Waldsteinburg
Encyclopedia
The Waldsteinburg, also called the Red Castle is a ruined castle on the summit of the Großer Waldstein
in the Fichtelgebirge Mountains of Germany
. It is also known as the Westburg ('west castle') to distinguish it from the older ruins of the Ostburg ('east castle').
of Eger
. When the King of Bohemia was crowned as Emperor Charles IV
, the centre of power of the Holy Roman Empire
moved within easy reach of the Sparnecks and Waldstein Castle played an important role in the power structure of the western Egerland
and its surrounding regions. This time is considered the heyday of the lords of Sparneck; and Rüdiger, who had become more powerful, awarded Münchberg
the town rights of Nuremberg
on 13 July 1364 . His son Hans I of Sparneck was appointed to the chapter of Bamberg on 28 April 1352. Amongst other things, he enfeoffed the Waldstein to Konrad of Neuberg. He succeeded, however, together with his brothers Erhard (1364–1417), Frederick I (1364–1415) and Pabo II (1364–1373) to assume the fief of Waldstein from the emperor.
etcy, in order to keep their estates and if possible to expand them. Thomas Absberg was particularly noted for this and, around 1500, had terrorized the whole of Franconia
. He kidnapped traders
on several occasions and demanded a large ransom for their release. On 24 June 1520 he attacked a group of travellers on the Hahnenkamm
. Joachim, Count of Oettingen, who was with the group, was so badly wounded in the melee that, on 6 July, he died of his injuries. This event was reported to the Swabian League
and to Charles V
, who had just been named the "elected" German Emperor; he promptly placed the imperial ban on the Absberg family. Finally, in May 1521, Absberg attacked a group of returnees from the Reichstag
in Worms
on the Knittling high road. Hans Lamparter of Greiffenstein (the imperial spokesman) and Johann Lucas, who handled financial transactions on behalf of the emperor fell into his hands. After several stops, the prisoners were brought to the Waldstein
, the most secure fortress in the whole Fichtelgebirge, and which belonged to Wolf and Christopher of Sparneck.
In January 1523, after a year and 38 days in captivity, the prisoners succeeded with "the help of God", to escape and reported at Nuremberg that the Sparnecks had helped the Absbergs. On 1 June, a powerful army, comprising 10,000 infantry
, 1,000 riders, 100 rifle
s, and 33 cannon
with 900 pounds of gunpowder
was deployed. On 11 July the troops reached Waldstein Castle and razed it down to its foundations. The castle fell into ruin and was never rebuilt by the Sparnecks. The last of the family line died in 1744 in Wunsiedel
.
by war correspondent
, Hans Wandereisen, the castle is shown high above the surrounding area. Judging by the number of floors it is rather exaggerated, yet the ruins still stand on an impressive rocky plateau today.
Around the spur the forest is cleared, allowing a view of the troops belonging to the Federation. In the original document, published by Baron von Reizenstein, it talks about a "Schaffhausen" ('sheep shed'). This can be seen as a wooden house.
If you follow the path, on which a rider and barrels of gunpowder
is depicted, uphill you come to the outer ward, of which is one side of the castle gate still survives. The castle is well fortified on all sides and only at the back can a simple palisade
be seen which exploit the natural rock formation. In the left half of the castle, a stone cottage can be seen, which was used as a warehouse, according to Schwarz.
The inner ward consisted of a palace
, a gatehouse
, a battlement
with bartizan
(on the woodcut in the centre of the castle and oversized) and a quadratic keep
. Access to the inner ward was protected by a drawbridge, which is not visible on the woodcut. Several investigations, including by Karl Dietel, support this hypothesis, however.
Transcription: Waldstein, a castle belonging to the Sparnecks, where the prisoners were held, who escaped by themselves with the help of the Almighty: On the same day, Waldstein Castle, which belonged to the brothers Christopher and Georg von Sparneck, in which the prisoners, namely Lamparter and Johann Baumgärtner were kept and escaped, is razed by Christoph von Freyburg, a gentleman, appointed as Hauptmann to the city of Augsburg, and the prison blown up with gunpowder and wrecked. This castle is a death pit and was built at a wild, remote spot in a forest. There was nothing else there to be found. (The Sparnecks fled before the approaching troops, and took with them what they could carry)
being re-roofed and acting as a watchtower
. The red tiles used for the roof gave rise to its name of the Red Castle, a term first coined by the headmaster of Hof Grammar School, Helfrecht, in 1795 when he published his first work on the castle.
Großer Waldstein
The Großer Waldstein is part of the Waldstein range in the Fichtelgebirge Mountains of Germany. It is known primarily for its rock formations caused by so-called 'woolsack' weathering , its ruined castles and the only remaining bear trap in the region.The River Saale rises at the foot of the...
in the Fichtelgebirge Mountains of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It is also known as the Westburg ('west castle') to distinguish it from the older ruins of the Ostburg ('east castle').
