Location: Sulzdorf an der Lederhecke, Bavaria Map
Constructed: 12th century
Brennhausen Castle is located in Sulzdorf an der Lederhecke, Bavaria in Germany. Brennhausen Castle was originally found in the 12th century. Initially it started as a guard tower. Over several centuries it was increased further and was later encircled by a moat. Today Brennhausen Fortress is a private property and it is not inaccessible to the public.
History
There are only a few reliable records about the
older history of the castle on the border between the Haßberge and
the Grabfeld. Some parts of the complex seem to go back to the 13th
century. It was not until 1421 that a Truchsess von Brunnhausen
appeared in a document from the Counts of Henneberg. Other documents
date from 1439 and 1522. In the second half of the 17th century, the
Würzburg monastery enfeoffed the fortress commander Franz Günter of
Königshofen with the rule. Günter was raised to the nobility at the
same time and henceforth called himself Günter von Brennhausen. The
personal fiefdom reverted to the bishopric in 1681 and was awarded
to Baron Hans Kaspar von Bibra in the same year as compensation for
the Burgwallbach that had been drawn in. His grandson Friedrich
Gotthelf founded the line of the barons of Bibra-Brennhausen, who
still live in the castle. An inscription announces a renovation in
1861. The castle, which has been extensively renovated over the past
decades, is completely surrounded by water again.
Description
The castle lies lonely on a rectangular, brick terrace in the valley
floor. The former moats and the castle pond have now been restored.
The inventory volume from 1915 only lists swampy meadows there.
Access is from the west via a stone bridge. On this side and in the
north, the castle district is closed off by a few residential and
farm buildings.
The castle consists of two Gothic residential
towers, which are connected by an angular intermediate building. The
rectangular, four-story north tower, which, like the other
components, is rounded off by a high, tile-covered gable roof, is
particularly striking. The other components are lower, including the
square south tower. The complex consists largely of unplastered,
irregular sandstone masonry with toothed corner cuboids, some with
half-timbered attachments. A few lavatory bays have been preserved
on the outside. The small courtyard was originally closed by a
transverse wall, the remains of which are still attached to the
south wing.
Inside, some rooms on the ground floor are
spanned by simple cross vaults. Some of the rooms on the upper
floors have flat ceilings with baroque stucco frames.