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.
There are only a few reliable records of the older
history of the castle on the border between the Haßberge and the
Grabfeld. Some parts of the castle appear to date back to the 13th
century. The crooked complex consists of the original residential
tower on an almost square floor plan, which was initially adjoined
by a square walled courtyard, in which there were probably smaller
farm buildings made of wood or half-timbered. In a later
construction phase, the courtyard wall became the outer wall of the
extension tracts: two further, residential tower-like wings on a
rectangular ground plan, one attached transversely to the old
residential tower, the other parallel to it at a certain distance,
and both connected by an intermediate tract that consists of two
parts of different heights consists, with one or two half-timbered
floors. The three newer wings form an inner courtyard in which the
current entrance is located. The roofs date from 1526-31.
It
was not until 1421 that a steward from Brunnhausen appeared as the
owner in a document from the Counts of Henneberg. Further evidence
comes from 1439 and 1522. In the second half of the 17th century,
the Bishopric of Würzburg enfeoffed the Königshofen fortress
commander Franz Günter with the rule. At the same time, Günter was
raised to the nobility and henceforth called himself Günter von
Brennhausen.
The personal fief reverted to the Bishopric in
1681 and was awarded to Baron Hans Kaspar von Bibra in the same year
as compensation for the confiscated Burgwallbach. His grandson
Friedrich Gotthelf founded the line of Barons von Bibra-Brennhausen,
who still own the castle. An inscription tells of a renovation in
1861. The Brennhausen line of the Bibras emigrated to the USA in the
early 20th century, but they still manage the estate and
occasionally live in the castle. The Brennhausen Foundation has
owned the castle since 2002. The castle, which has been extensively
renovated over the last few decades, is once again completely
surrounded by water.
The castle is isolated on a rectangular, brick terrace
at the bottom of the valley. The former moats and the castle pond have
now been restored. The inventory volume from 1915 lists only 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 connected by an angular intermediate building. The rectangular,
four-storey north tower, which, like the other components, is covered by
a high, tiled 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 interlocking
corner blocks, partly with half-timbered attachments. A few outhouses
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
covered by simple cross vaults. Some of the rooms on the upper floors
have flat ceilings with baroque frame stucco.