Old Falkenstein Castle
| Old Falkenstein Castle Burg Alter Falkenstein | |
|---|---|
Burg Alt-Falkenstein | |
| Falkenstein/Harz | |
| Coordinates | 51°40′48″N 11°14′23″E / 51.68000°N 11.23972°E |
| Type | hill castle |
| Code | DE-ST |
| Height | 335.6 m above sea level (NN) |
| Site information | |
| Condition | castle ruins, circular ditch (Ringgraben), advance rampart (Vorwall), wall remnants |
| Site history | |
| Built | 11th century A.D. |
Old Falkenstein Castle (German: Burg Alter Falkenstein or Burg Alt-Falkenstein) in the Harz Mountains of Germany is a ruined castle (Burgstall), once a high medieval hill castle. It lies on the territory of Falkenstein/Harz in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in the district of Harz. It was built in the 11th century A.D. and destroyed in 1115.
Location
The ruins of Old Falkenstein are located in the eastern Harz region of Mansfeld Land between Mägdesprung (north of Harzgerode) and Meisdorf (southwest of Falkenstein/Harz) on a rocky ridge (335.6 m above sea level (NN)[1]) above the valley of the River Selke. In the forested landscape of the Harz/Saxony-Anhalt Nature Park, it lies within the nature reserve of Selketal ("Selke Valley") about 1.25 km northwest of the Köhlerhütte[2], which itself is northwest of Pansfelde near the Kreisstraße 1344 district road. From there woodland paths run over the Hirschplatte, up to 364.2 m above NN high, to the ruins.
About 1.8 km east-northeast lies New Falkenstein Castle, a preserved medieval ridgetop castle.
History
The castle was probably built under the lordship of the German Emperor Henry IV. Its architect was the Swabian cleric and later bishop, Benno II of Osnabrück. After the Battle of Welfesholz on 11 February 1115 the castle was slighted under the direction of the Saxon duke, Lothair of Süpplingenburg and was never rebuilt. Afterwards the neighbouring castle of New Falkenstein[3] was built, and the Old Falkenstein was probably no longer occupied from the beginning of the 12th century, as surviving pottery shards indicate.[4] Die Burganlage bestand aus einer etwa 25 x 65 m großen, ovalen Hauptburg sowie einer etwa 85 m langen, schmalen Vorburg, und die Gesamtanlage war etwa 200 m lang[5]. Heutzutage sind am Burgstall noch Teile von Ringgraben und Vorwall sowie Reste der nördlichen Ringmauer zu sehen[4].
Vom Felsrücken der einstigen Burg bietet sich der Blick ins Selketal. Ein Kreuz erinnert an den hier am 11. Juli 2003 tödlich verunglückten Heimatforscher und Bodendenkmalpfleger Hans Reißmann. -->
References
- ^ Map services of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation
- ^ Köhlerhütte am Hirschstein (auf harzlife.de) mit Lage auf Topographischer Karte (harz-ausflug.de), inklusive eingezeichnetem Zugang
- ^ Burg Alter Falkenstein / Burg Neuer Falkenstein and other castles at stangerode.de
- ^ a b Burg Alter Falkenstein, auf alleburgen.de
- ^ Burg Alter Falkenstein mit Karte Grundriss und Geländeschnitte der Burg Alter Falkenstein, auf ausflugsziele-harz.de
Literature
- Friedrich Stolberg: Befestigungsanlagen im und am Harz – Von der Frühgeschichte bis zur Neuzeit, Verlag August Lax, Issue 2/1983, ISBN 3826910028