Irmelshausen

Irmelshausen is a village in the municipality of Höchheim in the district of Rhön-Grabfeld in Bavaria in Germany.

Irmelshausen
Irmelshausen
Coordinates	50°21.75′N 10°28.15′E
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Bavaria
Admin. region	Lower Franconia
District	Rhön-Grabfeld
Municipal assoc.	Bad Königshofen im Grabfeld
Mayor	Helmut Kürschner (Höchheim)
Basic statistics
Elevation	302 m  (991 ft)
Population	1,184 (31 December 2010)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	NES
Postal code	97633
Area code	09764

Irmelshausen from the west

Irmelshausen from the north-east

Irmelshausen from the south-west

Irmelshausen Print

Epitaph of Bernhard and Sibylle von Bibra at Irmelshausen church

Ground plan

Irmelshausen is best known for the castle and related church. Irmelshausen, on the old German - German border (East & West Germany), is one of the most appealing castles in this region of Germany (Franconia). The location of Irmelshausen is first mentioned in the year 800 when Emhild, the Abbess of Milz and a relative of Charlemagne, gave the village to the Counts of Henneberg. In 1354 upon the marriage of Countess Elisabeth with the Count Eberhard von Württemberg, the village was sold to the Bishopric of Würzburg. Twenty-two years later the bishopric transferred it to Berthold von Bibra. Since that time it has been greatly enlarged and been one the main seats of the Bibra family. Parts of the castle were previously taller but during a remodeling in 1854 the half timbered sections were lowered to the present height.

Until recently it was the site of the Bibra family archives which were fortunately moved to Irmelshausen from Bibra prior to the German Peasants' War in 1524-25. The second seat of the von Bibra family, through diplomacy it avoided being attacked and destroyed in both the Peasants War of 1525 and the Thirty Year War of 1618-48 when almost all of the surrounding castles were taken and sacked.

It is said that the first enemy soldier to enter the castle was on April 8, 1945 during World War II. American Col. Vennard Wilson was served tea, noted the contents of the castle and ordered it off limits to troops.

Besides the five sided castle, the late gothic church with it numerous and beautiful Bibra gravestones from the 16th and 17th centuries is worth visiting.

References

• FRANZ SAYN-WITTGENSTEIN, Schlosser in Franken : Residenzen Und Landsitze Im Frankischen, 1974 ISBN 3406035752 ISBN 9783406035753;

• WILHELM FRHR. VON BIBRA, Geschicte der Familie der Freiherrn von Bibra, 1870;

• WILHELM FRHR. VON BIBRA, Beiträge zur Familien Geschichte der Reichsfreiherrn von Bibra, Ernster Band (vol. 1), 1880;

• WILHELM FRHR. VON BIBRA, Beiträge zur Familien Geschichte der Reichsfreiherrn von Bibra, Zweiter Band (vol. 2), 1882;

• WILHELM FRHR. VON BIBRA, Beiträge zur Familien Geschichte der Reichsfreiherrn von Bibra, Dritter Band (vol. 3), 1888;

• HANS KARLINGER, Die Kunstdenkmäler von Bayern, III, 13. Bezirksamt Königshofen. - Munich, 1915 (Reprint Munich, 1983, ISBN 3-486-50467-3)

External links

• http://www.vonbibra.net/Irmelshausen.html Irmelshausen Page on vonbibra.net