The Schwarzenburg (Black Castle), historically called ''Schwarzenberg'' (Black Mountain), is a castle near

Waldkirch Waldkirch is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located 15 kilometers northeast of Freiburg im Breisgau. While the English translation of its name is ''Forest Church'', it is known as the "town of mechanical organs", where fairground organs ...

in the district Emmendingen in the southwest of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

in southern

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Location

Along with the

Kastelburg The Kastelburg is a ruined castle above Waldkirch in the district Emmendingen in Baden-Württemberg. It stands on a hill about above the center of Waldkirch in Breisgau. History The Kastel castle was built between 1260 and 1270 by the Lords o ...

. the less well known Schwarzenburg is one of two ruined castles owned by the town

. The ruins of the former

hill castle A hill castle or mountain castle is a castle built on a natural feature that stands above the surrounding terrain. It is a term derived from the German ''Höhenburg'' used in categorising castle sites by their topographical location. Hill castles ...

, 656.2 m (2153 ft) above sea level on the top of the Schwarzenberg ('Black Mountain'), a

spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to back ...

of the

Kandel Kandel () is a town in the Germersheim district of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, near the border with France and approximately 18 km north-west of Karlsruhe, and 15 km south-east of Landau. Kandel is twinned with the small Lancashir ...

have decayed to such an extent that only a few wall foundation are visible.

History

The castle was probably built as a

refuge castle A refuge castleCreighton, Oliver (2015). ''Early European Castles''. Bloomsbury. or refuge fort (german: Fliehburg, also ''Fluchtburg'', ''Volksburg'', ''Bauernburg'' or ''Vryburg'') is a castle-like defensive location, usually surrounded by rampa ...

and as well as for security, possibly to protect the political power of the Schwarzenberg family. Such a castle, on a vantage point visible from far away in the

Rhine Valley ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

, was clear evidence of their status as free

noblemen Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characterist ...

, subordinate in rank only to the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

. In sharp contrast to

and the

, which was built later, the Schwarzburg was not a

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...

Further Austria Further Austria, Outer Austria or Anterior Austria (german: Vorderösterreich, formerly ''die Vorlande'' (pl.)) was the collective name for the early (and later) possessions of the House of Habsburg in the former Swabian stem duchy of south-we ...

, but the

allod In the law of the Middle Ages and early Modern Period and especially within the Holy Roman Empire, an allod (Old Low Franconian ''allōd'' ‘fully owned estate’, from ''all'' ‘full, entire’ and ''ōd'' ‘estate’, Medieval Latin ''allodium ...

ial property of the Schwarzenbergs until they died out in the mid-15th century. The Schwarzenburg was built around 1120 by the

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

s of the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

St. Margaret in

under Conrad Waldkilcha, who after 1120 called himself Conrad of Suarzinberg and thus became the founder of the noble family of Schwarzenberg. With Conrad, the male branch of the Conradines of Waldkirch died out. In 1213, their estates were transferred to Conrad's sister, Adelheid, wife of Walter I of Eschenbach-Schnabelburg. In 1270, John, a descendant of Adelheid who came with his nephew William from

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, inherited the territory and called himself John I of Schwarzenberg. On 8 August 1300, John and William of Schwarzenberg granted Waldkirch

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

. In 1315, the territory was divided: John took over the Kastelburg and William remained on the Schwarzenburg. The Schwarzenberg family line died out in 1347 with Lord Ulrich II of Schwarzenberg. He was succeeded by John III of the Kastelberg line. This led to the reunification of the two lines. After the death of Hans Werner of Schwarzenberg in 1459, his

son-in-law Son-in-Law (22 April 1911 – 15 May 1941) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and an influential sire, especially for sport horses. The National Horseracing Museum says Son-in-Law is "probably the best and most distinguished stayer this count ...

Henry of Rechenberg zu Hohenrechberg inherited the estate and the office of bailiff (''

Amtmann __NOTOC__ The ''Amtmann'' or ''Ammann'' (in Switzerland) was an official in German-speaking countries of Europe and in some of the Nordic countries from the time of the Middle Ages whose office was akin to that of a bailiff. He was the most seni ...

''). In 1503, Martin of Rechenberg succeeded his late father, Henry; he, in turn, was succeeded in 1540 by his son Hans Louis of Rechberg. After the death of Hans Louis in 1542, Sebastian of Ehingen acquired the estate. During the wedding ceremony of his daughter in 1559, he was stabbed by his son, whereupon the rule of Schwarzenberg was transferred to Hans Raphael Reischach as a

in 1560. In 1567, Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria took over the debt-ridden territory. He ordered the demolition and removal of the dilapidated Schwarzenburg castle in 1578. This order was not carried out, however. An inspection in 1583, by the

n government agency of

Ensisheim Ensisheim (; gsw-FR, Anze) is a Communes of France, commune in the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is also the birthplace of the composer Léon Boëllmann. The Germanic languages, Germanic et ...

led to the report: ''Badly dilapidated''. In accordance with the report of an annalist of the Margarethenstift Waldkirch of 1590, not much was left of the roof structure and the walls had collapsed. The ruin was eventually used as a quarry.

Today

From 1975, the castle was successively researched and restored and, since 1980, has been accessible to the public. In 1995, the town of Waldkirch erected an information board of the history of the castle next to the ruins.

External links

* {{Authority control Ruined castles in Germany

Location

History

Today

Further reading

External links