The Wartburg () is a castle originally built in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. It is situated on a precipice of to the southwest of and overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

, Germany. It was the home of St. Elisabeth of Hungary, the place where

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

translated the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

of the Bible into German, the site of the Wartburg festival of 1817 and the supposed setting for the possibly legendary '' Sängerkrieg''. It was an important inspiration for Ludwig II when he decided to build

Neuschwanstein Castle Neuschwanstein Castle (german: Schloss Neuschwanstein, , Southern Bavarian: ''Schloss Neischwanstoa'') is a 19th-century historicist palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. T ...

. Wartburg is the most-visited tourist attraction in

after

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

. Although the castle today still contains substantial original structures from the 12th through 15th centuries, much of the interior dates back only to the 19th century. In 1999, Wartburg Castle was inscribed on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage List because of its quintessential medieval architecture and its historical and religious significance.

Etymology

The name of the castle is probably derived from german: Warte, a watchtower, in spite of a tradition which holds that the castle's founder, on first laying eyes on the site, exclaimed, "''Warte, Berg—du sollst mir eine Burg tragen!'' ("Wait, mountain—you shall bear my castle!"). It is a German play on words for mountain (''Berg'') and fortress (''Burg''), coupled with a further play on "warte" = wait and "Warte" = watchtower.

Location

Wartburg is located on a precipice to the southwest of, and overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of

, Germany. The hill is an extension of Thuringian Forest, overlooking ''Mariental'' to the south-east and the valley of the Hörsel to the north, through which passed the historical Via Regia. The Rennsteig passes not far to the south of the castle.

History

The castle's foundation was laid about 1067 by the Thuringian

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...

of Schauenburg, Louis the Springer ( ''Ludwig der Springer'' ), a relative of the Counts of Rieneck in

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper ...

. Together with its larger sister castle Neuenburg in the present-day town of Freyburg, the Wartburg secured the extreme borders of his traditional territories. Louis the Springer is said to have had clay from his lands transported to the top of the hill, which was not quite within his lands, so he might swear that the castle was built on his soil. The castle was first mentioned in a written document in 1080 by Bruno, Bishop of Merseburg, in his ''De Bello Saxonico'' ("The Saxon War") as ''Wartberg''. During the

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy, also called Investiture Contest (German: ''Investiturstreit''; ), was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops ( investiture) and abbots of mona ...

, Louis's henchmen attacked a military contingent of King Henry IV of Germany. The count remained a fierce opponent of the

Salian The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty (german: Salier) was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four kings of Germany (1024–1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman emperors (1027–1125). After the death of the la ...

rulers, and upon the extinction of the line, his son Louis I was elevated to the rank of a

Landgrave Landgrave (german: Landgraf, nl, landgraaf, sv, lantgreve, french: landgrave; la, comes magnus, ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of ', ' (" margrave") ...

in Thuringia by the new German king Lothair of Supplinburg in 1131. From 1172 to 1211, the Wartburg was one of the most important princes' courts in the German Reich. Hermann I supported poets like Walther von der Vogelweide and Wolfram von Eschenbach who wrote part of his '' Parzival'' here in 1203. The castle thus became the setting for the legendary '' Sängerkrieg'', or Minstrels' Contest in which such ''

Minnesänger (; "love song") was a tradition of lyric- and song-writing in Germany and Austria that flourished in the Middle High German period. This period of medieval German literature began in the 12th century and continued into the 14th. People who wr ...

'' as Walther von der Vogelweide, Wolfram von Eschenbach, Albrecht von Halberstadt (the translator of

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom ...

) and many others supposedly took part in 1206/1207. The legend of this event was later used by Richard Wagner in his opera '' Tannhäuser''. At the age of four, St. Elisabeth of Hungary was sent by her mother to the Wartburg to be raised to become consort of Landgrave Ludwig IV of Thuringia. From 1211 to 1228, she lived in the castle and was renowned for her charitable work. In 1221, Elisabeth married Ludwig. In 1227, Ludwig died on the Crusade and she followed her confessor Father Konrad to

Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximat ...

. Elisabeth died there in 1231 at the age of 24 and was canonized as a saint of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

just five years after her death. In 1247, Heinrich Raspe, the last landgrave of Thuringia of his line and an anti-king of Germany, died at the Wartburg. He was succeeded by Henry III, Margrave of Meissen. In 1320, substantial reconstruction work was done after the castle had been damaged in a fire caused by lightning in 1317 or 1318. A chapel was added to the Palas. The Wartburg remained the seat of the Thuringian landgraves until 1440. From May 1521 to March 1522,

stayed at the castle under the name of ''

Junker Jörg Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

'' (the Knight George), after he had been taken there for his safety at the request of

