clearly identified. It was
the place of death or burial of three bishops, Bishop Adalbert in
981, Bishop Taginos in 1012 and in the same year Bishop Walthards.
In addition, the Giebichenstein served the king and later Emperor
Heinrich II as a state prison for members of the high nobility.
Among the imprisoned were such important people as Heinrich von
Schweinfurt 1004, Ezelin von Este 1014-1018, Ernst von Schwaben
1027-1029 and Gottfried von Lothringen. According to legend, the
Thuringian Landgrave Ludwig der Springer, the progenitor of the
Ludowingers, was also imprisoned on the Giebichenstein, but there is
no historical evidence of this.
The importance of the castle
is also underlined by the presence of Henry IV in 1064 at the
castle. In 1157 Friedrich I. Barbarossa called the meeting of
princes at the castle.
The decisive transformation of the rule Giebichenstein from Burgward to the sovereign territory of the Archdiocese of Magdeburg took place under Archbishop Wichmann (1152–1192). Wichmann has documented Giebichenstein several times since 1154. The oldest excavated wall remains on the upper castle date from this time. A gate tower, circular wall and south tower were built on the previously undeveloped castle rock. In addition to the narrow entrance through the massive Romanesque gate tower, there was apparently a second entrance on the east side. There was another tower on the south side. A height of at least 4.50 meters was determined for the circular wall. Views from the 16./17. Century show two battlements on top of each other, but these should be later additions. Also in the second half of the 12th century, a residential tower and the palace were built against the curtain wall on the north side.
The late Romanesque residential tower, possibly
called the Kemenate, had an area of approximately eleven meters
square. It was furnished with a high level of comfort and had a
staircase and chimneys built into the masonry. During the
excavation, a hollow pillar with quatrefoil openings was found, the
function of which is unclear. In addition to other architectural
decorations, it testifies to the representative appearance of the
building. The entrance to the residential tower was exactly opposite
the entrance to the castle chapel.
A free-standing church was
also built in the courtyard, which was certainly also
representative, as is usual in the residence of a church prince. The
monastery church in Wimmelburg and the church of the collegiate
monastery at Seeburg Castle are cited as comparative structures.
The most magnificent building of the upper castle was the Palas
on the north side with a size of 36 × 11 meters. An unusual
abundance of architectural jewelry was also found there. The walls
of five rooms were excavated, all of which were accessible from the
courtyard. In front of the palas was an arcade, which will also have
provided access to the rooms on the upper floors. The appearance of
this building can be imagined like the palace buildings of the
Runneburg and the Wartburg.
To the west of the chapel and
residential tower was a building complex consisting of several
buildings, about which there are no further records. The foundation
walls and two basement rooms of these buildings have been preserved.
Giebichenstein Castle is said to have been besieged by Emperor
Friedrich II in 1215. The background was probably the Staufer-Welf
throne dispute between Emperor Friedrich II and Otto IV. The then
Archbishop Albrecht II had sided with the Guelphs. Nothing is known
about the outcome of the fighting, but Otto IV lost his last allies
at the time and had to give up his claims to the throne.
Repair work under Archbishop Ruprecht is recorded for the period
around 1260/1266. A comprehensive expansion of the castle took place
between 1361 and 1368 under Archbishop Dietrich. A representative
building was built to the east of the Palas, which was later
extended to the south. Various conversions in the Gothic
architectural style, such as today's Gothic gate tower built on the
foundation of the Romanesque predecessor, refer to this time. In the
late phase of use of the upper castle, further renovation work
probably took place, which led to the dense building situation known
from contemporary depictions.
From 1382 on, Giebichenstein
Castle was the main residence of the Archbishops of Magdeburg. From
there they led the dispute with the city of Halle for its
independence. Since 1369, the archbishops issued almost all
documents there and since 1402 all archbishops died at the castle.
Just a few years after the completion of the lower castle, the fate
of the castle turned. Archbishop Ernst of Saxony, brother of
Frederick the Wise, who was known through the Reformation, had a new
residence built in Halle, the fortified Moritzburg Castle. After its
completion in 1503, Giebichenstein Castle lost its function as a
residence and served as the administrative seat of the great
Giebichenstein Office until the 19th century.
