Willibaldsburg über Eichstätt
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The Willibaldsburg is a
spur castle A spur castle is a type of medieval fortification that is sited on a spur (mountain), spur of a hill or mountain for defensive purposes. Ideally, it would be protected on three sides by steep hillsides; the only vulnerable side being that where t ...
, built around the year 1353, in
Eichstätt Eichstätt () is a town in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the district of Eichstätt. It is located on the Altmühl river and has a population of around 13,000. Eichstätt is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Dioce ...
in
Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (, ; ) is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat of the district gove ...
. Until the middle of the 18th century, it was the representative castle and seat of Eichstätt's prince-bishops.


Location

This fortified palace lies west of the Old Town on an elongated hill ridge, the ''Willibaldsberg'' at an elevation of 464 m above sea level,Map services
of the
BfN The German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (, ''BfN'') is the German government's scientific authority with responsibility for national and international nature conservation. BfN is one of the government's departmental research agencies an ...
overlooking the Altmühl valley, the eastern portion being referred to as the Frauenberg. To the east across the valley lies the cathedral city of Eichstätt, and on the western side of the valley loop, Marienstein. Its total length is about 420 metres and it is naturally well protected thanks to this location. The Altmühl river here forms a sharp bend which, due to the resulting ridge was an ideal spot for the medieval castle and later
fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...
. It derives its name from the first bishop Willibald von Eichstätt (c. 700 – c.787). The castle and city lie within the
Altmühl Valley Nature Park The Altmühl Valley Nature Park () is a nature park, 2,962 km² in area, in the south German state of Bavaria. The area of the park is almost coextensive with that of the natural region major unit of the Southern Franconian Jura (''Südliche ...
in the cultural region of
Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...
.


History


Beginnings

The first fortifications on the castle hill are mentioned as early as 1070. Under
Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
Berthold von Nürnburg, also known as Berthold von Zollern (1355-1365), expansion into a fortified residence for the bishops of Eichstätt began around 1355, the old bishopric being in the city next to the
cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
. This
High Medieval The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...
edifice, which lay on the western spur of the hill was probably a large stone house, a tower and a chapel, protected by surrounding curtain walls and moats. After the Counts of Hirschberg died out in 1305, the bishops had to organize the military security of the diocese themselves. The cathedral chapter initially opposed the expansion plans because of the high costs, but the bishop was able to prevail. Bishop Frederick IV of Oettingen (1383-1415) strengthened the fortifications by building a
Zwinger A () is an open kill zone area between two defensive walls that is used for defensive purposes. s were built in the medieval and early modern periods to improve the defence of castles and town walls. The term is usually left untranslated, ...
kennel and had an "aestuarium magnum aestivale" built. This is likely to have been a hall building, a summer house, as seen in other castles of this time.


Middle Ages and Renaissance

Under the bishops Albrecht II von Hohenrechberg (1429-1445) and
Martin von Schaumberg Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * Mart ...
(1560-1590), the castle vestment was expanded and strengthened. Within 50 years, the Willibaldsburg underwent a major transformation from a late mediaeval castle through a stately fortified
Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...
edifice under Schaumberg, to a late Renaissance summer palace under Bishop
Johann Konrad von Gemmingen Johann Konrad von Gemmingen (also Conrad) (1561−1612) was Prince-bishop, Prince bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Eichstätt in Bavaria. The bishop was an enthusiastic botanist who derived great pleasure from his garden, which rivaled Hortus B ...
(1595–1612). Schaumberg made major changes to the front of the eastern side, creating an extensive structure (the ''Schaumbergbau'') with three wings out of the old curtain wall, which was now closed to the exterior. This prestigious residential building shaped the appearance of the castle, together with the expansion of the late Renaissance, up to the 19th century, although weapons continued to be stored in the basement.


