Hohenecken Castle (german: Burg Hohenecken) (
MHG: ''buorch hônecke'') is the
ruin of a
spur castle from the
Hohenstaufen era on the
Schlossberg hill above the
Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern (; Palatinate German: ''Lautre'') is a city in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfur ...
ward of
Hohenecken in
Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is located at an elevation of .
History
The exact date of the foundation of the castle is unknown. Whilst older sources often plump for a construction date immediately following the building of the
Barbarossaburg in Kaiserslautern in 1156, more recent sources tend to lean towards a date about 50 years later. The pentagonal ''
bergfried'' and the massive
shield wall
A shield wall ( or in Old English, in Old Norse) is a military formation that was common in ancient and medieval warfare. There were many slight variations of this formation,
but the common factor was soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder ...
in particular point to a construction date of around 1200.
In the first half of the 13th century the castle was
enfeoffed to a Kaiserslautern family of
ministeriales, the descendants of Reinhard of Lautern, the
knight. In 1214, they were awarded the
right of patronage of
Ramstein by the king,
Frederick II, who would later become emperor. From then on the castle's owners called themselves ''von Hohenecken''. A
baron
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...
y belonged to the castle, which covered several villages: the valley settlement of
Hohenecken at the foot of the castle hill (''Burgberg'') as well as
Erfenbach,
Espensteig,
Siegelbach and
Stockweiler, today Stockborn. All have since become part of the city of Kaiserslautern. Castle and barony were an imperial fief for centuries.
At the beginning of the early modern period, Hohenecken Castle went into decline. In the
German Peasants' War
The German Peasants' War, Great Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt (german: Deutscher Bauernkrieg) was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It failed because of intense oppositio ...
of 1525 it was captured by rebellious peasants. In 1668 there was a lengthy siege by Prince-Elector
Charles Louis of the
Palatinate, which ended in the partial destruction of the castle. In 1689, during the
War of the Palatine Succession, the castle was blown up by
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
troops.
Layout
Including the
outer ward,
moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...
, upper and lower wards, the castle measures about 50 by 9 metres in area. It has a mighty
shield wall
A shield wall ( or in Old English, in Old Norse) is a military formation that was common in ancient and medieval warfare. There were many slight variations of this formation,
but the common factor was soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder ...
(25 m wide, 11 m high) and a pentagonal ''bergfried''. The castle is considered by experts to be one of the best examples of castles from the Hohenstaufen period. Today it is a popular attraction and offers extensive views.
Literature
*
*
External links
Hohenecken Castle at burg-lemberg.de
{{Authority control
Ruined castles in Germany
Castles in Rhineland-Palatinate
Kaiserslautern