Wildenberg Castle (german: Burg Wildenberg), also called the Wildenburg, is a ruined,

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...

period

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

in the

Odenwald The Odenwald () is a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Location The Odenwald is located between the Upper Rhine Plain with the Bergstraße and the ''Hessisches Ried'' (the northeastern section ...

hills in Germany. It is located in the parish of Preunschen in the municipality of

Kirchzell Kirchzell is a market community in the Miltenberg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. Geography Location This community in the Odenwald lies at the three-state common point shared b ...

, in the

Lower Franconia Lower Franconia (german: Unterfranken) is one of seven districts of Bavaria, Germany. The districts of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia make up the region of Franconia. History After the founding of the Kingdom of Bavaria the state was totally r ...

n district of

Miltenberg Miltenberg () is a town in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named district and has a population of over 9,000. Geography Location The old town lies on the Main ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Location

The

ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

of the

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 ...

lie on a northeast-projecting

hill spur A spur is a lateral ridge or tongue of land descending from a hill, mountain or main crest of a ridge. It can also be defined as another hill or mountain range which projects in a lateral direction from a main hill or mountain range. Examples of ...

, the ''Schlossberg'', at a height of above the valley of the

Mud A MUD (; originally multi-user dungeon, with later variants multi-user dimension and multi-user domain) is a Multiplayer video game, multiplayer Time-keeping systems in games#Real-time, real-time virtual world, usually Text-based game, text-bas ...

, three kilometres southeast of Kirchzell and only a few hundred metres northeast of the centre of Preunschen, about 13 kilometres southwest of the district town of

History

The

lords of Dürn Lords may refer to: * The plural of Lord Places *Lords Creek, a stream in New Hanover County, North Carolina * Lord's, English Cricket Ground and home of Marylebone Cricket Club and Middlesex County Cricket Club People *Traci Lords (born 1 ...

, meritorious members of the retinue of the

emperor and ''Schutz

vögte During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

'' of

Amorbach Abbey Amorbach Abbey (german: Kloster Amorbach) was a Benedictine imperial abbey of the Holy Roman Empire located at Amorbach. It was later the residence of the rulers of the short-lived Principality of Leiningen, before that became part of the Kingdom ...

, had the castle built sometime between 1180 and around 1200. According to the Amorbach Abbey chronicles, however, his grandson Conrad I of Dürn (died 1258) started construction in 1216. This probably just refers, however, to the construction of the

gate tower A gate tower (german: Torturm) is a tower built over or next to a major gateway. Usually it is part of a medieval fortification. This may be a town or city wall, fortress, castle or castle chapel. The gate tower may be built as a twin tower on ...

. In 1271 and 1272 parts of the castle were sold, due to the Dürn's financial difficulties to the

Archbishopric of Mainz The Electorate of Mainz (german: Kurfürstentum Mainz or ', la, Electoratus Moguntinus), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the ...

and later to the ''

Amt Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...

'' of the Mainz government, after the Barony of Walldürn had been purchased in its entirety in 1292 by Mainz. Its management was initially exercised by officiates (''Offiziate''), but later by a ''

vogt During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

'' or

burgrave Burgrave, also rendered as burggrave (from german: Burggraf, la, burgravius, burggravius, burcgravius, burgicomes, also praefectus), was since the medieval period in Europe (mainly Germany) the official title for the ruler of a castle, especial ...

. In 1291, a certain Henry was the officiate, around 1320 it was Conrad Rüdt of Collenberg. In 1337 Archbishop Henry reconciled with his

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

and signed over Wildenberg Castle to the canons for a short period. In 1350 the ''Amt'' of the castle was

enfeoffed In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of ti ...

to Eberhard of Rosenberg. In 1354 Conrad Rüdt of Collenberg redeemed the fief. By increasing his borrowings from the Archbishop of Mainz, Conrad also received the offices of Walldürn and Buchen. In 1356 an earthquake is said to have seriously damaged the castle. In January that year Archbishop Gerlach enfeoffed the castle of Wildenburg, the town

Amorbach Amorbach () is a town in the Miltenberg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany, with some 4,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the small river Mud, in the northeastern part of the Odenwald ...

and a free tenancy in

, without the consent of his cathedral chapter, to Engelhard of

Hirschhorn Hirschhorn is derived from German composite word "Hirsch" (deer) and "Horn" (horn), part of a deer's antlers. A variation is Hirshhorn. It may refer to: * Hirschhorn (Neckar), a town in Hesse, Germany * Hirschhorn, Rhineland-Palatinate, a municipal ...

