An imperial castle or ''Reichsburg'' was a castle built by order of (or acquired by) the

King of the Romans King of the Romans (; ) was the title used by the king of East Francia following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward. The title originally referred to any German king between his election and coronatio ...

or the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

on land that was owned by the crown ''(Reichsgut)''. While in the early middle ages, in

Francia The Kingdom of the Franks (), also known as the Frankish Kingdom, or just Francia, was the largest History of the Roman Empire, post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks, Frankish Merovingian dynasty, Merovingi ...

, as well as in the early

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, kings and emperors travelled around their realm with their ''

itinerant court An itinerant court was a migratory form of government shared in European kingdoms during the Early Middle Ages. It was an alternative to having a capital city, a permanent political center governed by a kingdom. Medieval Western Europe was gener ...

s'', using their ''

Kaiserpfalz The term ''Kaiserpfalz'' (, "imperial palace") or ''Königspfalz'' (, "royal palace", from Middle High German ''phal ne'' to Old High German ''phalanza'' from Middle Latin ''palatia'' luralto Latin ''palatium'' "palace") refers to a number o ...

en'' (imperial palaces) as transit stations and temporary residences, the weakly fortified ''pfalzen'' were replaced by ''imperial castles'' from the 13th century onwards. However, the stronger fortification of palaces had already begun in the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...

period, as shown by the 3D reconstruction of the castle-like imperial ''pfalz'' of

Haguenau Haguenau (; or ; ; historical ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Bas-Rhin Département in France, department of France, of which it is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture. It is second in size in the Bas-Rhin only to Strasbourg ...

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

in the middle of the 12th century. After the fall of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, the royal power temporarily lapsed during the

interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of revolutionary breach of legal continuity, discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one m ...

. One weak king after another was elected, but no one was able to exercise sovereign power. Princes and bishops tried to expand their territories. They oppressed less powerful nobles, fought the urban rulers (

patricians The patricians (from ) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders (494 BC to 287 B ...

and

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

s), illegally seized imperial fiefdoms, introduced customs duties, new taxes and even royal ''

regalia Regalia ( ) is the set of emblems, symbols, or paraphernalia indicative of royal status, as well as rights, prerogatives and privileges enjoyed by a sovereign, regardless of title. The word originally referred to the elaborate formal dress and ...

''.

Feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...

s, the law of the fist and robber barons escalated. In this situation, the barely fortified ''pfalzen'' no longer offered sufficient security to the German kings. Most were abandoned, repurposed by cities or local princes, disappeared under new development or fell into disrepair. Instead of the ''pfalzen'', the heavily fortified imperial castles were built, which - unlike the ''pfalzen'', which were usually located in towns, lowlands, valleys or on river banks - were often hilltop castles like

Nuremberg Castle Nuremberg Castle () is a group of medieval fortified buildings on a sandstone ridge dominating the historical center of Nuremberg in Bavaria, Germany. The castle, together with the City walls of Nuremberg, city walls, is considered to be one ...

or Trifels Castle. Many imperial castles were built in regions such as

Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...

Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...

, the Palatinate and the

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

, where there were a high density of imperial estates (''Reichsgüter'') during the Hohenstaufen era. However, kings also liked to stay in free imperial cities loyal to them. In France and England, from the 13th century onwards, stationary royal residences had begun to develop into capital cities that grew rapidly and developed corresponding infrastructure: the ''

Palais de la Cité The Palais de la Cité (), located on the Seine River's Île de la Cité, is a major historic building in the centre of Paris, France. It was an occasional residence of the Kings of France from the early 6th to the 12th century and a permanent one ...

'' and the ''

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

'' became the respective main residences. This was not possible in the Holy Roman Empire because no real hereditary monarchy emerged, but rather the tradition of elective monarchy prevailed ''(see:

Imperial election The election of a Holy Roman Emperor was generally a two-stage process whereby the King of the Romans was elected by a small body of the greatest princes of the realm, the prince-electors. This was then followed shortly thereafter by his coronati ...

)'' which, in the High Middle Ages, led to kings of very different regional origins being elected ''( List of royal and imperial elections in the Holy Roman Empire)''. However, if they wanted to control the empire and its rebellious regional rulers, they could not limit themselves to their home region and their private palaces. As a result, kings and emperors continued to travel around the empire well into modern times.Karl Otmar von Aretin: ''Das Reich ohne Hauptstadt?'' (The empire without a capital?), in: ''Hauptstädte in europäischen Nationalstaaten'' (Capitals in European nation states), ed T Schieder & G Brunn, Munich/Vienna, 1983, pp. 1-29 The management of the imperial castles, including its surrounding land with its dependants, was entrusted to ''

ministerialis The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a legally unfree but socially elite class of knights, administrators, and officials in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire, drawn from a mix of servile origins, free commoners, and ...

'' or '' Burgmannen'' who were called ''Reichsministerialen'' (imperial ministerialis) in this case.

List of imperial castles (''Reichsburgen'')

France

* Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg, Orschwiller,

Germany

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

* Grüningen Castle, Markgröningen *

Stettenfels Castle Stettenfels Castle is a medieval castle above the town of Untergruppenbach in Heilbronn. It was once owned by Hans Fugger and is now used for cultural events. History The castle was built in the 11th century, probably at about the same time as ...

