Auersburg Castle is a

ruined 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 ...

hill castle A hill castle or mountain 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 a ...

in parish of

Hilders Hilders is a municipality in the district of Fulda, in Hesse, Germany. To the north rises the mountain of Auersberg Auersberg is a mountain in the Ore Mountains in Saxony, southeastern Germany. Auersberg is above sea level. It is located in ...

in the county of

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the city hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

in Hesse, Germany. The site is used today as a shelter and viewing platform.

Location

The ruins are surrounded by forest on the southwestern slope of the 757-metre-high

Auersberg Auersberg is a mountain in the Ore Mountains in Saxony, southeastern Germany. Auersberg is above sea level. It is located in the district of Wildenthal not far from the Czech border southeast of Eibenstock and northwest of Johanngeorgensta ...

in the

Rhön Mountains The Rhön Mountains () are a group of low mountains (or ''Mittelgebirge'') in central Germany, located around the border area where the states of Hesse, Bavaria and Thuringia come together. These mountains, which are at the extreme southeast end o ...

, at the end of a popular hiking trail north of Hilders. Built on a militarily vulnerable, forward slope position, it was probably intended from the outset only as a seat of power or office.

History

Although the earliest record only goes back to 1214, the castle is clearly much older. In 914, the area around Hilders came into the possession of Regenher of Weid as the result of an exchange of estates by

Fulda Abbey The Abbey of Fulda (; ), from 1221 the Princely Abbey of Fulda () and from 1752 the Prince-Bishopric of Fulda (), was a Benedictine abbey and ecclesiastical principality centered on Fulda, in the present-day German state of Hesse. The monastery ...

and it was Regenher who probably built the first castle on the Auersberg. Around 1120 it was renovated or remodelled into a small knight's castle, probably by the

counts of Henneberg The House of Henneberg was a medieval German comital family (''Grafen'') which from the 11th century onwards held large territories in the Duchy of Franconia. Their county was raised to a princely county (''Gefürstete Grafschaft'') in 1310. U ...

, who had since acquired the territory. It was then used either as the seat of a younger brother or one of their

vogt An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...

s. Thereafter it had a very varied history, being located as it was on the border between several rival ecclesial and secular rulers. In 1214, the Lord of Nithardshusen from the House of Henneberg, sold the property back to Fulda Abbey. They, in turn, enfeoffed it and, by 1270, the lords of von der Tann resided there.

Legends

There are various legends associated with the Auersburg, such as the Auersburg Ghost (''Gespenst von der Auersburg'') and the Last of the Auersburgers (''Letzten Auersbergern'').

References

Literature

* Rudolf Knappe: ''Mittelalterliche Burgen in Hessen. 800 Burgen, Burgruinen und Burgstätten.'' 3. Auflage. Wartberg-Verlag, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2000, , p. 204. * Rolf Müller (ed.): ''Schlösser, Burgen, alte Mauern.'' Herausgegeben vom Hessendienst der Staatskanzlei, Wiesbaden 1990, , pp. 181–183.

External links

* {{LAGIS, title=Burg Auersberg, Landkreis Fulda , DB=OL , ID=5297 , date=23 July 2012 , accessdate=2012-09-27
Fuldaer Zeitung: Auersburg Chronologie
von Franz Etzel

au
www.burgenwelt.de

Informationsseite über die Ruine Auersburg
(mit Bildern) au
www.portal-rhoen.de
Hill castles Rhön Mountains Castles in Hesse Heritage sites in Hesse Franconian Circle Buildings and structures in Fulda (district)