User:Deutschgirl/Draft
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| Marksburg | |
|---|---|
| Braubach | |
 | |
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 425: No value was provided for longitude. | |
| Type | Medieval castle |
| Site information | |
| Owner | German Castles Association (DBA) |
| Open to the public | Yes |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1117 |
The Marksburg (originally called the Braubacher Schloss) is a fortress above the town of Braubach in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The fortress was built about 1170 and is named after St. Mark. It is the only German castle of the Middle Rhine that was not destroyed in the Thirty Year's War [1]. It is one of the principal sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Rhine Gorge. The fortress was used for protection rather than as a residence for royal families.
Location
Braubach is a municipality in the Rhein-Lahn-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate,Germany. The town is located on the right bank of the Rhine river, approximatively 10 kilometers southeast of Koblenz. In addition to Marksburg castle, Braubach has other examples of medieval architecture still intact such as portions of the town wall and half-timbered buildings. The castle itself is located on a hill almost 500 feet above the Rhine river, upstream from where the Mosel joins with the Rhein. The castle can be reached by a 20 minute hiking path through the forest starting from town center of Braubach, or by road.
Construction
It is estimated that the castle was built around 1117, but the first known written reference of the castle is from 1231. The founders of the castle were most likely the Noble Freemen of Brubach. They oversaw the construction of the lower keep in the 12th century. The castle complex was built by the Lords of Eppstein. The complex layout is triangular in shape and was built in a Romanesque style. In the 13th century, the castle was purchased by Count Eberhard II of Katzenelnbogen. The counts of Katzenelnbogen built the Gothic sections of the castle during the 13th through 15th centuries. Count Philip of Katzenelnbogen founded a chapel in the castle, which he dedicated to St. Mark. From this point on, the castle has been called Marksburg after the saint [2] When the last member of the Katzenelnbogen family died the castle was passed to the Landgraves of Hesse. At this point of time the castle was fortified with artillery batteries and ramparts. [3]
Reconstruction
It is often claimed that Marksburg, is the only German castle on the Rhine that has never been destroyed. This is not strictly true.[4] What is generally meant by this is that, the castle was not damaged in the any of the major wars of the 17th through 19th centuries, namely the Thirty Years' War, the Seven Years' War, the French Revolution, or the Napoleonic wars. In fact the castle was damage multiple times throughout history. In 1705, a kitchen fire severely damaged, the castle, and the Rhine and North building were rebuilt. After 1750, the castle was used as a Hessian state prison. Hesse could not afford to maintain the castle, and the wall, bridges, and castle gates began to age. A 1780 earthquake added to the castle's damage. Later, the castle's main tower was destroyed during the Second World War.
Many German castles were destroyed in various wars. During the 18th century a movement to restore these castles began to grow. Many of the German princes romanticized the Middle Ages, and rebuilt the castles to resemble their fantasies. They ignored the primary purposes to the castles, generally military and economic, and focussed on the legends of chivalry and crusades. This led to romanticized and often historically inaccurate reconstructions of many of the castles along the Rhine. Marksburg, was one of the few castles of the Middle Rhine which was restored accurately to is state during the Middle Ages. It was perhaps Marksburg relatively good condition in the 18th century that allowed it to be restored so accurately. The princes tended to search for ruined castles that they could completely rebuild to match their fantasies.
Use
The castle was originally built to protect the town of Braubach and to reinforce the customs facilities.In 1803, the old German empire broke up and the castle was owned by the Duchy of Nassau. They used the castle as a home for disabled soldiers and as state prison. After the Austro-Prussian War 1866 the Duchy of Nassau became a territory of Prussia. It was sold 1900 for a symbolic prize of 1000 Goldmark to the German Castle Association,[5] which had been founded a year earlier as a private initiative to preserve castles in Germany. The Marksburg is the head office of this organisation since 1931. Currently, the castle is open for the public to tour
References
- ^ Lents, PJ (1992). Our Global Village - Germany: A Cultural Resource Guide. Lorenz Educational Press. p. 3. ISBN 9781558632677. Retrieved April 2011.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Baedeker, Karl (1882). The Rhine from Rotterdam to Constance: handbook for travellers. p. 101. Retrieved April 2011.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "A Journey through 800 Years of Castle History". Retrieved April 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Taylor, Robert R. (1998). The castles of the Rhine: recreating the Middle Ages in modern Germany. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. ISBN 9780889202689. Retrieved April 2011.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ MS-visucom.de
External links
