The great number and the variety of German castles is a fascinating mirror of historical developments and territorial fragmentation. The latter was one of the most striking elements of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, which was founded in the High Middle Ages and ended only in 1815 when Europe was politically and territorially reorganised at the Congress of Vienna in Austria. The German emperor was certainly the highest political representative within his Empire, but there were a great many more or less independent kingdoms, principalities, ecclesiastical states, and other political or territorial units. It is by no means surprising that in order to demonstrate their political power the emperor and the kings built prestigious manors and castles, not necessarily to live in them but rather to control and to defend their territory, if necessary. In many cases the castles were inhabited by imperial administrators with the consequence that the distribution pattern of the castles was at the same time a network of administrative places from where the country was controlled. Of special importance were the imperial palaces (Pfalzen) which were periodically used as places of residence. Following the example of the high nobility, the many regional sovereigns, princes, archbishops and bishops had the same ambitions and pretensions. Consequently, they adopted the same policy to demonstrate their power, sometimes just to intimidate their territorial neighbours, the people or their potential enemies. However, rivalries, battles and wars were frequent between these power holders hence the fortified aspect of medieval castles.
The building of castles has taken place in almost every phase of history since the Early Middle Ages. According to these phases, a wide typological range of German castles can be established. A first time period can be determined from the 6th through the 10th century, when castles were mostly wooden constructions. Most of them have disappeared, for obvious reasons (Deutsche Burgenvereinigung, 1999, p. 38-53). One of the characteristics was the defence systems, mainly walls and trenches surrounding the castle as such. The materials used for these walls were basically soil and stones, sometimes wooden palisades. To describe this kind of castle construction, Germans use the term of Burgwälle (wall = dam), emphasising more the type of fortification than the castle itself. In most cases these Burgwälle were only temporarily used as residences, rather than being part of a defence system against aggressors. People of the surrounding villages were eventually allowed to use these buildings to protect themselves in times of wars or political unrest.
Most of the Burgwälle had only very primitive trenches, towers and gates, more or less easy to assault. This changed during the 9th century, when the danger of sudden and frequent attacks increased because of the expansion of new powers within Europe, including the Normans, the Hungarians, and the Slavs. Especially the Frankish empire (which was subdivided in 843 into three independent kingdoms) suffered from these attacks. Consequently it was first within the Frankish territory, and later in the Saxon territory that new types of castles and fortifications came into being very similar to the Kesterburg on top of the Christenberg in Hessen.
Again, most castles of this time period have not survived (an exeption is the Schauenburg [1] in Baden). Much like during the early Middle Ages, castles of the first half of the High Middle Ages (10th to midst of the 12th century) were not very solid constructions, wood still being the predominant building material. However, many castles of this time period were replaced by more solid stone constructions later. This included a change from a more defensive to a residential function of most of them. The Weissenstein castle (near Marburg-Wehrda in Hessen) was recognised as one of the very first examples of this kind of fortified residences for the local nobility. Not only were these residences now solid stone constructions, but they also disposed in most cases of stone towers that were parts of the residential section of the castle. There is a wide range of construction types for these towers. Some were built on top of an artificially raised hill, others were built first and than buried in the lower part under thick layers of soil and stones, a technique which was called "einmotten", from where the denomination of "Motte" for this type of medieval castle derives. Many of the medieval towers, however, had simply strategic or defensive character, especially those built after the beginning of the 12th century.
What can be described as the classic time period of castle building in Germany is the second half of the High Middle Ages (from the middle of the 12th to the end of the 13th century), politically the time when the Staufer were in power (Deutsche Burgenvereinigung, 1999, p.53-125). It is mainly during their reign that territorial fragmentation occurred and was fostered through all kinds of privileges given to or established by the local sovereigns, with consequences that have already been indicated. On the one side, the kings established a whole network of "Reichsburgen" ("imperial castles"), many of which have survived (e.g. Münzenberg [2], Friedberg [3], Trifels [4] and others). By no means less prestigious were the so called "Reichspfalzen" (imperial palaces), even though they served only occasionally as residences. Famous examples of this type are Gelnhausen [5] (Hessen) and Goslar [6] (Lower Saxony)
What seemed to be appropriate to the emperor was thought to be suitable for the lower nobility. Local kings, landgraves, princes, archbishops, bishops and other local sovereigns copied the castlemania of the emperor and the high nobility and built their own castles and residences within their respective territories. There must have played a spirit of competitiveness since the impression is that most of these new castles were thought to be bigger, more prestigious, easier to defend etc. than your neighbour's -all this at the expense of the people who had to pay for this in various ways. Examples are not difficult to find: Neuenburg [7] in Sachsen-Anhalt, the castle of Marburg in its earliest stage, the castle of Breuberg [8] in Hessen, the Nürburg [9], the Altenbaumburg [10] and those of Dahn [11] in Rhineland-Palatinate. Heinrich der Löwe (Henry the Lion) in Braunschweig (Dankwarderode) and the Landgraves of Thüringen in Eisenach (Wartburg) built particularly prestigous palaces - the Wartburg [12] is one the most famous castles in Germany from that time period. An important player in the building of castles were the orders, especially the Teutonic Knights who established many castles in the eastern parts of the Empire which became colonised under their auspices.
