Old Falkenstein Castle

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Old Falkenstein Castle
Burg Alt-Falkenstein
Falkenstein/Harz

Selketal-alter-falkenstein.jpg

View of the Selke valley from the castle site
Coordinates 51°40′48″N11°14′23″E / 51.68000°N 11.23972°E / 51.68000; 11.23972
Type hill castle
Code DE-ST
Height335.6 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 the castle site or burgstall of 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.

German language West Germanic language

German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol (Italy), the German-speaking Community of Belgium, and Liechtenstein. It is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg and a co-official language in the Opole Voivodeship in Poland. The languages which are most similar to German are the other members of the West Germanic language branch: Afrikaans, Dutch, English, the Frisian languages, Low German/Low Saxon, Luxembourgish, and Yiddish. There are also strong similarities in vocabulary with Danish, Norwegian and Swedish, although those belong to the North Germanic group. German is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English.

<i>Burgstall</i> German castle site, ruin

A burgstall is a German term referring to a castle of which so little is left that its appearance cannot effectively be reconstructed. It has no direct equivalent in English, but may be loosely translated as "castle site". Variations in the literature include Burgstelle, Altburgstelle, die Burgställe (plural), Burgstähl (archaic) or abgegangene Burg. In German castle studies, a burgstall is a castle that has effectively been levelled, whereas a "ruin" (Ruine) still has recognisable remnants of the original castle above the level of the ground.

Hill castle castle built on a natural feature that stands above the surrounding terrain

A hill castle is a castle built on a natural feature that stands above the surrounding terrain. It is a term derived from the German Höhenburg used in categorising castle sites by their topographical location. Hill castles are thus distinguished from lowland castles (Niederungsburgen).

Contents

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 kilometres (0.78 mi) northwest of the Köhlerhütte, [2] which itself is northwest of Pansfelde near Kreisstraße  1344. From there woodland paths run over the Hirschplatte, up to 364.2 m above NN, to the ruins.

Mansfeld Land is a region in the southwestern corner of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. The region derives its name from the counts of Mansfeld, who ruled this region for about 1,000 years.

Meisdorf Ortsteil of Falkenstein/Harz in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

Meisdorf is a village in the town of Falkenstein/Harz in the district of Harz in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.

Normalnull

Normalnull or Normal-Null is an outdated official vertical datum used in Germany. Elevations using this reference system were to be marked "Meter über Normal-Null". Normalnull has been replaced by Normalhöhennull.

About 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi) east-northeast lies New Falkenstein Castle, a preserved medieval ridgetop castle.

Falkenstein Castle (Harz) castle

Falkenstein Castle, also formerly called New Falkenstein Castle to distinguish it from Old Falkenstein Castle, is a German hill castle in the Harz Mittelgebirge, dating to the High Middle Ages. It is located in the town of Falkenstein between Aschersleben and Harzgerode.

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]

The Battle of Welfesholz was fought on 11 February 1115 between the Imperial army of the Emperor Henry V and a rebellious Saxon force.

Layout

The castle site consisted of an oval inner ward, roughly 25 by 65 metres (82 ft × 213 ft) in size, as well as a narrow outer ward about 85 metres (279 ft) long, the whole site extending over some 200 metres (660 ft) in length. [5] Today, elements of the circular moat (Ringgraben) and advanced rampart (Vorwall) as well as remnants of the northern ring wall (Ringmauer) are still visible. [4]

Moat dry or watery ditch surrounding a fortification or town

A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices. In older fortifications, such as hillforts, they are usually referred to simply as ditches, although the function is similar. In later periods, moats or water defences may be largely ornamental. They could also act as a sewer.

From the rocky ridge of the ruined castle there are views of the Selke valley. A cross recalls the fatal accident here on 11 July 2003 of local history researcher and area monument curator, Hans Reißmann.

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Selke (river) tributary of the River Bode in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

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Pansfelde village of Falkenstein/Harz in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

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References

  1. ↑ Map services of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation
  2. ↑ Köhlerhütte am Hirschstein (auf harzlife.de) mit Lage auf Topographischer Karte (harz-ausflug.de), inklusive eingezeichnetem Zugang
  3. ↑ Burg Alter Falkenstein / Burg Neuer Falkenstein Archived 2010-01-16 at the Wayback Machine . and other castles at stangerode.de
  4. 1 2 Burg Alter Falkenstein, auf alleburgen.de
  5. ↑ Burg Alter Falkenstein with map Grundriss und Geländeschnitte der Burg Alter Falkenstein, at ausflugsziele-harz.de

Literature

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