Gemmingenbau

After the short reign of Bishop
Caspar von Seckendorff Caspar is a masculine given name. It may refer to: People * Caspar (magus), a name traditionally given to one of the Three Magi in the Bible who brought the baby Jesus gifts * Caspar Austa (born 1982), Estonian cyclist *Caspar Badrutt (1848–1904 ...
(1590–1595), Gemmingen added, among other things, a famous
botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...
, the
Eichstätter Garten The ''Eichstätter Garten'' or ''Hortus Eystettensis'' ("Eichstätt Garden"), also known as the ''Bastionsgarten'' (Bastion garden) was a botanical garden that was created during the Renaissance period under Prince-Bishop Johann Konrad von Gemm ...
. The
florilegium In medieval Latin, a ' (plural ') was a compilation of excerpts or sententia from other writings and is an offshoot of the commonplacing tradition. The word is from the Latin '' flos'' (flower) and '' legere'' (to gather): literally a gathering ...
commissioned by the bishop describing the plants in this garden, the ''
Hortus Eystettensis ''Hortus Eystettensis'' (Garden of Eichstätt) is the short title of a book produced by Basilius Besler, a Nuremberg apothecary and botanist, in 1613 describing the plants of the garden of the Prince-Bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria. The Renaiss ...
'' produced by the garden's curator,
Basilius Besler Basilius Besler (1561–1629) was a respected Nuremberg apothecary and botanist, best known for his monumental florilegium, the ''Hortus Eystettensis'' (lit''. The Garden at Eichstätt''), 1613. Biography Besler was born in Nuremberg, Holy ...
in 1613 is considered one of the most important works of its type. Also under Gemmingen, from 1609, the construction of a representative Renaissance castle based on the Italian model began. The old central building on the western spur was thus transformed. The
Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...
master builder
Elias Holl Elias Holl (28 February 1573 in Augsburg – 6 January 1646 in Augsburg) was the most important architect of late German Renaissance architecture. Life Elias Holl was born in Augsburg, Werbhausgasse 2. He was descended from a master-builder-Fam ...
provided the plans for this. The new south wing (1611) towered high over the mountainous crags. Together with Holl's
Augsburg town hall Augsburg Town Hall () is the administrative centre of Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany, and one of the most significant secular buildings of the Renaissance style north of the Alps. It was designed and built by Elias Holl, Stadtbaumeister ( Master Buil ...
, even in its reduced form, the palace is one of the most important works of the German Renaissance, described as "the perfect picture of one of the most beautiful princely residences in Germany at that time, as well as being an important fortress". Gemmingen's vision consisted of a lavishly furnished castle, with treasure vaults below decorated with illustrations of plants and figures bedecked with plants, which with the gardens created a summer residence in the Italian style, not known in Germany at that time. With the death of Gemmingen in 1612, the cathedral chapter authorised his successor to continue the work. Bishop
Johann Christoph von Westerstetten Johann Christoph von Westerstetten (6 January 1563 - 28 July 1637) was Prince-bishop of Eichstätt, Bavaria, Germany, during the Thirty Years' War. He was a proponent of the Counter-Reformation. Johann Christoph von Westerstetten was born on 6 Ja ...
(1612-1636) arranged for completion of the new building (''Gemmingenbau''), which was still piecemeal, and initiated further conversions. The two-tower facade was created from 1629 with the participation of
Hans Alberthal Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi a ...
and his successor Martin Barbieri. The fortifications were reinforced by five modern
bastions A bastion 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 fire from the ...
and the spacious outer bailey was created. The completed buildings can be seen in contemporary illustrations, such as those of
Wolfgang Kilian Wolfgang Kilian (10 May 1581 – 1662) was a German engraver and member of the Kilian family of engravers in Augsburg. Biography He was the son of Bartholomaus Kilian the elder and Maria Pfeiffelmann. After his father's death in 1583, his mothe ...
(1628) and
Matthäus Merian Matthäus is a given name or surname. Notable people with the name include: ;Surname * Lothar Matthäus, (born 1961), German former football player and manager ;Given name * Matthäus Aurogallus, Professor of Hebrew at the University of Wittenberg ...
(1648). Kilian also provided some of the engravings for the ''Hortus Eystettensis''. During the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
(1618–1648), a Swedish army under the command of Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar was able to take the castle fortress in the spring of 1633. At the end of October 1633, a Bavarian army under the command of Colonel
Johann von Werth Johann von Werth (1591 – 16 January 1652), also ''Jan von Werth'' or in French ''Jean de Werth'', was a German general of cavalry in the Thirty Years' War. Biography Werth was born in 1591 most likely at Büttgen in the Duchy of Jülich a ...
recaptured the fortress and successfully defended it, even though the Swedish army was in the immediate vicinity. Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar had the Swedish fortress commander Anton Klaudius von Rasch executed on December 9, 1633 for prematurely abandoning the fortress in
Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...
. Bishop
Marquard II Schenk von Castell Marquard is a small farming town in the Free State province of South Africa that serves Winburg in the northwest. The town was set up in 1905 by an influential Dutch Reform minister, JJ Marquard, with the help of Christoffel Cornelis Froneman ...
(1636-1685) then ordered the repair of the damage and installed gun
casemates A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armoured structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" mea ...
in the bastions.