History
The aforementioned Westburg, first recorded in 1350, was built to replace the older Ostburg, which no longer met the requirements for a defensive fortification. Its builders and owners were the knights of Sparneck.House of Sparneck
For centuries the lords of Sparneck ruled over a territory, which corresponded roughly to the former district of Münchberg. Waldstein Castle was an integral part of the estate of this once powerful family. The most famous member on the Waldstein was Rüdiger von Sparneck (ca. 1300-1364/68), who in 1336 was elected count palatineCount palatine
Count palatine is a high noble title, used to render several comital styles, in some cases also shortened to Palatine, which can have other meanings as well.-Comes palatinus:...
of Eger
Cheb
Cheb is a city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic, with about 33,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the river Ohře , at the foot of one of the spurs of the Smrčiny and near the border with Germany...
. When the King of Bohemia was crowned as Emperor Charles IV
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....
, the centre of power of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
moved within easy reach of the Sparnecks and Waldstein Castle played an important role in the power structure of the western Egerland
Egerland
The Egerland is a historical region in the far north west of Bohemia in the Czech Republic at the border with Germany. It is named after the German name Eger for the city of Cheb and the main river Ohře...
and its surrounding regions. This time is considered the heyday of the lords of Sparneck; and Rüdiger, who had become more powerful, awarded Münchberg
Münchberg
Münchberg is a small town in Upper Franconia , Germany. It is sometimes referred to as the Textile Town of Bavaria. Its sister city is Jefferson City, Missouri, USA.-The city district's:-History:...
the town rights of Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
on 13 July 1364 . His son Hans I of Sparneck was appointed to the chapter of Bamberg on 28 April 1352. Amongst other things, he enfeoffed the Waldstein to Konrad of Neuberg. He succeeded, however, together with his brothers Erhard (1364–1417), Frederick I (1364–1415) and Pabo II (1364–1373) to assume the fief of Waldstein from the emperor.
Destruction by the Swabian League in 1523
In the middle of the 15th century, many once powerful men operated in a manner which was later referred to a robber baronRobber baron
A robber baron or robber knight was an unscrupulous and despotic nobility of the medieval period in Europe, for example, Berlichingen. It has slightly different meanings in different countries. In modern US parlance, the term is also used to describe unscrupulous industrialists...
etcy, in order to keep their estates and if possible to expand them. Thomas Absberg was particularly noted for this and, around 1500, had terrorized the whole of Franconia
Franconia
Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...
. He kidnapped traders
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
on several occasions and demanded a large ransom for their release. On 24 June 1520 he attacked a group of travellers on the Hahnenkamm
Hahnenkamm (Altmühltal)
Hahnenkamm is a mountain of Bavaria, Germany....
. Joachim, Count of Oettingen, who was with the group, was so badly wounded in the melee that, on 6 July, he died of his injuries. This event was reported to the Swabian League
Swabian League
The Swabian League was an association of Imperial States - cities, prelates, principalities and knights - principally in the territory of the Early medieval stem duchy of Swabia, established in 1488 at the behest of Emperor Frederick III of Habsburg and supported as well by Bertold von...
and to Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
, who had just been named the "elected" German Emperor; he promptly placed the imperial ban on the Absberg family. Finally, in May 1521, Absberg attacked a group of returnees from the Reichstag
Reichstag (Holy Roman Empire)
The Imperial Diet was the Diet, or general assembly, of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire.During the period of the Empire, which lasted formally until 1806, the Diet was not a parliament in today's sense; instead, it was an assembly of the various estates of the realm...
in Worms
Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
on the Knittling high road. Hans Lamparter of Greiffenstein (the imperial spokesman) and Johann Lucas, who handled financial transactions on behalf of the emperor fell into his hands. After several stops, the prisoners were brought to the Waldstein
Großer Waldstein
The Großer Waldstein is part of the Waldstein range in the Fichtelgebirge Mountains of Germany. It is known primarily for its rock formations caused by so-called 'woolsack' weathering , its ruined castles and the only remaining bear trap in the region.The River Saale rises at the foot of the...
, the most secure fortress in the whole Fichtelgebirge, and which belonged to Wolf and Christopher of Sparneck.
In January 1523, after a year and 38 days in captivity, the prisoners succeeded with "the help of God", to escape and reported at Nuremberg that the Sparnecks had helped the Absbergs. On 1 June, a powerful army, comprising 10,000 infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
, 1,000 riders, 100 rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
s, and 33 cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
with 900 pounds of gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
was deployed. On 11 July the troops reached Waldstein Castle and razed it down to its foundations. The castle fell into ruin and was never rebuilt by the Sparnecks. The last of the family line died in 1744 in Wunsiedel
Wunsiedel
Wunsiedel is the county town of the Upper Franconian district of Wunsiedel in northeast Bavaria, Germany. The town became well known for its annual Luisenburg Festival and the Rudolf Hess Memorial March held by the Neo-Nazis here until 2005.- Geography :...
.
Woodcuts by Hans Wandereisen
On a woodcutWoodcut
Woodcut—occasionally known as xylography—is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges...
by war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
, Hans Wandereisen, the castle is shown high above the surrounding area. Judging by the number of floors it is rather exaggerated, yet the ruins still stand on an impressive rocky plateau today.
