Sparrenburg innovative sights.JPG
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Sparrenberg Castle, also known as the Sparrenburg (german: Burg und Festung Sparrenberg or ''Sparrenburg''), is a restored fortress in the Bielefeld-Mitte district of Bielefeld, Germany. It is situated on the Sparrenberg hill ( altitude) in the Teutoburg Forest and towers above the city centre. Its current appearance mainly originated in the 16th and 19th century. The Sparrenburg is considered to be Bielefeld's landmark.


History


First centuries

The Sparrenburg was erected as a castle sometime before 1250 by the counts of Ravensberg.Castle description in English
accessed 4 November 2019
It guarded the Bielefeld Pass over the Teutoburg Forest, as well as acting as the ruling seat of the counts of Ravensberg, and as protection for the city of Bielefeld, probably founded around 1200. Because the construction of a protective castle generally predates the foundation of a town, it is assumed that there was an older castle. In 1256, the castle was first mentioned in records. In 1346, Bernard, Count of Ravensberg died without issue and, with his death, the line of
Calvelage The County of Calvelage existed at the end of the 11th century and in the first half of the 12th century in the region of Vechta in Lower Saxony, Germany. The Court of Kalvelage in the farming community of Brockdorf in Lohne provided the name ...
- Ravensberg was extinguished. The castle was transferred through marriage to Count Gerhard I of Jülich-Berg, who had been married to Bernard's niece
Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...
since 1338, and its function as the ruling seat was lost. On 18 November 1377, Emperor Charles IV stayed overnight at the castle. From 1410 to 1428 the Sparrenburg served as a ruling seat for a last time, for Count William II of Ravensberg, who came from the line of the House of Jülich that ruled the Duchy of Berg. In 1511, the Sparrenburg changed hands again.
William IV, Duke of Jülich-Berg William IV of Jülich-Berg (9 January 1455 – 6 September 1511) was the last ruler of the Duchy of Jülich-Berg. Life William was the son of Gerhard VII, Duke of Jülich-Berg and Sophie of Saxe-Lauenburg. When his father died in 1475, Will ...
, who was also the count of Ravensberg, died and County and castle were handed over to his son-in-law John III, Duke of Cleves.


Reconstruction as a fortress

Following the discovery of gunpowder and the resultant increasing use of cannon and other
firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...
s, the new counts of Ravensberg and the owners of the Sparrenburg, the
dukes of Cleves The Duchy of Cleves (german: Herzogtum Kleve; nl, Hertogdom Kleef) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire which emerged from the medieval . It was situated in the northern Rhineland on both sides of the Lower Rhine, around its capital Cleves and ...
, ordered the expansion of the castle into a fortress of the Early Modern Period that could withstand bombardment from siege guns and also employ its own cannon. Around 1530, a round
bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...
was added in the west, only accessible from the castle itself via a bridge, from which one could control Bielefeld Pass with artillery. After some preliminary work starting in 1535, from 1556 on the Italian fortress master builder
Alessandro Pasqualini Alessandro Pasqualini (5 May 1493 – 1559) was an Italian Renaissance architect and engineer, born in Bologna, who helped bring Renaissance architecture to the Low Countries. He was hired by Floris van Egmond, the count of Buren and lord of ...
and his son managed the reconstruction, which was finished in 1578 and created the largest fortress in Westphalia. The old castle was now surrounded by a terrace and a high defensive wall. In addition to the original western bastion, the ''Mühlenrondell'', the other three corners of the fortress received round bastions and the Mühlenrondell was expanded into a pointed bastion, called "''Scherpentiner'', in order to further improve control over the Pass. The description ''Scherpentiner'' can only be verified at the Sparrenburg, its origin can be traced back to the ''Serpentinen'' (Serpentin = Italian for snake; German ''Feldschlange'', culverin), which are light artillery guns of the 15th and 16th century.


Practical tests

In 1609 John William von Jülich-Cleves-Berg, the last duke of Jülich died without male descendants. The collective government, arranged in 1609 by the main heirs John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg and duke Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg failed and culminated in the War of the Jülich Succession. In 1612, the castle was damaged by an earthquake. Due to the
Treaty of Xanten The Treaty of Xanten (german: Vertrag von Xanten, links=no) was signed in the Lower Rhine town of Xanten on 12 November 1614 between Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg and John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, with representatives from E ...
, signed in 1614, which ended the succession conflict, the castle was handed over to
Brandenburg-Prussia Brandenburg-Prussia (german: Brandenburg-Preußen; ) is the historiographic denomination for the early modern realm of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollerns between 1618 and 1701. Based in the Electorate of Brandenburg, the main branch of the Hohenz ...
, which immediately granted the right of occupation to its Dutch confederates. The Dutch occupation became effective in November 1615. In 1623, in the course of the Thirty Years' War, which broke out in 1618, the Dutch had to retreat before the overpowering advance of the Spanish, led by count John III von Rietberg. In 1625, Brandenburg's colonel Gent unsuccessfully attempted to reconquer the Sparrenburg with the help of Ravensberg's peasants. In 1636 the
Swedes Swedes ( sv, svenskar) are a North Germanic ethnic group native to the Nordic region, primarily their nation state of Sweden, who share a common ancestry, culture, history and language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countr ...
and Hessians besieged the Spanish for nearly one year before they had to hand over the fortress in 1637. In 1642, they left Sparrenburg to their
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 ...
allies. In 1648, the
Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pea ...
confirmed the affiliation to Brandenburg-Prussia. In the following years the Grand Elector Frederick William stayed several times at the fortress, and two of his children were born there. During the
Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, also known as the Dutch War (french: Guerre de Hollande; nl, Hollandse Oorlog), was fought between France and the Dutch Republic, supported by its allies the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Brandenburg-Prussia and Denmark-Nor ...
the Sparrenburg successfully resisted its last sieges, in 1673 against troops of Münster and in 1679 French troops.