In 1514 the
archbishops finally moved to Moritzburg. In the 16th century the
upper castle deteriorated more and more. Repairs were sometimes only
carried out with wood. A Merian engraving from before 1636 shows the
palace as a ruin. The Swedes occupied the castle during the Thirty
Years War. During the occupation, the upper castle and parts of the
lower castle fell victim to a devastating fire in 1637. Since then,
the upper castle has not been used any more.
Under the archbishops Günther II. And Friedrich III. the lower castle was built between 1445 and 1464. Günther II had previously sold the Lauchstädt, Liebenau and Schkopau castles to finance the construction. A previous building of the lower castle has not been archaeologically proven. However, it can be assumed that a bailey or a farm yard existed for such an important castle. The circular wall with the flanking towers, the moat and the inner peripheral house development were created in a uniform construction process. Only the eastern curtain wall, apart from the gatehouse, remained free of buildings. During the reign of Archbishop Johannes, the granary that stood free in the courtyard was built. As early as 1500, the residential buildings were given a functional rededication for commercial purposes. The brewery was added to the west of the lower castle to the south, and the mushaus at the northern end was converted into a distillery. In 1706 the baroque mansion was built on the east side of the lower castle. The clerk Ochs had the stone bridge built and redesigned the moat and old castle into a park.
Since the 19th
century, various repairs, demolition work in terms of monument
preservation and maintenance work have been carried out. The city of
Halle has owned the castle since 1921. She set up an arts and crafts
school in the lower castle. This saw itself as an alternative to the
Bauhaus, was in part more focused on handicrafts, but also
cooperated, for example, with the Staatliche Prozellanmanufaktur
Berlin (before 1918 and later KPM), which set up an experimental
studio in Halle. From 1915, director Paul Thiersch converted the
castle into a modern state-municipal arts and crafts school in line
with the ideas of the Deutscher Werkbund and stood with teachers
such as Charles Crodel, Hans Finsler, Gerhard Marcks, Johannes
Niemeyer, Gustav Weidanz and Hans Wittwer with the nearby Bauhaus
Dessau Competition. In 1933 13 teachers and workshop masters from
Burg Giebichenstein - workshops of the city of Halle were dismissed
and the artistic areas were closed. The craft training center was
continued and reorganized after 1945. In 1951 it was affected by the
so-called formalism dispute. Until 1964 the school was headed by the
former Bauhaus member Walter Funkat. In 1958 it was recognized as a
college for industrial design in Halle. From 1990 it was called Burg
Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle, since 2010 Burg
Giebichenstein Art University Halle. In 2015 the school celebrated
its 100th anniversary.
On the occasion of the 1000th
anniversary of the city of Halle in 1961, Hans-Joachim Mrusek
carried out extensive excavations on the upper castle. They led to
the complete exposure of the foundation walls of the facility. After
the excavations were completed, an open-air museum and a popular
viewpoint over the Saale valley were created on the site.
A legend is associated with Giebichenstein
Castle. The Landgrave of Thuringia, Ludwig the Springer, fell in
love with Adelheid, the wife of Count Palatine Friedrich von
Sachsen. Ludwig killed the Count Palatine in a hunt and married
Adelheid. The relatives of the Count Palatinate demanded
satisfaction. Emperor Heinrich IV. Imprisoned Ludwig on the
Giebichenstein.
According to legend, Ludwig freed himself
from his captivity by jumping into the hall. He was later
recaptured, but was ultimately released. He atoned for his deed
through pious foundations. For example, he founded the
Reinhardsbrunn monastery in Thuringia.
The legend of the jump
into the Saale was associated with the nickname of the jumpers,
which originated in the 15th century. In fact, the legend about the
origin of the name "Springer" is a misinterpretation of the Latin
name Salicus, which means that Ludwig was a Salier; in earlier times
it was wrongly read “saliens” and translated as Springer. Ludwig may
never have been stuck on the Giebichenstein.