The Imperial Castle of Kyffhausen () is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

ruin Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

, situated in the

Kyffhäuser The Kyffhäuser (,''Duden - Das Aussprachewörterbuch, 7. Auflage (German)'', Dudenverlag, sometimes also referred to as ''Kyffhäusergebirge'') is a hill range in Central Germany, shared by Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt, southeast of the Harz mou ...

hills in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

state of

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 ...

, close to its border with

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

. Probably founded about 1000, it superseded the nearby imperial palace (''Kaiserpfalz'') of

Tilleda Tilleda is a village and a former municipality in the Mansfeld-Südharz district, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2009, it has been part of the town Kelbra. Tilleda is located at the northern rim of the Kyffhäuser mountain ran ...

under the rule of 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 ...

emperors during the 12th and 13th centuries. Together with the

Kyffhäuser Monument The Kyffhäuser Monument (), also known as Barbarossa Monument (), is an Emperor William monuments, Emperor William monument in the Kyffhäuser mountain range in the Germany, German state of Thuringia. It was erected from 1890 to 1896 atop the ...

, erected on the castle grounds between 1890 and 1896, it is today a popular tourist destination. The castle is variously known in English as Kyffhausen Castle, Kyffhauser Castle, Kyffhäuser Castle, and Kyffhaueser Castle.

Location

The ruins of the imperial castle of Kyffhausen are located on the northeastern rim of the range on a hill, the ''Kyffhäuserburgberg'' (), an approximately long eastern spur. The castle is in the parish of

Steinthaleben Steinthaleben is a village and a former municipality in the district Kyffhäuserkreis, in Thuringia, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North ...

, about northeast of the village of , in the Thuringian municipality of

Kyffhäuserland Kyffhäuserland is a municipality in the district Kyffhäuserkreis, in Thuringia, Germany. It was formed on 31 December 2012 by the merger of the former municipalities Badra, Bendeleben, Göllingen, Günserode, Hachelbich, Rottleben, Seega a ...

, near the town of

Bad Frankenhausen Bad Frankenhausen (; officially: Bad Frankenhausen/Kyffhäuser) is a spa town in the German state of Thuringia. It is located at the southern slope of the Kyffhäuser mountain range, on an artificial arm of the Wipper river, a tributary of the U ...

Kyffhäuserkreis The Kyffhäuserkreis is a district in the northern part of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are the districts Mansfeld-Südharz, Saalekreis and Burgenlandkreis in Saxony-Anhalt, and the districts Sömmerda, Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis and E ...

. The

Goldene Aue The Goldene Aue (, "golden lowland", also " ... bottom" or " ... meadow" / " ... pasture", with "Au referring to a low-lying area, often a wetland) is a valley in eastern Germany, in the states Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt. It is situated between ...

("Golden Water Meadows", ca. ) plain to the north, including the villages of and

roughly 280 metres below, are parts of the municipality of

Kelbra Kelbra () is a town the Mansfeld-Südharz district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated north of the Kyffhäuser mountains, approx. 20 km west of Sangerhausen, and 20 km east of Nordhausen. Kelbra is part of the ''Verbandsgemeinde' ...

in the

Mansfeld-Südharz Mansfeld-Südharz is a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Its area is . History The district was established by merging the former districts of Sangerhausen and Mansfelder Land as part of the reform of 2007. In the German parliament, the Bu ...

district of Saxony-Anhalt. The castle grounds are part of the – situated about south of its northern boundary.

History

Archaeological findings of several

shoe-last celt A shoe-last celt (German: ''Schuhleistenkeil'') is a long thin polished stone tool for felling trees and woodworking, characteristic of the early Neolithic Linearbandkeramik and Hinkelstein cultures, also called Danubian I in the older literature. ...

s at the summit denote a settlement already in the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

period. Excavated

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

ceramics may stem from devastated

tumuli A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found through ...

erected on the prominent

spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to ba ...