Geographically, castles at that time were built on hill tops or in strategically significant locations and their construction was everywhere very similar. They usually were protected by solid stone walls of an extremely defensive character. In addition, they had observation and defence towers as well as dungeons, elements which were not known before the 13th century. Even though each castle had very individual architectural characteristics, they also had aspects in common. Most important was the defence appearance to intimidate aggressors even before the attack. The immense dimension of the walls in thickness and height, the use of huge stone blocks, known as "Buckelquader", were some of these elements. This construction type was apparently very much influenced from the castles and fortifications in the Orient which were known by those who participated in the cruisades. Many of the castles along the Rhine and the Moselle (e.g. Mürlenbach [13]) represent this architecture very nicely. Another example is Burg Eltz [14] in the Moselle valley, a castle with particular ownership structures since it was not owned only by a single sovereign but belonged to a greater number of heirs (from where the German expression of "Ganerbenburg").
In the late Middle Ages (after 1300) the construction of castles slowed down considerably. The reason for this was partly the impoverishment of the nobility due to famines and epidemics among the population (Deutsche Burgenvereinigung, 1999, p. 126-147). Only sporadically were new castles built during that time, including some of the famous castles along the Rhine [15] such as Rheinfels and Neukatzenelnbogen (map). More frequent was the extension of existing castles by expanding or adding buildings, courtyards or the defence system. Striking examples for this are Burghausen in Bavaria, several castles in the lower river Neckar area including Neckarsteinach [16] and Guttenberg [17].
What really changed from the 15th century onwards were the defence systems once the gun powder had been invented and the use of fire weapons had replaced medieval battle techniques. The example of Hohenneuffen [18] (Baden-Wurttemberg) nicely documents this change. The traditional fortifications were more or less quickly modified or replaced by new constructions which were more effective to resist the bullets and cannon-balls of the aggressors. At the same time they served as operation base for the use of the new war material. Especially in Northern Germany a rather unique type of fortified manor houses came into being during that time period. A nicely preserved example is the "feste Haus" (literally "solid house") which originally stood in Ransbach (Hessen) and is today relocated to the open air museum Hessenpark (Neu Anspach, Hessen).
But the changes were not limited to the defence systems. The beginning of the Modern Age (Neuzeit) in the early 16th century was mainly the beginning of a new time spirit and philosophy, leaving behind the medieval constraints of the Church and the clergy on the people’s minds. The human rationale became more and more the determining factor of human action, self-confidence and self-conscience replaced subordination and obedience vis à vis the Church. With regard to castles, the impact of this new age was twofold. On the one hand there was a very obvious architectural change, the castles now becoming more and more luxury residences replacing the solid defence buildings of the medieval type. The other aspect was that the fortification systems became more and more sophisticated, strongly influenced by the famous French specialist for the construction of modern defence systems, Sebastien de Vauban (Deutsche Burgenvereinigung, 1999, p. 148-162). For more than 200 years fortifications of castles and cities were built in Germany following the example of Vauban. It is only by the end of the 18th century that war techniques and strategies changed again which made defence systems of this type obsolete. By that time, many castles were dismantled from their surrounding walls, as the example of Augustusburg [19]/ Brühl (near Bonn) shows nicely.
The subdivision of the first two centuries of the Modern Age into two phases is very common, not only to art history. The first phase, the Renaissance (1550 – 1650), is followed by the Baroque age that spans from the mid 17th to the end of the 18th century. In both phases, yet with very apparent typological differences, the number of new luxury castles of the residential type increased tremendously, thus reflecting the "new power" of the absolutist sovereigns (Köpf 1958, p. 125-130). In addition to huge castles, whole cities were built around the castles or adjacent to them, like Mannheim [20], Karlsruhe [21], and many others. They can easily be recognised since their ground plan follows a very strict geometrical pattern.
As far as the defence and fortification systems are concerned, they, too, followed schematic and very geometrical patterns. Beyond their regular form they were also very similar in their functional outfit. The massive wall constructions with their star like edge and corner system were only one aspect of an integrated system of casemates, powder storage caverns, cannon ranges, etc. Not only the castles were surrounded by those defence systems (as the examples of Marburg, Hessen, and Heldrungen [22], Thuringia, demonstrate), but whole cities were protected in the same way (e.g. Hamburg [23]). Other examples of fortified castles of this type include Ehrenbreitstein [24] near Koblenz (1817-28) and Königstein [25] in Saxony.
