Kastelburg

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Kastelburg (Waldkirch)

Luftaufnahme-Kastelburg-26102005.jpg

Kastelburg from the air
Highest point
Elevation 363.3 m (1,192 ft)
Coordinates 48°05′51″N7°57′28″E / 48.09750°N 7.95778°E / 48.09750; 7.95778 Coordinates: 48°05′51″N7°57′28″E / 48.09750°N 7.95778°E / 48.09750; 7.95778  
Geography
Baden-Wuerttemberg relief location map.jpg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Kastelburg (Waldkirch)
The location within Baden-Württemberg
Location Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Parent range Black Forest

The Kastelburg is a ruined castle above Waldkirch in the district Emmendingen in Baden-Württemberg. It stands on a hill about 100 meters (330 feet) above the center of Waldkirch in Breisgau.

Ruins Remains of human-made architecture

Ruins are the remains of human-made architecture: structures that were once intact have fallen, as time went by, into a state of partial or total disrepair, due to lack of maintenance or deliberate acts of destruction. Natural disaster, war and population decline are the most common root causes, with many structures becoming progressively derelict over time due to long-term weathering and scavenging.

Castle Fortified residential structure of medieval Europe

A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages by predominantly the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This is distinct from a palace, which is not fortified; from a fortress, which was not always a residence for royalty or nobility; and from a fortified settlement, which was a public defence – though there are many similarities among these types of construction. Usage of the term has varied over time and has been applied to structures as diverse as hill forts and country houses. Over the approximately 900 years that castles were built, they took on a great many forms with many different features, although some, such as curtain walls and arrowslits, were commonplace.

Waldkirch Place in Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Waldkirch is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located 15 kilometers northeast of Freiburg im Breisgau. While the English translation of its name is Forest Church, it is known as the "town of mechanical organs", where fairground organs played on the streets were long manufactured by such well-known firms as Carl Frei, Andreas Ruth and Son, and Wilhelm Bruder and Sons. The largest employers today are SICK AG, which manufactures optical sensors, Faller AG, which prints pharmaceutical packages and inserts, and Mack Rides, which exports amusement park and water park rides worldwide. Cultural events include the Klappe 11 Cinema festival, the Organ Festival and the Peter Feuchtwanger Piano Masterclass.

Contents

History

The Kastel castle was built between 1260 and 1270 by the Lords of Schwarzenberg. Like the Schwarzenburg on the opposite side of the valley its purpose was to defend the town Waldkirch and to control the trade route through the Elz valley.

Schwarzenburg (Breisgau) mountain

The Schwarzenburg, historically called Schwarzenberg, is a fortified castle near Waldkirch in the district Emmendingen in the southwest of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.

Elz (Rhine) tributary of the Rhine

The Elz is a river in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, a right tributary of the Rhine. It rises in the Black Forest, near the source of the Breg. The Elz flows through Elzach, Waldkirch and Emmendingen before reaching the Rhine near Lahr. Its length is approx. 121 km (75 mi).

The first inhabitant of the castle was Johann I of Schwarzenberg. The Schwarzenbergs died out already in 1345 and the castle was sold to Martin Malterer from Freiburg who fell in 1386 in the Battle of Sempach. In 1429 the castle was passed on to Berthold of Staufen.

Battle of Sempach battle between old switzerland confederation and Habsburg

The Battle of Sempach was fought on 9 July 1386, between Leopold III, Duke of Austria and the Old Swiss Confederacy. The battle was a decisive Swiss victory in which Duke Leopold and numerous Austrian nobles died. The victory helped turn the loosely allied Swiss Confederation into a more unified nation and is seen as a turning point in the growth of Switzerland.

In the Thirty Years' War the castle was destroyed by troops of the Kaiser on 14 March 1634 so that it did not fall into the hands of the advancing Swedish troops.

Thirty Years War War between 1618 and 1648; with over 8 million fatalities

The Thirty Years' War was a war fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648. One of the most destructive conflicts in human history, it resulted in eight million fatalities not only from military engagements but also from violence, famine, and plague. Casualties were overwhelmingly and disproportionately inhabitants of the Holy Roman Empire, most of the rest being battle deaths from various foreign armies. In terms of proportional German casualties and destruction, it was surpassed only by the period January to May 1945; one of its enduring results was 19th-century Pan-Germanism, when it served as an example of the dangers of a divided Germany and became a key justification for the 1871 creation of the German Empire.

<i>Kaiser</i> title of authority

Kaiser is the German word for "emperor". Like the Bulgarian, Serbian and Russian word Tsar, it is directly derived from the Roman emperors' title of Caesar, which in turn is derived from the personal name of a branch of the gens (clan) Julia, to which Gaius Julius Caesar, the forebear of the first imperial family, belonged. In general the german title was only used for rulers over kings (König). Although the British monarchs styled "Emperor of India" were also called Kaisar-i-Hind in Hindi and Urdu, this word, although ultimately sharing the same Latin origin, is derived from the Greek: Καῖσαρ (kaisar), not the German Kaiser.

Sweden constitutional monarchy in Northern Europe

Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north and Finland to the east, and is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund, a strait at the Swedish-Danish border. At 450,295 square kilometres (173,860 sq mi), Sweden is the largest country in Northern Europe, the third-largest country in the European Union and the fifth largest country in Europe by area. Sweden has a total population of 10.2 million of which 2.5 million has a foreign background. It has a low population density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre (57/sq mi). The highest concentration is in the southern half of the country.