. In the 1930s, remnants of fortress dating from the

Hallstatt Hallstatt () is a small town in the district of Gmunden District, Gmunden, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Situated between the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See and the steep slopes of the Dachstein massif, the town lies in the Sa ...

era were discovered. A first castle high above the Tilleda ''Kaiserpfalz'' was probably erected under the rule of the

Salian The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty () was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four kings of Germany (1024–1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman emperors (1027–1125). After the death of the last Ottonian ...

emperor Henry IV, in order to protect his royal domains south of the

Harz The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' der ...

mountains. Nevertheless, it was not mentioned until 1118, when it was demolished by the

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

duke

Lothair of Supplinburg Lothair III, sometimes numbered Lothair II and also known as Lothair of Supplinburg ( June 1075 – 4 December 1137), was Holy Roman Emperor from 1133 until his death. He was appointed Duke of Saxony in 1106 and elected King of Germany in 1125 be ...

after his forces had defeated Emperor

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...

at the 1115

Battle of Welfesholz The Battle of Welfesholz was fought on 11 February 1115 between the Imperial army of the Emperor Henry V and a rebellious Saxon force. Background Henry V, scion of the Frankish Salian dynasty and uncontested King of the Romans since 1106, had ...

. Reconstruction started shortly afterwards and was accomplished under the rule of the Hohenstaufen emperor

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 ...

, who stayed downhill at Tilleda several times. The rebuilt castle complex of bright red

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

then spread over large parts of the Kyffhäuserberg ridge; administrated by Hohenstaufen ''

ministeriales 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 ...

'', it was meant as an expression of imperial power in the region. After the fall of the House of Hohenstaufen, the fortress lost its strategic importance.

Rudolf of Habsburg Rudolf of Habsburg may refer to: * Rudolf I of Germany (1218–1291), King of the Romans * Rudolph II, Count of Habsburg (d. 1232) * Rudolf II, Duke of Austria (1270–1290) * Rudolf I of Bohemia (1281–1307), Duke of Austria and Styria and King o ...

, elected

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 ...

in 1273, ceded the premises to the Counts of

Beichlingen Beichlingen is a village and a former municipality in the Sömmerda district of Thuringia, Germany. Since 1 January 2019, it is part of the town Kölleda Kölleda (until 1927 Cölleda) is a small rural town in Thuringia. The municipality belongs ...

, who from 1375 held the castle as vassals of the Wettin landgraves of

. Given in pawn to the comital

House of Schwarzburg The House of Schwarzburg was one of the oldest noble families of Thuringia, which is in modern-day central Germany. Upon the death of Prince Friedrich Günther in 1971, a claim to the headship of the house passed under Semi-Salic primogeniture t ...

shortly afterwards and seized by the Counts of

Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a small historic state in present-day Thuringia, Germany, with its capital at Rudolstadt. History Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was established in 1599 in the course of a resettlement of House of Schwarzburg, Schwarzburg dy ...

in 1407, the fortress was already mentioned as a ruin in the 15th century. From the time of

Weimar Classicism Weimar Classicism () was a German literary and cultural movement, whose practitioners established a new humanism from the synthesis of ideas from Romanticism, Classicism, and the Age of Enlightenment. It was named after the city of Weimar in th ...

in the late 18th century, even more in the Romantic era, the picturesque castle ruins became a popular destination for writers such as

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

, who wandered in the Kyffhäuser range together with Duke Karl August of Saxe-Weimar in 1776. The legend of Frederick Barbarossa asleep in the mountain, perpetuated by

Friedrich Rückert Johann Michael Friedrich Rückert (16 May 1788 – 31 January 1866) was a German poet, translation, translator, and professor of Oriental languages. Biography Johann Michael Friedrich Rückert was born 16 May 1788 in Schweinfurt and was the e ...

in an 1817 poem, became a symbol of rising

German nationalism German nationalism () is an ideological notion that promotes the unity of Germans and of the Germanosphere into one unified nation-state. German nationalism also emphasizes and takes pride in the patriotism and national identity of Germans as ...

, illustrated by regular meetings of ''

Burschenschaft A Burschenschaft (; sometimes abbreviated in the German ''Burschenschaft'' jargon; plural: ) is one of the traditional (student associations) of Germany, Austria, and Chile (the latter due to German cultural influence). Burschenschaften were fo ...

'' fraternities and finally by the erection of the Kyffhäuser Monument from 1890 onwards. In 1900 the ''

Kyffhäuserbund The () is an umbrella organization for war veterans' and reservists' associations in Germany based in Rüdesheim am Rhein. It owes its name to the Kyffhäuser Monument (), a memorial built on the summit of the 473 m high Kyffhäuser mountain ...