Modern history

In 1725, the bishop moved the residence to the new city palace (
Residenz Eichstätt ''Residenz'' () is a German word for "domicile", now obsolete except in the formal sense of an official residence. A related term, ''Residenzstadt'', denotes a city where a sovereign ruler resided, and thus carries a similar meaning to the contempo ...
) by the cathedral. The Willibaldsburg became the seat of several offices and later a hospital and prison. After the Eichstätt Bishopric was
secularized In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...
in 1806, the
Bavarian State Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total land area of Germany, and with over 13.08 million ...
sold the facility to private owners. All usable furnishings were dispersed and a partial demolition reduced the building fabric. In 1829, Bavaria repurchased the half-ruined buildings and made provisional repairs to the fortifications. During this time, the onion towers were demolished by a floor and a half and
crenellated A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...
. The huge complex later served as barracks for the
Bavarian Army The Bavarian Army () was the army of the Electorate of Bavaria, Electorate (1682–1806) and then Kingdom of Bavaria, Kingdom (1806–1918) of Bavaria. It existed from 1682 as the standing army of Bavaria until the merger of the military sovereig ...
(3. Königlich Bayerisches Jägerbataillon - 3rd Royal Bavarian Infantry Battalion). The town of Eichstätt purchased the property in 1880, but it then reverted to the Bavarian State in 1900, who had owned the castle since 1880. In 1900, it was acquired by the Bavarian state and made a
cultural monument A national heritage site is a heritage site having a value that has been registered by a governmental agency as being of national importance to the cultural heritage or history of that country. Usually such sites are listed in a heritage registe ...
and began measures to conserve the structure. Between 1926 and 1934, the Congregation of Oblates of St. Francis de Sales occupied part of the Willibaldsburg, and from 1945 to 1955, the castle housed refugees from eastern regions of Germany including East Prussia, Silesia and Pomerania. In 1962, the
Bavarian Administration of State-Owned Palaces, Gardens and Lakes The Bavarian Administration of State-Owned Palaces, Gardens and Lakes (), also known as the Bavarian Palace Department (), is a department of the finance ministry of the German state of Bavaria. Tracing its roots back into the 18th century, the adm ...
took over the administration and extensive renovations were commenced. In 1976, the
Jura Museum The Jura Museum, a museum located in Willibaldsburg castle in the town of Eichstätt, Germany, is a natural history museum that has an extensive exhibit of Jurassic fossils from the quarries of Solnhofen and surroundings, including marine rept ...
was opened in the Gemmingenbai and in 1980 the Museum of Prehistory and Early History was opened to the public. In 1998, the reconstructed bastion garden was inaugurated and after 2000, a circular path was created around the entire complex and the rubble removed in front of the two main bastions, so that the fortification concept can be fully experienced.