Frederick the Wise Frederick III (17 January 1463 – 5 May 1525), also known as Frederick the Wise (German ''Friedrich der Weise''), was Elector of Saxony from 1486 to 1525, who is mostly remembered for the worldly protection of his subject Martin Luther. Fre ...

following his

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political an ...

and his refusal to recant at the Diet of Worms. It was during this period that Luther translated the

from

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

into

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

in just ten weeks. Luther's was not the first German translation of the Bible but it quickly became the most well known and most widely circulated. From 1540 until his death in 1548, , an

Anabaptist Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer m ...

from Herda, was held captive in the dungeon of the south tower, because he refused to abjure anabaptism. After his death, he was buried in the Wartburg near the chapel of St. Elisabeth. In 1925, a handwritten signature of Fritz Erbe was found on the prison wall. Over the next centuries, the castle fell increasingly into disuse and disrepair, especially after the end of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

when it had served as a refuge for the ruling family. Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Wartburg mit Mönch und Nonne, 14

In 1777,

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

stayed at the Wartburg for five weeks, making various drawings of the buildings. Wartburg-Studentenzug-1817

On 18 October 1817, the first Wartburg festival took place. About 500 students, members of the newly founded German Burschenschaften ("fraternities"), came together at the castle to celebrate the German victory over Napoleon four years before and the 300th anniversary of the Reformation, condemn conservatism and call for German unity under the motto "Honour - Freedom - Fatherland". Speakers at the event included Heinrich Hermann Riemann, a veteran of the Lützow Free Corps, the philosophy student Ludwig Rödiger, and Hans Ferdinand Massmann. With the permission of the absent chaplain Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, the Code Napoléon and other books were burned 'in effigy': instead of the costly volumes, scraps of parchment with the titles of conservative books (including August von Kotzebue's ''History of the German Empires'') were placed on the bonfire.

Karl Ludwig Sand Karl Ludwig Sand (Wunsiedel, Upper Franconia (then in Prussia), 5 October 1795 – Mannheim, 20 May 1820) was a German university student and member of a liberal Burschenschaft (student association). He was executed in 1820 for the murder of the ...

, who would assassinate Kotzebue two years later, was among the participants. This event and a similar gathering at Wartburg during the

Revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europ ...

are considered seminal moments in the movement for German unification. During the rule of the House of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Grand Duke Karl Alexander ordered the reconstruction of Wartburg in 1838. The lead architect was , for whom it became a life's work. In fact, it was finished only a year after his death in 1889. Drawing on a suggestion by Goethe that the Wartburg would serve well as a museum, Maria Pavlovna and her son Karl Alexander also founded the art collection (''Kunstkammer'') that became the nucleus of today's museum. The reign of the House of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach ended in the German Revolution in 1918. In 1922, the ''Wartburg Stiftung'' (Wartburg Foundation) was established to ensure the castle's maintenance. After the end of World War II, Soviet occupation forces took the renowned collection of weapons and armour. Its whereabouts still remain unknown. The ' (the

armoury An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...

) of the Wartburg used to contain a notable collection of about 800 pieces, from the splendid armour of King

Henry II of France Henry II (french: Henri II; 31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of Francis I and Duchess Claude of Brittany, he became Dauphin of France upon the death of his elder bro ...

, to the items of

, Pope Julius II and Bernhard von Weimar. All these objects were taken by the Soviet Occupation Army in 1946 and have disappeared in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. Two helmets, two

sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...

s, a prince's and a boy's armour, however, were found in a temporary store at the time and a few pieces were given back by the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...

in the 1960s. The new Russian Government has been petitioned to help locate the missing

treasure Treasure (from la, thesaurus from Greek language ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions le ...

s. Under communist rule during the time of the GDR extensive reconstruction took place in 1952-54. In particular, much of the

palas A ''palas'' () is a German term for the imposing or prestigious building of a medieval '' Pfalz'' or castle that contained the great hall. Such buildings appeared during the Romanesque period (11th to 13th century) and, according to Thompson ...

was restored to its original Romanesque style. A new stairway was erected next to the palas. In 1967, the castle was the site of celebrations of the GDR's national jubilee, the 900th anniversary of the Wartburg's foundation, the 450th anniversary of the beginning of Luther's Reformation and the 150th anniversary of the Wartburg Festival. On June 13, 1980, Devo performed at the castle during their Freedom of Choice tour. In 1983, it was the central point of the celebrations on account of the 500th birthday of Martin Luther.