'' veterans' and reservists' association took its name from the historic site.

Footnotes

References

Sachsen-Anhalt-Viewer

Literature

* Wolfgang Timpel: ''Die mittelalterliche Keramik der Kyffhäuserburgen.'' In: Paul Grimm: ''Tilleda. Eine Königspfalz am Kyffhäuser.'' Vol. 2: ''Die Vorburg und Zusammenfassung'' (= ''Schriften zur Ur- und Frühgeschichte.'' Vol. 40). Akademie-Verlag, Berlin, 1990, , pp. 249ff. * Hansjürgen Brachmann: ''Zum Burgenbau salischer Zeit zwischen Harz und Elbe.'' In:

Horst Wolfgang Böhme Horst Wolfgang Böhme (born May 1, 1940 in Szczecin) is a German archaeologist with a focus on Late Antiquity / Early Middle Ages and research into castles. Life Böhme studied prehistory, Roman provincial archaeology, history and folklore in Kiel ...

(ed.): ''Burgen der Salierzeit.'' Vol. 1: ''In den nördlichen Landschaften des Reiches'' (= ''Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum zu Mainz, RGZM, Forschungsinstitut für Vor- und Frühgeschichte.'' Monographien 25). Thorbecke, Sigmaringen, 1991, , pp. 97–148, specifically pp. 118–120, 129 ff. (Cat. No. 2–3). * Holger Reinhardt: ''Zum Dualismus von Materialfarbigkeit und Fassung an hochmittelalterlichen Massivbauten. Neue Befunde aus Thüringen.'' In: ''Burgen und Schlösser in Thüringen.'' Vol. 1, 1996, , pp. 70–84. * Karl Peschel: ''Höhensiedlungen der älteren vorrömischen Eisenzeit nördlich des Thüringer Waldes.'' In: Albrecht Jockenhövel (ed.): ''Ältereisenzeitliches Befestigungswesen zwischen Maas/Mosel und Elbe'' (= ''Veröffentlichungen der Altertumskommission für Westfalen.'' Vol. 11). Internationales Kolloquium am 8. November 1997 in Münster anlässlich des hundertjährigen Bestehens der Altertumskommission für Westfalen. Aschendorff, Münster, 1999, , pp. 125–158, especially pp. 134 and 139, Abb. 10 and 150. * Thomas Bienert: ''Mittelalterliche Burgen in Thüringen. 430 Burgen, Burgruinen und Burgstätten.'' Wartberg, Gudensberg-Gleichen, 2000, , pp. 166–172. * Dankwart Leistikow: ''Die Rothenburg am Kyffhäuser.'' In: ''Burgen und frühe Schlösser in Thüringen und seinen Nachbarländern'' (= ''Forschungen zu Burgen und Schlössern.'' Vol. 5).

Deutscher Kunstverlag The Deutscher Kunstverlag (DKV) is an educational publishing house with offices in Berlin and Munich. The publisher specializes in books about art, cultural history, architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and bu ...

, Munich etc., 2000, , pp. 31–46 (here also a short summary of the Imperial Castle of Kyffhausen with a comprehensive bibliography). * Ralf Rödger, Petra Wäldchen: ''Kyffhäuser, Burg und Denkmal'' (= ''Schnell Kunstführer.'' Bd. 2061). 11th, fully revised edition. Schnell und Steiner, Regensburg, 2003, . * Heinrich Schleiff: ''Denkmalpflege an den Kyffhäuser-Burganlagen und dem Kaiser-Wilhelm-National-Denkmal von 1990–2003.'' In: ''Aus der Arbeit des Thüringischen Landesamtes für Denkmalpflege'' (= ''Arbeitsheft des Thüringischen Landesamtes für Denkmalpflege.'' Neue Folge Bd. 13). Vol. 1. Thüringisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege, Erfurt, 2003, , pp. 122–128.

External links

* Information at th
Kyffhäuser Tourist Association website
* Information on the imperial castle and Kyffhäuser Monument at th
website of the newly opened ''Burghof Kyffhäuser Denkmalswirtschaft''
{{Authority control Archaeological sites in Germany Museums in Thuringia Castles in Thuringia Kyffhäuser Imperial castles Buildings and structures in Kyffhäuserkreis Castle museums Frederick Barbarossa Lothair III, Holy Roman Emperor