In recent years attempts have been made to conserve the edificial structure of the ruin that is standing romantically above the historic center of Waldkirch (Action Kastelburg).

Related Research Articles

Emmendingen is a Landkreis (district) in the west of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Ortenaukreis, Schwarzwald-Baar, Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald and the district-free city Freiburg. To the west it borders the French département Bas-Rhin.

Breisgau region in the southwest of Baden-Württemberg with the center of Freiburg im Breisgau

Breisgau is an area in southwest Germany between the Rhine River and the foothills of the Black Forest. Part of the state of Baden-Württemberg, it centers on the city of Freiburg im Breisgau. The district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, which partly consists of the Breisgau, is named after the Black Forest area. Parts of the Breisgau are also situated in the political districts of Freiburg im Breisgau and Emmendingen.

Emmendingen Place in Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Emmendingen is a town in Baden-Württemberg, capital of the district Emmendingen of Germany. It is located at the Elz River, 14 km (8.7 mi) north of Freiburg im Breisgau. The town contains more than 26,000 residents, which is the most in the Emmendingen district.

Hluboká nad Vltavou Town in Czech Republic

Hluboká nad Vltavou, until 1912: Podhrad, German: Frauenberg) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic.

Hochburg castle

The Hochburg is a castle ruin situated between the city of Emmendingen and the village of Sexau in the region of Baden, located in the southwest of Germany. It was presumably built in the 11th century and was originally known as castle Hachberg. The line of nobles known as the Margraves of Baden-Hachberg most likely derive their name from this castle and before it was razed by the French it was the second largest fortification in Baden.

Vimperk Town in Czech Republic

Vimperk is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. In 2000 the town had 8,090 inhabitants. Vimperk is situated in the Šumava region in the Volyňka River valley among the foothills of the Boubín Mountains. The town elevation is 700 metres above sea level.

Münstertal, Black Forest Place in Baden-Württemberg, Germany

The Münstertal is a municipality in the southern Black Forest, which belongs to the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is 3 miles east from Staufen.

Buchenbach Place in Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Buchenbach is a municipality in the south west of the Black Forest in Germany. It is located in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in Baden-Württemberg. It is made up of four communities, the main town of Buchenbach and the villages of Falkensteig, Unteribental and Wagensteig. The current municipality was formed by the merger of the former entities of Buchenbach and Falkensteig on 1 December 1971, with Wagensteig being joined to them on 1 August 1973 and Unteribental on 1 January 1975.

Heuweiler Place in Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Heuweiler is a village in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in the southwest of Baden-Württemberg near Freiburg in southern Germany.

Wiesbach, Germany Place in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Wiesbach is a municipality in Südwestpfalz district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, in the southwest of Germany. The place name is composed of the two German words for meadow and brook.

Güssenburg Castle castle

Güssenburg Castle is a ruined castle on a hill near Hermaringen in Heidenheim County in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was built around 1346, during the High Middle Ages and much of the curtain wall and keep remain.

Elz Valley Railway railway line

The Elz Valley Railway is a 19.3 km (12.0 mi) long, single-tracked, standard gauge branch line in the Black Forest area of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The line branches off the Freiburg im Breisgau to Offenburg section of the Rhine Valley Railway at Denzlingen and runs up the valley of the River Elz to Waldkirch and Elzach.

Orlík Castle

Orlík Castle is a château 500 metres (1,600 ft) northeast of the village of Orlík nad Vltavou, in the northern part of the District of Písek, in the South Bohemia Region of the Czech Republic. The original position of the chateâu, on a rock 60 metres (200 ft) above the Vltava valley, was altered by the creation of the Orlík reservoir in 1954–62, and the chateâu is now barely a few metres above the water level.

Küssaburg

The Küssaburg, Küssenberg or Küssaberg Castle is a ruined hilltop castle located at an elevation of 634 m above sea level (NN) in Bechtersbohl, a village in the municipality of Küssaberg, in the county of Waldshut in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.

Falkenstein Castle (Höllental)

Falkenstein Castle is a ruined hill castle near Freiburg im Breisgau on the territory of the present-day municipality Breitnau in the county of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The castle site lies in a triangle formed by the entrance of the Höllental valley – the Lower Höllental and the Engenbach valley, not far from the Buchenbach village of Falkensteig, 617.6 m above sea level (NN) on a rocky crag that is very difficult to get to today. Of the castle itself only a few wall remains are left. It is one of the less well preserved ruins in the Breisgau.

Bubenstein Castle castle ruin

Bubenstein Castle, also called New Falkenstein Castle (Neu-Falkenstein), is a ruined spur castle at 560 m above sea level (NN) on a rock spur on the northern side of the Höllental valley, about 500 metres west of Old Falkenstein Castle above the village of Falkensteig in the municipality of Buchenbach in the county of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in the southwest German state of Baden-Württemberg.

Wiesneck Castle castle

Wiesneck Castle is a ruined castle in the village of Wiesneck in the municipality of Buchenbach in the Southern Black Forest in the county of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in the southwest German state of Baden-Württemberg.

References

•Alfons Zettler, Thomas Zotz: Die Burgen im mittelalterlichen Breisgau, I. Nördlicher Teil: Halbband L-Z. Jan Thorbecke Verlag, Ostfildern 2006, ISBN   3-7995-7365-8, pp. 470–496.

International Standard Book Number Unique numeric book identifier

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.

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