Architecture

Palas

The largest structure of the Wartburg is the ''Palas'', originally built in late Romanesque style between 1157 and 1170. It is considered the best-preserved non-ecclesial Romanesque building north of the Alps. The Palas features rooms like the ''Rittersaal'' and the ''Speisesaal'' which have been reconstructed as closely as possible to the original Romanesque style and which contain original structures (pillars or roof elements). However, many of the rooms mostly reflect the tastes of the 19th and 20th centuries and the image of the Middle Ages prevalent at the time: the ''Elisabeth-Kemenate'' was fitted with mosaics showing the life of St. Elisabeth (created in 1902–06) on behalf of Kaiser Wilhelm II, the ''Sängersaal'' (with frescoes of the ''Sängerkrieg'' by Moritz von Schwind) and the ''Festssaal'' on the top floor. The latter also features frescoes by Schwind (on the triumph of Christianity) and served as the inspiration for the ''Sängerhalle'' at Neuschwanstein Castle. The Wartburg's ''Sängersaal'' is the setting for Act II of Tannhäuser. None of the wallpaintings, including those in the ''Landgrafenzimmer'' or the ''Elisabethengalerie'', are actually medieval in origin, but were created in the 19th century.

Other structures

The drawbridge and

barbican A barbican (from fro, barbacane) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe In the Middle A ...

offer the only access to the castle and have been largely unchanged since medieval times. ''Vorburg'' is the area immediately inside the first gate. It dates to the 14th/15th century and is made up of several half-timbered buildings: the ''Elisabethengang'' (covered walkway), the ''Vogtei'' ( Bailiff's lodge), the ''Margarethengang'' (covered walkway) and the ''Ritterhaus'' (Knights' House). The ''Lutherstube'' in the ''Vogtei'', where Martin Luther stayed when he was in the castle, also features paintings by Lucas Cranach. The ''Bergfried'' (

donjon A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in ...

) was completed in 1859 and sits on the foundations of a medieval keep. It is topped by a landmark three-meter-tall . The ''Neue Kemenate'' (New Bower, 1853–1860) today exhibits the art treasures of the Wartburgsammlung, including paintings by

Lucas Cranach the Elder Lucas Cranach the Elder (german: Lucas Cranach der Ältere ; – 16 October 1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is kno ...

and sculptures from the workshop of Tilman Riemenschneider. The Romanesque ''Südturm'' or South Tower was built in 1318. Together with the Palas it is the oldest part of the castle. A dungeon is located below. In 1999, UNESCO added Wartburg Castle to the World Heritage List as an "Outstanding Monument of the

Feudal Period Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structu ...

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

", citing its "Cultural Values of Universal Significance". For a while, the status of Wartburg as a World Heritage site was endangered by plans to build very tall

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...

s on Milmesberg near

Marksuhl Marksuhl is a village and a former municipality in the Wartburgkreis district of Thuringia, Germany. Since July 2018, it is part of the municipality Gerstungen. Geography Marksuhl is located in the center of the Wartburgkreis district, approxima ...

. However, in November 2013, the investor agreed not to build the turbines and a regional planning update has banned such structures within sight of Wartburg in the future.

Today

Wartburg is a popular tourist destination, the most-visited site in Thuringia after

. It is accessible to visitors and guided tours offer access to the interior of the buildings. In addition, there is a museum in the castle. Children can ride donkeys up the hill. The ''Festsaal'' is used regularly for staging the opera ''Tannhäuser'', as well as concerts and other events. There is also a hotel, located right next to the castle, originally built during the castle's reconstruction in the 19th century.

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

, the 42nd president of the United States, visited the Wartburg castle, as well as the Bach House, on May 14, 1998 during his state visit to Germany.

Legacy

For centuries, the Wartburg has been a place of pilgrimage for many people from within and outside Germany, for its significance in German history and in the development of Christianity. Several places (especially US towns founded by Lutherans) and a local brand of automobile have been named after the Wartburg. Wartburg College in

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

, United States, is named in commemoration of Martin Luther's receiving refuge at the castle and because of the college's forest location and its Thuringian heritage. Wartburg Theological Seminary, also located in Iowa was named in commemoration of Wartburg Castle. The main complex at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary resembles the Wartburg. The

Wartburgkreis Wartburgkreis is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the west of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) the districts Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis, Gotha, Schmalkalden-Meiningen, and the districts Fulda, Hersfeld-Rotenburg and We ...

is named after the castle, although Wartburg is located outside the district. Eisenach, originally part of the district, became ''kreisfrei'' ("district-free") in 1998.

Image gallery

File:Wartburg aus Suedwest.jpg, Wartburg c. 1890–1900, seen from the south-west File:Wartburg.Southtower.JPG, The South Tower File:Thuringia Eisenach asv2020-07 img03 view from Wartburg South Tower.jpg, View of the courtyard from the South Tower File:Wartburg-Gate.from.the.inside.jpg, Main gate seen from the first courtyard

References

External links

Wartburg Castle: UNESCO Official Website
{{Authority control Romanesque palaces Castles in Thuringia Buildings and structures in Eisenach Heritage sites in Thuringia World Heritage Sites in Germany Landmarks in Germany Tourist attractions in Thuringia Burial sites of the Ludovingians