. One year later, he lent money to his Wildeburg burgrave, Conrad Rüdt of Collenberg. From 1368 Wiprecht of Dürn, Eberhardt Rüdt of Bödigheim, Fritz of Dürn and Eberhard of Fechenbach were the Mainz

castellans A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant of ...

. In the later period up to the 15th century, members of these families were mentioned as '' Amtmänner''. In the years 1400 to 1511 the castle was extended in a

late medieval The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renai ...

style. The west tower and barrier wall through the castle courtyard were built, and the

castle chapel Castle chapels (german: Burgkapellen) in European architecture are chapels that were built within a castle. They fulfilled the religious requirements of the castle lord and his retinue, while also sometimes serving as a burial site. Because the ...

renovated. Until 1525, the castle was still the headquarters of a Mainz ''Amtmann'' for the ''Amt'' Amorbach. 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 ...

, peasants from the ''Heller

Haufen {{italic title A ''Heerhaufen'', also ''Haufen'' or ''Haufe'', was the name given to unorganised or poorly organised paramilitary troops and auxiliaries in Central Europe during the Early Modern Period. The term is German and is sometimes transla ...

'' led by the

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

Götz Götz or Goetz () is a German name, in origin a hypocorism of '' Gottfried''. It remains in use as a short form of ''Gottfried'', but it has also become a surname. Surnames ;Goetz * Alphonse Goetz (1865-1934), French chess master * Arturo Goetz, ...

of Berlichingen razed Wildenberg Castle on 4 May 1525. Since then, it has been a ruin. In 1803, as part of the process of secularization, the castle was seized by the

Principality of Leiningen The Principality of Leiningen (german: Fürstentum Leiningen) was a short-lived principality ruled by the Prince of Leiningen. History The principality emerged in 1803 in the course of secularization and was created when the princely branch of ...

for a short time. In 1806, the Principality of Leiningen was mediatised by the

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden (german: Großherzogtum Baden) was a state in the southwest German Empire on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918. It came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden and subs ...

. By 1810 the castle and the area around Amorbach became part of the

Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine (german: link=no, Großherzogtum Hessen und bei Rhein) was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Grand Duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 ...

and, in 1816, was transferred to the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German E ...

in an exchange of territory. Parts of the castle were used in the 19th century to build the

artificial ruins Artificial ruins or imitation ruins are edifice fragments built to resemble real remnants of historic buildings. Artificial ruins became fashionable in German interpretations of baroque and English gardens, like the Ruinenberg. The ruins are ...

of Eulbach Park. Today, the castle ruins are a popular hiking destination and occasionally used for cultural events.

Description

In essence, the approximately rectangular, 80-metre-long, Hohenstaufen period

inner ward The inner bailey or inner ward of a castle is the strongly fortified enclosure at the heart of a medieval castle.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 22. It is protected by the outer w ...

has survived, having been little altered over the centuries. A diagonally oriented ''

bergfried ''Bergfried'' (plural: ''bergfriede''; English: ''belfry''; French: ''tour-beffroi''; Spanish: ''torre del homenaje'') is a tall tower that is typically found in castles of the Middle Ages in German-speaking countries and in countries under German ...

'' stands on the uphill side. On the south side is a

with a stepped portal and a

with bay window on the upper storey of the

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

. The spacious ''

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, ...

'' is situated on the downhill side of the castle. Its window arches on the upper floor, which are comparable to those of the imperial palace of Gelnhausen and

Château de Guirbaden The Château de Guirbaden (or Girbaden) is a ruined castle in the ''commune'' of Mollkirch in the Bas-Rhin ''département'' of France. It is situated in the Guirbaden forest, near the village of Mollkirch on the left bank of the Magel River ...

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

, are of high artistic value. The partition wall in the middle of the courtyard is a post-Hohenstaufen addition. That apart, there have been hardly any structural changes to the castle over the years, which is why Wildenberg, despite its ruinous state, is regarded as one of the best preserved Hohenstaufen castles in Southern Germany. The castle is rich in various

mason's mark A mason's mark is an engraved symbol often found on dressed stone in buildings and other public structures. In stonemasonry Regulations issued in Scotland in 1598 by James VI's Master of Works, William Schaw, stated that on admission to the guild ...

s (at least 50 different ones have been found), some of which are also found on other castles of the Rhine-Main-Neckar region, e.g. Stolzeneck Castle on the

River Neckar The Neckar () is a river in Germany, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, with a short section through Hesse. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the Rhine. Rising in the Schwarzwald-Baar-Kreis near Schwenn ...