Around the spur the forest is cleared, allowing a view of the troops belonging to the Federation. In the original document, published by Baron von Reizenstein, it talks about a "Schaffhausen" ('sheep shed'). This can be seen as a wooden house.
If you follow the path, on which a rider and barrels of gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
is depicted, uphill you come to the outer ward, of which is one side of the castle gate still survives. The castle is well fortified on all sides and only at the back can a simple palisade
Palisade
A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.- Typical construction :Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized tree trunks aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks were sharpened or pointed at the top, and were...
be seen which exploit the natural rock formation. In the left half of the castle, a stone cottage can be seen, which was used as a warehouse, according to Schwarz.
The inner ward consisted of a palace
Palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the...
, a gatehouse
Gatehouse
A gatehouse, in architectural terminology, is a building enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a castle, manor house, fort, town or similar buildings of importance.-History:...
, a battlement
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
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...
(on the woodcut in the centre of the castle and oversized) and a quadratic keep
Keep
A keep 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 castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
. Access to the inner ward was protected by a drawbridge, which is not visible on the woodcut. Several investigations, including by Karl Dietel, support this hypothesis, however.
War files of 1523
Waltstain, ain schloßs der Sparnecker, darauff die gefanngen gelegen, die selbst auskomen sindt durch hilff des almechtigen: Item deßselben tags ist durch Wolffen von Freyburg, einem edlman, so von der statt Augspurg zu haubtmann geordnet was, das schloß Waltstain, so des Cristoffen vnd Jorgen von Sparneckh, gebrüdere gewest, darauff die gefanngen gelegen vnd auskomen sind, nemlich Johann Lampartter und Pamgartner, verprennt vnd die gefengnus mit pulfer zersprenngt vnd zerrißsen. Dasselb schloßs ist gar ein mordtgruben vnd nichts erpauen, an einem wilden ortt in einem walde gelegen, vnd nichts darinn gewest.Transcription: Waldstein, a castle belonging to the Sparnecks, where the prisoners were held, who escaped by themselves with the help of the Almighty: On the same day, Waldstein Castle, which belonged to the brothers Christopher and Georg von Sparneck, in which the prisoners, namely Lamparter and Johann Baumgärtner were kept and escaped, is razed by Christoph von Freyburg, a gentleman, appointed as Hauptmann to the city of Augsburg, and the prison blown up with gunpowder and wrecked. This castle is a death pit and was built at a wild, remote spot in a forest. There was nothing else there to be found. (The Sparnecks fled before the approaching troops, and took with them what they could carry)
Watchtower in the Spanish War of Succession
After its destruction in 1523, the castle was forgotten. Not until the War of Spanish Succession (1701–1714), was it used again, this time as a store, the gatehouseGatehouse
A gatehouse, in architectural terminology, is a building enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a castle, manor house, fort, town or similar buildings of importance.-History:...
being re-roofed and acting as a watchtower
Watchtower
A watchtower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military, and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to provide a high, safe place from which a sentinel or guard may...
. The red tiles used for the roof gave rise to its name of the Red Castle, a term first coined by the headmaster of Hof Grammar School, Helfrecht, in 1795 when he published his first work on the castle.
The castle today
Of the once proud castle rock, only its foundations remain. In 2007, a small part of the wall fell down. The State Department for Monument Conservation is considering whether to save the ruins.Waldstein Festival
The Waldstein Festival was staged by the Fichtelgebirge Club at Münchberg for the first time in 1923, 400 years after the destruction of the fortress. In 1995, the Waldstein Rock Theatre Club (Verein Felsenbühne Waldstein) was founded, which currently numbers 150 members and since its founding has performed four historical plays on the stage at the foot of the castle, three of them written themselves.Sources
- Karl Dietel: Der Große Waldstein im Fichtelgebirge, Saalfrank, Helmbrechts, 1968, (Zwischen Waldstein und Döbraberg; Band 7)
- Johann Theodor Benjamin Helfrecht: Ruinen, Alterthümer und noch stehende Schlösser auf und an dem Fichtelgebirge. Hof 1795.
- Karl Freiherr von Reitzenstein: Der Schwäbische Bund in Ober-Franken oder des Hauses Sparneck Fall 1523. Weimar 1859.
- Reinhardt Schmalz: Der Fränkische Krieg 1523 und die Schuld der Sparnecker; In: Archiv für die Geschichte von Oberfranken 85 (2005); p. 151–158.
- Steffen Schwarz: Die neuere Veste auf dem Waldstein – Eine burgenkundliche Abhandlung.
- Waldsteinfestspiele: Das Vermächtnis.
- Joseph Baader:Der Fränkische Krieg; In: Anzeiger für Kunde der deutschen Vorzeit No.1 to 3: January to March 1866. Einzusehen im Staatsarchiv Reitzenstein No.26
- Joseph Baader: Verhandlungen über Thomas von Absberg und seine Fehde gegen den Schwäbischen Bund 1519 bis 1530. Tübingen 1873.
- Dr. Hans Vollet und Kathrin Heckel: Die Ruinenzeichnungen des Plassenburgkartographen Johann Christoph Stierlein. 1987.