A new momentum and at the same time a completely new element characterises the situation in the 19th century. In the European history of architecture the 19th century is often referred to as the century of "historicism" meaning that a renaissance of architectural expression took place that was nourished from historical examples. This movement had its climax at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century (Deutsche Burgenvereinigung 1999, p. 165-173). It all started with a "cult of ruins" in the first two decades of the 19th century, which means that Germans started to discover their cultural heritage partly through the remnants of castles and other historical buildings from earlier times, especially from the Middle Ages. Some new castles were built at that time imitating earlier construction types but integrating parts that were deliberately built as follies, as can be seen from the example of the Löwenburg [26] in Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe. This earliest phase up to about 1820 is often referred to as "romantic historicism". It was followed by a second phase when special emphasis was given to the reconstruction and the renovation of old castles in their original style. Many examples to illustrate this can be found along the Rhine including those of Rheinstein, Stahleck, Sooneck, Schönburg, Rheinfels and Stolzenfels. This second phase is referred to as the "heroic historicism". In addition to the renovation of many older constructions, there were also many new castles built during the 19th century which undoubtedly count amongst the most famous examples of German castles today on a world wide scale: Hohenschwangau [27] (1833-53), Babelsberg/ Potsdam [28] (1834-49), Lichtenstein (Swabian Alb, 1839-57) and, above all, Neuschwanstein [29] (1868-92), just to name some of the very famous ones. Other well known examples of important castle renovations are Hohenzollern [30] (Swabian Alb, 1850-67), the Marienburg [31] near Hanover (1858-67), the Kaiserpfalz (imperial palace) in Goslar (1868-1900), the Wartburg near Eisenach, Dankwarderode (Braunschweig) and the castle of Nuremberg. Occasionally the last phase of the century is referred to as "late historicism".
The history of German castles thus reflects the history of the country itself and it is easy to understand why German people are particularly attached to this element of their cultural heritage. However, one of the major problems today is how to preserve this heritage, since times have fundamentally changed as well as political, territorial and social structures. The restructuring of the society has deprived many of the former nobility of their privileges, many of them were ruined for whatever reasons. In the process of political reorganisation, the German state became the owner of many of the historic buildings and is now responsible for their maintenance and use. Most of them are classified as historic monument [32] (Deutsche Burgenvereinigung 1999, p. 177-181). There are many ongoing debates about how to classify, how to maintain and how to use these castles today. Public and private initiative groups and associations, including the Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz [33], the Deutsche Burgenvereinigung [34], the Wartburg Gesellschaft [35] and many others are involved in this endeavour.
A few examples may illustrate the present situation. Despite fundamental changes in the ownership structure, there are still quite a few of the German castles inhabited by families whose ancestors were the builders. In more general terms, many of the castles, privately or publicly owned, are being used in total or in part as museums [36], as can be seen from the castles of Leuchtenburg [37], Benrath [38], Dahn, Guttenberg, and others. The exhibits of these museums are varied, such as the tin soldiers in Plassenburg [39] near Kulmbach, arms collections as at the Veste Coburg [40], galleries of paintings as at the castles of Schleissheim [41] and Nymphenburg [42], or the butterfly garden at the castle of Sayn [43]. In many places cultural events take place, including concerts (for example at Weilburg [44]), festivals and/or theatre performances. An increasing number of castles is used for tourist and recreation purposes such as hotels [45] (e.g. Trendelburg, Blomberg), youth hostels (e.g. Altena, Hessenstein, Stahleck, Starkenburg, and Dilsberg) or restaurants. Most of these have today internet addresses and can be reached through the world wide web. To promote castle tourism a great number of initiatives can be indicated including so-called tourist routes or castle routes, such as the Deutsche Burgenstrasse [46] (between Mannheim, Rhineland Palatinate, and Prague in the Czech Republic), or the Wasserburgenroute. Some of these routes are identified as educational circuits like the one in the Hassberge mountains in Lower Franconia (Zeune 1997). Last but not least, some of the castles are today the home of universities (e.g. Mannheim, Bonn [47], and others), of local or regional administration bodies (e.g. Bensberg) or of governmental institutions as can be seen from the castle of Schwerin [48], today’s capital of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
The question of how German castles are being used today mostly depends on the ownership question. Private owners are more or less free to determine how to use their property, providing they respect the requirements concerning the conservation of the cultural heritage as they are determined by the official authorities in charge of the historic monuments, which are official government departments of the Länder. Most of the state-owned castles are open to the public for various uses. In many cases they are multifunctional as can be seen from the example of Marburg. Historically, once the castle had lost its original function as the residence of the Hessian landgraves, it became temporarily a prison, later a public archive containing different collections of the local history. Today it holds parts of the museum of the Philipps-Universität Marburg (early history and cultural heritage division), a theatre room, but also a students' dormitory in an adjacent building (Grossmann 1999, p. 18-19). To summarise it in the most general terms: the variety of uses of Germany’s castles is as wide as the variety of the castles themselves.
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