and also in the palace at Gelnhausen. The castle is situated at the beginning of the spur ridge south-west of Preunschen. A few metres above the castle is the ''Fels(en)burg'' ("Rock Castle"), a cave hewn out of a natural, rock formation, with a rectangular stone entrance portal. The rock was hewn and the stone slabs so arranged to form a flat platform above. It may be conjectured that this was designed as a sort of

outer ward An outer bailey or outer ward is the defended outer enclosure of a castle.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 22. It protects the inner bailey and usually contains those ancillary buil ...

to protect the spur side, but that has not been proven. File:Burg Wildenberg 01.jpg, The northern flank of the castle File:Wildenburg2.JPG, The ''bergfried''

''Parzival''

Wildenberg Castle is possibly the castle that is called ''Montsalvaesch'' in

Wolfram von Eschenbach Wolfram von Eschenbach (; – ) was a German knight, poet and composer, regarded as one of the greatest epic poets of medieval German literature. As a Minnesinger, he also wrote lyric poetry. Life Little is known of Wolfram's life. There are ...

's ''

Parzival ''Parzival'' is a medieval romance (heroic literature), romance by the knight-poet Wolfram von Eschenbach in Middle High German. The poem, commonly dated to the first quarter of the 13th century, centers on the Arthurian hero Percival, Parziva ...

'', and depending on its linguistic origin is interpreted as ''Heilsberg'' ("Salvation Hill" or "Holy Hill") or ''wilder Berg'' ("Wild Hill") (c.f. section 230, verse 13). In the fifth book (''Die Gralsburg'') the Wildenberg is specifically mentioned: ''"Who saw such a great fire/Here by us in Wildenberg?"'' It is possible therefore that Wolfram von Eschenbach wrote part of the novel here. However, other castles may also have been suggested as the subject. Wolfram von Eschenbach may have written his description of the holy hill just based on contemporary paradise literature.Günther Ebersold: ''Wildenberg und Munsalvaesche'', Peter Lang Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, Berne, New York, Paris, 1988, . 139 pages; Inde
here
/ref> File:Burg Wildenberg Fenster 1.jpg, ''Palas'' and window arcades (''Fensterarkaden'') File:Burg Wildenberg 1.jpg, Late medieval dividing wall File:Burg Wildenberg Kamin 1.jpg, Renovated fireplace of the ''palas''

Literature

* Alexander Antonow: ''Burgen im Main-Viereck. Breuberg, Freudenberg, Miltenberg, Prozelten, Rothenfels, Wertheim, Wildenberg''. Antonow, Frankfurt am Main, 1987, , pp. 111–126 (''Handbuchreihe Historische Bauten 1''). * Thomas Biller: ''Burgen und Schlösser im Odenwald - Ein Führer zu Geschichte und Architektur''. 1. Auflage. Verlag Schnell und Steiner, Regensburg, 2005, , pp. 151–157. * Günther Ebersold: ''Wildenberg und Munsalvaesche - Auf den Spuren eines Symbols ''. Peter Lang Verlag, 1988, , pp. 64–83. * Walter Hotz: ''Wildenberg - Entstehung und Gestalt einer staufischen Burg''. Verlag Hermann Emig, Amorbach, 1979. * Walter Hotz: ''Burgen der Hohenstaufenzeit im Odenwaldraum.'' In: Winfried Wackerfuß (ed.): ''Beiträge zur Erforschung des Odenwalds und seiner Randlandschaften II. Festschrift für Hans H. Weber.'' Breuberg-Bund, Breuberg-Neustadt, 1977, pp. 155–168, esp. pp. 158f. & 162. * Hans Kunis: ''Wildenberg - Die Gralsburg im Odenwald.'' Verlegt bei M. Schäfer, Leipzig, ca. 1935. * Tilman Mittelstrass: ''Die Ritter und Edelknechte von Hettingen, Hainstadt, Buchen und Dürn''. Heft 26 der Reihe ''Zwischen Neckar und Main''. Verein Bezirksmuseum Buchen, 1991. * Ursula Pfistermeister: ''Wehrhaftes Franken. Band 2: Burgen, Kirchenburgen, Stadtmauern um Würzburg''. Verlag Hans Carl, Nuremberg, 2001, , pp. 97–99. * Thomas Steinmetz: ''Burgen im Odenwald''. Brensbach, 1998, .

External links

''Kirchzell – Burg Wildenberg 360°''
several 360° panoramas at "''Burglandschaft Main4Eck''" ''burglandschaft.de'' *
The ruins of Wildenberg
' a
House of Bavarian History

Wildenberg Castle - An Introduction
(pdf file; 350 kB)
''Das Geheimnis der Wildenburg'' ("The Secret of the Wildenburg" - online adventure game
in which the castle is the focal point

References

{{Castles in Odenwald Castles in Bavaria Hill castles Romanesque architecture in Germany Miltenberg (district) Heritage sites in Bavaria Odenwald