Murrmirnichtviel Lodge (german: Schloss Murrmirnichtviel), alternatively spelt ''Murr-mir-nicht-viel'', occasionally ''Murmel-nicht-viel'', is a ruined hunting lodge with a

watchtower A watchtower or watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to ...

that used to belong to the counts of Leiningen. It lies in the Palatine Forest southwest of the county town of

Bad Dürkheim Bad Dürkheim () is a spa town in the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration, and is the seat of the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Location Bad Dürkheim lies at the edge of Palatinate Forest on the German Wine ...

in the German state of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

History

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

graves have been discovered in the vicinity of the ruins that go back to a Roman wayside station established at this spot. In 1534 a watchtower was first mentioned in the recorded and referred to as ''die Klause'', i.e. a narrow, primitive dwelling. It was destroyed in the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

. The tower - and also the hunting lodge of Kehrdichannichts only 600 metres away - were probably built by John Frederick of Leiningen (1661–1722) initially to guard the boundary of the hunting grounds between Leiningen and

Electoral Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...

, and then later expanded into a small

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

hunting lodge. They lie fairly high up on the southwestern ridge of the ''Dreispitz''; and enabled good observation of the hunting activities of their neighbours from Electoral Palatinate. They must have been either destroyed again or neglected, however, soon afterwards because by 1781 the hunting lodge and watchtower were recorded in a ''Salbuch'' as the "Friedrichsburg ruins". By no later than 1793, when the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

had enveloped the German regions west of the Rhine, the site was finally razed. A 1797 map first records its new name. In 1926 the walls were still five metres high. In 1963 the ruins were transferred from the oversight of the old royal Bavarian forestry commission to the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. In 1988/89 the wall remnants, which only comprised parts of the exterior wall with window openings, and the base of the tower, were cleared of vegetation and debris and made safe.

Name

The name ''Murrmirnichtviel'' is based on that of the hunting lodge of Kehrdichannichts and may have been derived from a local nickname. It may refer to the disputes between Leiningen and Electoral Palatinate over the boundaries of the hunting estates; ''Murr mir nicht viel!'' being intended as a threat or warning and meaning something like "do not grumble much at me (about the ban on entering my hunting estate)!"

Literature

Magnus Backes Magnus Backes (17 September 1930 – 21 May 2019) was a German art historian and historic preservationist. From 1983 to 1991, he succeeded Werner Bornheim gen. Schilling and Hartmut Hofrichter as the third of the General Directorate for Cultura ...

, Heinz Straeter: ''Staatliche Burgen, Schlösser und Altertümer in Rheinland-Pfalz''. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg, 2003, . * Walter Eitelmann: ''Rittersteine im Pfälzerwald''. 4th edn. Pfälzerwald-Verein, Neustadt/Weinstraße, 1998, . * Günter Stein: ''Burgen und Schlösser in der Pfalz''. Weidlich, Frankfurt/Main, 1976, . {{Coord, 49.4425, N, 8.0943, E, type:landmark_region:DE-RP, display=title, format=dms Buildings and structures in Rhineland-Palatinate Hunting lodges in Germany Heritage sites in Rhineland-Palatinate Ruins in Germany