Untergruppenbach Untergruppenbach () is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality near Heilbronn, a city in the northern half of the Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg. There are a total of 7,600 inhabitants living in six villages that form the municip ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

Harburg Castle Harburg Castle in Harburg, Bavaria, in the Donau-Ries district, is an extensive mediaeval complex from the 11th / 12th century. Originally it was a Staufer castle and was owned by the princely House of Oettingen-Wallerstein. Since 2000 the castle ...

, Harburg *

Königsberg Castle Königsberg Castle (, ) was the seat of the grand masters of the Teutonic Order and of the dukes and kings of Prussia in the city of Königsberg (since 1946 Kaliningrad, Russia). The original fortress on the site was built by the Teutonic Knights ...

Königsberg, Bavaria Königsberg in Bayern is a town in the Haßberge district, in Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 7 km (5 miles) northeast of Haßfurt, and 31 km (20 miles) northwest of Bamberg. It was an exclave of Saxe-Coburg and Got ...

* Schwedenschanze Castle,

Cham Cham or CHAM may refer to: Ethnicities and languages *Chams, people in Vietnam and Cambodia **Cham language, the language of the Cham people ***Cham script *** Cham (Unicode block), a block of Unicode characters of the Cham script * Cham Albani ...

* Lauf Castle,

Lauf an der Pegnitz Lauf an der Pegnitz (, ; Northern Bavarian: ''Lauf an da Pegnitz'') is a town east of Nuremberg, Germany. It is the capital of the Nürnberger Land district in Bavaria. It is in the Pegnitz river valley, which flows through the town. In 2009, ...

* Wildenberg Castle,

Kirchzell Kirchzell is a market municipality in the Miltenberg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. Geography Location This community in the Odenwald lies at the three-state common point share ...

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

* Boyneburg, Sontra * Friedberg Castle, Friedberg * Gelnhausen Palace,

Gelnhausen Gelnhausen () is a town, and the capital of the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located approximately 40 kilometers east of Frankfurt am Main, between the Vogelsberg mountains and the Spessart range at the river Kinzig (Main), Kinzig. ...

* Hayn Castle,

Dreieich Dreieich () is a town in the Offenbach district in the of Darmstadt in Hessen, Germany. The town is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area and is located roughly south of downtown Frankfurt am Main. With a population of more than 40,000 ...

enhain * Kalsmunt Castle,

Wetzlar Wetzlar () is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany. It is the twelfth largest city in Hesse with currently 55,371 inhabitants at the beginning of 2019 (including second homes). As an important cultural, industrial and commercial center, the un ...

Münzenberg Castle Münzenberg Castle (German. ''Burg Münzenberg'') is a ruined hill castle in the Münzenberg, town of the same name in the Wetteraukreis, Hesse, Germany. It dates from the 12th century. It is one of the best preserved castles from the High Middle ...

Münzenberg Münzenberg is a town in the Wetteraukreis district in Hesse, Germany. It is located 13 km north of Friedberg, Hesse, Friedberg, and 16 km southeast of Gießen. Münzenberg Castle is located outside the town. Population development B ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

* Harliburg,

Vienenburg Vienenburg is a borough of Goslar, capital of the Goslar district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The former independent municipality was incorporated in Goslar on 1 January 2014. Geography It is situated in the north of the Harz mountain range and eas ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

* Berenstein Castle, Bergstein

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

* Berwartstein Castle, Erlenbach bei Dahn * Cochem Castle,

Cochem Cochem () is the seat of and the biggest town in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With just over 5,000 inhabitants, Cochem falls just behind Kusel, in the Kusel district, as Germany's second smallest district seat. Since ...

* Guttenberg Castle, Oberotterbach * Hammerstein Castle, Hammerstein * Landeck Castle,

Landau Landau (), officially Landau in der Pfalz (, ), is an autonomous (''kreisfrei'') town surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße ("Southern Wine Route") district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town (since 1990), a long ...

* Landskron Castle,

Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler () is a spa town in the German States of Germany, Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate that serves as the Capital (political), capital of the Ahrweiler (district), Ahrweiler district. The Bundesautobahn 61, A61 motorway conn ...

* Lindelbrunn Castle, Vorderweidenthal * Meistersel Castle, Ramberg * Ramburg, Ramberg * Trifels Castle, Annweiler * Wegelnburg, Schönau * Wildburg, Sargenroth * Berenstein Castle

Saarland Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in ...

* Kirkel Castle, Neuhäusel

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

Kyffhausen Castle The Imperial Castle of Kyffhausen () is a medieval castle ruin, situated in the Kyffhäuser hills in the Germany, German state of Thuringia, close to its border with Saxony-Anhalt. Probably founded about 1000, it superseded the nearby Kaiserpfalz, ...

, Steinthaleben

Switzerland

* Gümmenen Castle, Gümmenen,

canton of Bern The canton of Bern, or Berne (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the c ...

* Nydegg Castle,

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

, canton of Bern * Weissenau Castle,

Unterseen Unterseen is a List of towns in Switzerland, historic town and a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli (administrative district), Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. ...

, canton of Bern

References

Sources

* Horst Wolfgang Böhme, Reinhard Friedrich, Barbara Schock-Werner (Hrsg.): ''Wörterbuch der Burgen, Schlösser und Festungen''. Philipp Reclam, Stuttgart 2004, , p. 208.

External links

* {{Portal bar, Architecture, Holy Roman Empire