Расположение:
Schloßplatz 10, Меерсбург
Строительство: 7-й век
Телефон
07532/80 00 0
Открыт: март - 9 октября - 18:30
Ноябрь-февраль
10:00 - 18:00
Бург или Замок Мерсбург (Burg Meersburg) или «Старый замок» (Alte Burg) стоит на стратегическом холме над Меерсбургом в Баден-Вюртембергским районе Германии. Строительство замка Бург-Мерсбург началось в 7-м веке, но в дальнейшие века крепость росла по размеру и сложности. Между 1841 и 1848 годами здесь жила знаменитая немецкая поэтесса Аннет фон Дросте-Хюльшофф, которая также умерла здесь 24 мая 1848 года. Замок Мерсбург был открыт для публики в 19 веке. Сегодня более 35 комнат реконструированы в оригинальном виде и открыты для туристов. Это включает в себя Зал рыцарей, подземелье замка, Северный бастион, замковая кухня, камера пыток, оружейная палата и многие другие. Замок Мерсбург имеет небольшой магазин с большим выбором оружияна продажу. Некоторые из них идля взрослых, а другие - в размерах на детей. Кроме того, в стенах барочного зала Замка Мерсбург есть небольшой ресторан.
Construction theories
There are two theories about
the construction of the Meersburg. The first is that the Merovingian
king Dagobert I built the Dagobertturm (Dagobert's Tower), the central
keep of the Meersburg, in 630. Around 630, Dagobert was in the Lake
Constance region working on the Christianization of the Alamanni. This
theory is based on a source from 1548, and was supported by Joseph von
Laßberg who lived in the castle during the 19th century. A charter
issued by Frederick Barbarossa on 27 November 1155, citing older,
questionable sources, mentions that the boundaries of the Bishopric of
Constance were established by Dagobert himself indicating that Dagobert
was personally involved in establishing rulers in the region.
The
second theory is that the castle was built in the early 12th century,
and based on the name of the tower an association with the earlier
Merovingian king was created. It is based on the observation that in the
Lake Constance region there are no records of any castles being founded
in the 7th century, but in the 12th century to early 13th century many
castles were built in the region. The Merdesburch Castle was first
mentioned in 1113, which implies a construction date before the early
12th century.
The stones at the base of the Dagobertturm are very
large roughly squared stones that according to architectural history
could date from either the 7th century or from the 12th century to early
13th century. Because the stones could have come from either era, it is
not clear which theory is correct. However, similarities between the
Meersburg and other 12th-century castles have been noted.
Joseph
von Laßberg also presents the theory that the tower was built on the
site of an earlier destroyed castle. He states that the castle was
destroyed by Duke Gotfrid of Alemannia who was at war with Dagobert's
successor and rebuilt 80 years later by Charles Martel. From 730 until
911 the Meersburg was a Carolingian castle and owned by the Counts of
Linzgau, but administered by the Counts of Buchhorn. Following the
extinction of the Buchhorn line, it would have passed to the Counts of
Welf. A contract between the Counts of Welf and the Bishopric of
Constance indicated that the Meersburg would be given to the Bishopric
if the count died without any male heirs. It appears that the Welfs and
the Bishopric had close ties, as Bishop Conrad was of Welf descent.
Seat of the Prince-Bishops of Constance
The castle may have been
owned by several different lords during the following centuries. It
appears that the castle was owned by the Hohenstaufens for a while,
because in 1213 King Frederick II celebrated the Holy Week in Meersburg.
Then, in 1233 Meersburg was granted the weekly market right by Frederick
II. Shortly before his death in 1254, Conrad IV, having been deposed and
excommunicated by Pope Innocent IV asked Eberhard II, the High Steward
of Meersburg to care for his two-year-old son Conradin. In 1261 Conradin
became the Duke of Swabia, raising an army in the Ravensburg area. He
departed from Meersburg to head south into Italy to fight Charles I of
Anjou and attempt to reclaim the titles stripped by the Pope from his
father. While Conradin was able to take Rome, he was soon afterward
captured and executed.
