Sporkenburg
Encyclopedia
The Sporkenburg is a late medieval castle
ruin about one kilometre south of Eitelborn
in the district of Westerwaldkreis
in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate
.
lie within the parish of the village of Eitelborn in the Westerwald
hills above the L
329 between Bad Ems
and Arzbach
. Located in the middle of the forest, the Sporkenburg is not easy to find. The easiest option is to follow the signs along the castle path (Burgweg) into the woods from the eastern exit of the village of Eitelborn aus (Erlenweg, near the cemetery). Pass through the barrier and take the right hand path from the crosstracks which leads gently downhill. Alternatively take the ascent from the L 329 from where the castle can be seen above the valley.
The ruins are not managed and are freely accessible at any time.
The inner ward (Kernburg) is 35 metres long by 18 metres wide. It does not have a bergfried
. On the north side the castle has a five-storey, slightly angled shield wall
, reinforced with bartizan
s, that has a height of almost 20 metres. In the western section of the shield wall is the entrance to the inner ward. On the south side of the heavily built-up inner ward is the great hall
or Palas, whose outside walls have survived. The eastern part of the inner ward has been completely removed.
, the advocate (Vogt
) of Kurtrier. Whereupon Henry of Lahnstein transferred his rights to Dezerhaid to Henry II of Helfenstein.
Henry II of Helfenstein had the Sporkenburg rebuilt, probably not on the old site, in the year 1310. He assigned it to the Archbishop of Trier Baldwin (1307–1354) as a fief. The castle developed into the centre of the lordship of Helfenstein-Sporkenburg.
In 1515 John of Helfenstein sold the castle to John and Quyrin of Nassau (not to be confused with the counts of Nassau). In the deed the castle was described as vast buwefellig ("almost ruined"). In 1604 the castle went from the lords of Nassau to the von Metternich family. It was destroyed in 1635 by the French during the Thirty Years' War
.
State chancellor Prince of Metternich sold the ruins in 1811. Its ownership transferred in 1900 to Prussia and in 1948 to Rhineland-Palatinate. In 1967 the State Office for Cultural Heritage began a gradual restoration of the remaining remnants of the walls.
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
ruin about one kilometre south of Eitelborn
Eitelborn
Eitelborn is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Montabaur, a kind of collective municipality.-Location:...
in the district of Westerwaldkreis
Westerwaldkreis
The Westerwaldkreis is a district in the east of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
.
Location
The ruins of the spur castleSpur castle
A spur castle is a type of medieval fortification that uses its location as a defensive feature. The name refers to the location on a spur projecting from a hill...
lie within the parish of the village of Eitelborn in the Westerwald
Westerwald
The Westerwald is a low mountain range on the right bank of the River Rhine in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a part of the Rhine Massif...
hills above the L
Landesstraße
Landesstraßen are roads in Germany and Austria that are, as a rule, the responsibility of the respective German or Austrian federal state. The term may therefore be translated as "state road". They are roads that cross the boundary of a rural or urban district...
329 between Bad Ems
Bad Ems
Bad Ems is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the county seat of the Rhein-Lahn rural district and is well known as a bathing resort on the river Lahn...
and Arzbach
Arzbach
Arzbach is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Lahn, in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany....
. Located in the middle of the forest, the Sporkenburg is not easy to find. The easiest option is to follow the signs along the castle path (Burgweg) into the woods from the eastern exit of the village of Eitelborn aus (Erlenweg, near the cemetery). Pass through the barrier and take the right hand path from the crosstracks which leads gently downhill. Alternatively take the ascent from the L 329 from where the castle can be seen above the valley.
The ruins are not managed and are freely accessible at any time.
Layout
The tower castle (Turmburg) is located on a roughly rectangular hill spur above the stream of Emsbach. The spur drops steeply away to the west, south and east. To the north the castle is protected by a length of ditch (Halsgraben). The outermost defences and the ward between the two curtain walls (Zwinger) have almost completely disappeared.The inner ward (Kernburg) is 35 metres long by 18 metres wide. It does not have a bergfried
Bergfried
A bergfried is a tall tower typically found in medieval castles in German-speaking countries . Its defensive function is to some extent similar to that of a keep or donjon in English or French castles...
. On the north side the castle has a five-storey, slightly angled shield wall
Shield wall
The wall, is a military tactic that was common in many cultures in the Pre-Early Modern warfare age...
, reinforced with bartizan
Bartizan
A bartizan or guerite is an overhanging, wall-mounted turret projecting from the walls of medieval fortifications from the early 14th century up to the 16th century. They protect a warder and enable him to see around him...
s, that has a height of almost 20 metres. In the western section of the shield wall is the entrance to the inner ward. On the south side of the heavily built-up inner ward is the great hall
Great hall
A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, nobleman's castle or a large manor house in the Middle Ages, and in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries. At that time the word great simply meant big, and had not acquired its modern connotations of excellence...
or Palas, whose outside walls have survived. The eastern part of the inner ward has been completely removed.
History
The Lower Engersgau was probably enfeoffed to the lords of the Electorate of Trier under Archbishop Poppo (1016–1047). From this estate, Archbishop Engelbert (1079–1101) gifted the village of Dezerhaid to the Benedictine Abbey of St. Matthew. In the late 13th century the settlement is recorded as a fief in the possession of Emmerich of Andernach and Henry of Lahnstein. They began work on constructing a castle. The castle was destroyed, however, by Count Otto of NassauOtto I of Nassau
Otto I of Nassau , Count of Nassau was the younger son of Count Henry II of Nassau and Matilda of Geldern. Otto I became the count of Dillenburg, Hadamar, Siegen, Herborn and Beilstein after many years of quarrel with his brother Count Walram II. In the division of 17 December 1255 he received...
, the advocate (Vogt
Vogt
A Vogt ; plural Vögte; Dutch voogd; Danish foged; ; ultimately from Latin [ad]vocatus) in the Holy Roman Empire was the German title of a reeve or advocate, an overlord exerting guardianship or military protection as well as secular justice...
) of Kurtrier. Whereupon Henry of Lahnstein transferred his rights to Dezerhaid to Henry II of Helfenstein.
Henry II of Helfenstein had the Sporkenburg rebuilt, probably not on the old site, in the year 1310. He assigned it to the Archbishop of Trier Baldwin (1307–1354) as a fief. The castle developed into the centre of the lordship of Helfenstein-Sporkenburg.
In 1515 John of Helfenstein sold the castle to John and Quyrin of Nassau (not to be confused with the counts of Nassau). In the deed the castle was described as vast buwefellig ("almost ruined"). In 1604 the castle went from the lords of Nassau to the von Metternich family. It was destroyed in 1635 by the French during the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
.
State chancellor Prince of Metternich sold the ruins in 1811. Its ownership transferred in 1900 to Prussia and in 1948 to Rhineland-Palatinate. In 1967 the State Office for Cultural Heritage began a gradual restoration of the remaining remnants of the walls.
Literature
- Alexander Thon, Stefan Ulrich, Jens Friedhoff: „Mit starken eisernen Ketten und Riegeln beschlossen ...“. Burgen an der Lahn. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-7954-2000-0, p. 154-159.