Description

The modern Burgweg, approaches Willibaldsburg from the East, rising towards the outer bailey. There, the simple portal surmounted with a statue of St. Willibald is secured by two bastions from 1612, which guard the entrance with artillery. The drawbridge is long gone. The path from there leads through a 63 m gate hall to the inner castle courtyard. The barrel vault is 9 m high. In the north, the stables adjoin the gate building, followed by the single-storey wings of the former hospital and penitentiary with the rotunda of the penitentiary chapel. However, the eastern area of the outer bailey is not open to the public. The spacious courtyard was created by demolitions in the 19th century and is now used as a parking lot. Only the remains of the ''Schaumbergbau'' in the north have survived from the former development. The
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...
Dirnitz A ''dirnitz'' ( or ''Türnitz'', from the Slavic ''dorniza'' = "heated parlour", Danish: ''Dørns'', North Frisian: ''dörnsch'' or ''dörnsk''Snaak Friisk, Interfrisisk leksikon, Nordfriisk Instituut, Bräist/Bredsted 2010) or Knights' Hall was ...
, a five-bay, cross-vaulted courtyard room, whose square main hall rests on a round central pillar is here. Below the Dirnitz lies the two-aisled cellar with its barrel vault. Further cellar rooms are located under the courtyard area. Otherwise, apart from the
shield wall A shield wall ( or in Old English, in Old Norse) is a military formation that was common in ancient and medieval warfare. There were many slight variations of this formation, but the common factor was soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder ...
in front of the "Gemmingenbau", there is nothing left of the "Schaumbergbau" above ground, the main hall of which, according to the court chamber protocol of 1765, had twenty-nine windows and was spanned by a magnificent wooden ceiling. The other furnishings must also have been of great artistic importance, as the preserved Dirnitz shows. Due to the demolition of the "Schaumbergbau", the impressive shield wall of the medieval castle is now visible. Formerly, two towers flanked the five meter thick defensive wall. Behind it are the three wings of the "Gemmingenbau". This so-called New Castle encloses a late Renaissance inner courtyard, which, however, could only be partially completed according to Holl's plans. For example, the north wing was to be moved north by two window axes. The portal of the west building is therefore on the north corner, the ground floor arcades of the south wing lack their northern counterparts. In addition, the upper floors in the south and west were demolished in 1826 after the roof had already been covered after secularisation. Nevertheless, the monumental west building, with its two square corner towers and the bastion fortifications, is considered the city's landmark. From the outside, the "Gemmingenbau" appears to be four stories (formerly five stories), the towers protrude powerfully and are closed off by octagons with crenellated parapets, formed from half windows. The western bastions were built under
Marquard II Schenk von Castell Marquard is a small farming town in the Free State province of South Africa that serves Winburg in the northwest. The town was set up in 1905 by an influential Dutch Reform minister, JJ Marquard, with the help of Christoffel Cornelis Froneman ...
(1637-1685) to replace older bastions. As early as 1658, the “Half Moon” bastion was placed in front of the western front as a
ravelin A ravelin is a triangular fortification or detached outwork, located in front of the innerworks of a fortress (the curtain walls and bastions). Originally called a ''demi-lune'', after the ''lunette'', the ravelin is placed outside a castle a ...
or
lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', 'little moon') is a crescent- or half-moon–shaped or semi-circular architectural space or feature, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be ...
.


Usage

The castle houses the Jura Museum, a natural history museum. It possesses numerous fossils, including the famous Eichstätt
Archaeopteryx ''Archaeopteryx'' (; ), sometimes referred to by its German name, "" ( ''Primeval Bird'') is a genus of bird-like dinosaurs. The name derives from the ancient Greek (''archaîos''), meaning "ancient", and (''ptéryx''), meaning "feather" ...
. The museum is based on the extensive natural science collections of the Episcopal Seminary in Eichstätt and is managed by the General Directorate of the Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns (Bavarian State Natural Science Collection). There are regular special exhibitions, guided tours and lectures organized by the “Freunde des Jura-Museums Eichstätt e. V.” The museum was closed at the end of 2018 due to the uncertain financial situation. In July 2019, the
Catholic University of Eichstätt The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international instituti ...
took over the sponsorship, and the museum reopened in May 2020. Also at Willibaldsburg is the Museum für Ur- und Frühgeschichte auf der Willibaldsburg ( Museum of Prehistory and Early History) owned by the Eichstätt Historical Society. The museum displays the history of the region from the Stone Age to the early Middle Ages. The focus is on Ice Age animal skeletons of
mammoths A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus.'' They lived from the late Miocene epoch (from around 6.2 million years ago) into the Holocene until about 4,000 years ago, with mammoth species at various times inhabi ...
, reindeer and hyenas. There is also a section with extensive Roman archaeological finds and a model of the Roman fort in Pfünz with over 400 painted pewter figures. In the last room of the museum there is a late
Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...
tomb. Part of the castle is also used by the Bavarian State for archive purposes.


Awards

The 1977 Bund Deutscher Architekten (BDA) Bayern architecture prize was awarded to Willibaldsburg for the construction of the Jura Museum.


See also

*
List of bishops of Eichstätt List of the bishops of Eichstätt. Bishops of Eichstätt, 741–1790 *Willibald 741–786 *Geroch, 786–801 *Aganus, 801–819 *Adalung, 820–841 *Altun, 841–858 *Ottokar, 858–881 *Gottschalk, 881–884 *Erkenbald, 884–916 *Udalfried, 916 ...


Notes


References


Bibliography


Books and articles

* * * * * * * * * *


Websites

* * * * * * *


External links


History of the castle

Jura Museum





Eichstätt History Society: History of the Willibaldsburg
{{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in 1353 Forts in Germany Castles in Bavaria Heritage sites in Bavaria Museums in Bavaria Buildings and structures in Eichstätt (district) Eichstätt