Decline and romantic renovation

At the end of the 17th century, the Sparrenburg no longer met the military requirements. Therefore, it was partly used as a prison, and partly subjected to decline. The outer walls were torn down by agreement of King
Frederick II of Prussia Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...
and were used for the construction of the barracks 55, which still stands at the Hans-Sachs-Straße. In the course of the castle romanticism of the 19th century, the "''Comité zur Wiederherstellung des Thurmes auf dem Sparrenberg''" (Committee for the Renovation of the Tower on the Sparrenberg) was founded in Bielefeld, and it reconstructed the tower in 1842/43. In 1879, the city of Bielefeld was able to buy the complex from Prussia for a sum of 8,934.90  Marks, although the original value was assessed 70,000.00 Marks. After long discussions concerning the building's design the construction of the new great hall building was started in 1886 using building plans of the architect E. Hillebrand. On April 24, 1888, the
gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
building with ballroom, restaurant, and museum rooms was opened. In 1900, a monument of the Grand Elector Frederick William, made by Fritz Schaper, was erected in the courtyard while Emperor William II, who is the nominal last count of Ravensberg, was present.


War damages and restorations

Used as a flak emplacement during World War II, the Sparrenburg was heavily damaged in the course of the air raid on Bielefeld on 30 September 1944; only the tower remained undamaged. From 1948 to 1987 there was continuous cleanup and
restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...
work. From 1955 to 1983 the German Museum of Playing Cards was housed in the rebuilt estate building. During the latest renovations the actual floor of the fortress was found on the northern Kiekstatt roundel. It is below the current level. Furthermore, stairs leading to the catacombs were discovered. How the restoration should be further carried out is clear as of 2007. A new visitor centre designed by
Max Dudler Max Dudler (born 18 November 1949 in Altenrhein, Switzerland) is a Swiss architect with international fame. The main characteristic of Max Dudler's architecture is a combination of strict Swiss minimalism and classical rationalism that is found ...
Sparrenburg visitor centre
''Archilovers'', pub. 11/25/2014, images: Stefan Müller
on the southeast edge of castle's courtyard was opened in September 2014. Inside the single-storey building with
compressed concrete Compression may refer to: Physical science *Compression (physics), size reduction due to forces *Compression member, a structural element such as a column *Compressibility, susceptibility to compression *Gas compression *Compression ratio, of a c ...
walls are integrated museum gift shop, ticket counter and kiosk.


Sightseeing and events

The above-ground parts of the Sparrenburg can be visited year-round, free of charge. The rest of the castle can be visited daily from April to October, including the ascent of the tower and the front part of the subterranean corridor (
Casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which artillery, guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to Ancient history, antiquity, th ...
s). The northwestern part of the underground corridor is not accessible with the exception of three tours per year, as it is home to bats. An attraction is the annual ''Sparrenburgfest'' held on the last weekend of July, where
carnies Carny, also spelled carnie, is an informal term used in North America for a traveling carnival employee, and the language they use, particularly when the employee operates a game ("joint"), food stand ("grab", "popper" or "floss wagon"), or ride ...
and merchants re-enact the medieval way of life. In order to financially secure the preservation and restoration of the complex, the campaign ''Ein Stein für die Burg'' (One stone for the castle) was brought to life, where a stone of the castle's wall can be adopted for a donation. For higher donations a personal engraving of the stone was possible. A total of 3,100 adoptions were made. The possibility of an adoption no longer exists since the end of 2006, because the engraved stones were used for paving the roundels of the castle, and thus the number of adoptions was limited. In view of the estimated restoration costs of 7.5 million euro Bielefeld's Townsmen Foundation continues to seek further donations even after the end of the adoptions.


Bibliography

* Michael Wessing: ''Die Sparrenburg. Vom Wehrbau zum Wahrzeichen.'' Bielefeld: Westfalen Verlag, 2000. * Carmen Hochmann: ''Sparrenburg. Geschichte(n) für Kinder.'' Bielefeld: Kiper, 2004. * Andreas Kamm: ''Sparrenburg. Burg - Festung - Wahrzeichen.'' Bielefeld: Kiper, 2007.


References


External links

''All links are in German.''
Working Team Castle and Fortress Sparrenberg

Interdisciplinary Working Team AEC+REM 4D

Information on the Sparrenburg at www.bielefeld.de




* ttp://burgerbe.wordpress.com/2007/10/21/sparrenburg-in-sepia/ Information on the Sparrenburg in the Blog of the Castle's Heritage
Information with Fotos and Timetablel

''Ein Stein für die Burg''
(Donations)
''Sparrenburgfest''
{{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in the 13th century Infrastructure completed in 1578 Castles in North Rhine-Westphalia Buildings and structures in Bielefeld