A few years later, in 1268 the castle came
totally under the ownership of the Bishopric of Constance.
However, even as a residence for a bishop, the Meersburg was the site of
several battles over the following centuries. In 1334, there were two
candidates for the position of Bishop of Constance. Baron Nikolaus I of
Kenzingen was elected bishop by supporters of the Pope while Albrecht of
Hohenberg was chosen by the Holy Roman Emperor. Nikolaus quickly
traveled to Avignon, in France the seat of Pope John XXII to have his
appointment confirmed. He then returned to Meersburg and quickly had the
defenses improved. Albrecht, meanwhile, had raised an army from the
southern German princes and was joined by an Imperial army led by the
Emperor. During the summer of 1334, the Imperial army besieged Burg
Meersburg. During the siege, cannons were used for the first time in
Germany. However, even with the new gunpowder weapons the Imperial
troops were unable to take the castle. At the end of August, Emperor
Louis IV was growing tired of the siege. When Duke Otto of Austria
requested his help against the Bohemians, Louis left Meersburg and
confirmed Nikolaus as bishop. Albrecht was granted the Bishopric of
Würzburg in 1345 to replace the lost Bishopric.
Following
Nikolaus, Urich Pfefferhardt was bishop from 1345 until 1351. In 1352
Johann III Windlock from Constance was installed at the castle, he
proved to be an autocratic ruler and was disliked by the people and
local nobles. Following a dispute with Konrad of Homberg-Markdorf and
the Abbot Eberhard of Reichenau, he was killed by soldiers while in his
palace in Constance.
Over the next century at least thirteen
other Bishops were installed. Then in 1436 Heinrich IV of Hewen was
appointed bishop. His belligerent and arbitrary style caused friction
between himself and the town. Following a riot, the town was fined 4,000
florins for breaking the peace within the castle grounds. Later attempts
by the town to secure Free Imperial City status led to further
hostilities in 1457. The inhabitants of the city stormed the castle and
captured it. Bishop Heinrich responded by besieging the city. Following
intervention by Siegmund of Austria as well as Constance and Zürich a
compromise was reached. Heinrich then withdrew, but attacked the city a
short while later. Catching the citizens off guard, his soldiers stormed
the city and captured all the leaders of the revolution. Heinrich
executed the leaders of the rebellion and stripped rights away from the
city.
The crow-stepped gable (a stepped roof line instead of a
smooth roof line) on the tower was added by the Constance Prince-Bishop
Hugo von Hohenlandenberg (Served 1496–1532). Before his time, the
Meersburg was a summer residence of the bishops. Following a conflict
with the city of Constance in 1526, Hugo moved to the Meersburg. The
castle remained the bishops' primary residence until the move to the New
Schloss in the 18th century.
In 1647 the castle was attacked by
Swedish troops during the Thirty Years' War, however only the roof
timbers were burned during the attack.
During the beginning of
the 18th century, the bishops began to build the New Castle at Meersburg
as a modern residence castle. After 1750 the old castle served as a
house for the administration of the city.
Secularization
In
the Secularization of 1803 the Meersburg came under the control of the
Grand Duchy of Baden. In 1838 the Grand Duke sold the castle to a
private owner. The collector Joseph von Laßberg and his wife Baroness
Maria Anna von Droste-Hülshoff, who was also called Jenny, acquired the
castle. In 1841 Jenny's sister Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, the famous
German poet, moved to the castle where she would spend the last eight
years of her life. Following the death of the Laßbergs, the castle went
to their twin daughters, Hildegard and Hildegunde. However they couldn't
afford the upkeep and sold the castle in 1877. Karl Mayer von Mayerfels
from Munich bought the castle and established a Medieval Museum in the
castle. Today portions of the castle are open visitors on self-guided
tours. The remainder of the castle is occupied by his descendants.