Hellenstein Castle
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Hellenstein Castle is located above the city of
Heidenheim an der Brenz Heidenheim an der Brenz, or just Heidenheim (; Swabian language, Swabian: ''Hoidna'' or ''Hoirna''), is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is located near the border with Bavaria, approximately 17 km south of Aalen and 33&n ...
in eastern
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 ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. It was once the home of the Lords of Hellenstein. The
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 ...
was first built during the 12th century by the Hellenstein family. In 1273 the castle passed out of the control of the Hellensteins and had several owners before coming under the control of the Dukes of Württemberg. On August 5, 1530 the old castle burned to the ground and was rebuilt during the mid-16th century. At the end of the century it was expanded on its eastern flank to create a new castle. During the 17th and early 18th century the castle was at its peak as a symbol of the Württemberg dukes. Around 1762 the family could no longer maintain the castle and it began to fall into disrepair. Eventually some of the stones were sold off as building material. In 1901 the former castle church was acquired by the Folk and Ancient History Society of Heidenheim as a museum. The museum expanded throughout the first half of the 20th century, until in 1956 the entire castle was rebuilt as a museum. In 1993 the city of Heidenheim took over the museum from the Society. Today the castle contains several museums which are open from March 15 until November 15 Tuesday through Sunday.Schloss Museum from City of Heidenheim website


History

The site is first mentioned in 1096 by ''Gozbert de Halensteine'' whose family may have built the castle in the early 12th century. Within the castle wall there are many buckel stones (squared stone blocks with a rounded or rough outer surface) that date from this time period. The castle remained in the hands of the Hellensteins until 1273 when the male line died out. For almost eighty years the castle passed through several owners. In 1351 the
count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
s of Helfenstein acquired the castle and ruled it for nearly a century, until 1448. Finally in 1503 the castle came under the control of the
duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
s of
Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...
. On August 5, 1530 the castle burned to the ground. Ulrich I. von Württemberg ordered that the castle be rebuilt a few years later; the reconstruction lasted from 1537 to 1544. When Duke Frederick I assumed the ducal throne in 1593, he decided that a new castle should be built as an extension east of the old medieval castle. The new castle should be modern and represent the power of the Württemberg dynasty. A planning commission was set up which selected the master builder Henry Schickhardt in 1595. The walls were extended and new towers were built. Two large, decorated towers were built next to the new main gate. A new modern water system, that lifted the water to the castle. The construction lasted until 1611. During the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
(1618–1648) the castle was damaged and the complex water supply system was destroyed. Before the castle could be reoccupied, a new water supply had to be found. From 1666 to 1670 the ''Kindlesbrunnen'' a well was dug in the southern part of the castle. The name, ''Kindlesbrunnen'' ("baby fountain"), comes from a local legend that instead of being brought by the stork, babies are pulled from the well before they are born. The well cost about 6,750 guilders or about €500,000 in modern currency. In 1704, during the
War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...
, a French officer with 10,000 men again attempted to take the castle. When they arrived in Heidenheim, they evaluated the castle and the cost of attacking. The commander finally determined that Hellenstein would be too costly to attack, and retreated without firing a shot. During the 17th and early 18th century the castle was at its peak. Artists and sculptors were brought in to decorate and beautify the castle. In 1593 Frederick I commissioned the
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 ...
n court painter
Friedrich Sustris Friedrich Sustris (c. 1540, in Padua – 1599, in Munich) was an Italian-Dutch painter, decorator and architect. He was a son of the artist Lambert Sustris, who worked in Italy. Sustris got his training from his father Lambert in Venice and Pad ...
to paint the walls and ceiling of the round tower. The castle also hosted many prominent guests including
Albrecht von Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland (; 24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein (), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Thirty Years' War (1618–16 ...
(in 1630),
Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736), better known as Prince Eugene, was a distinguished Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty durin ...
(in 1702),
Archduke Charles of Austria Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Lawrence of Austria, Duke of Teschen (; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian Empire, Austrian field marshal, the third son of Emperor Leopold II and his wife, Maria Luisa of Spain. He was also the youn ...
, (in 1796) and
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
(in 1805). By the mid-18th century the castle had lost importance. Around 1762 the duchy could no longer support renovations on Hellenstein. In 1810 the upper floor of the tower battery was removed and sold as building material. Unfortunately, the wall and ceiling paintings by Friedrich Sustris were destroyed when the upper floor was removed. In 1820 the Ministry of Finance authorized the sale and demolition of the entire old castle. A year later the paper factory Völter, removed portions of the castle to provide building material for their factory. In 1837 the royal planning commission forbade anyone else to remove stones from Hellenstein.


From castle to museum

In 1901 the Castle Folk Museum opened in the former church of the castle. Professor Eugene Gaus of the Folk and Ancient History Society founded the museum with a number of items from his own excavations. Within a year the Society hosted the first ''Exhibition of Antiquity'' in the museum. When Alfred Meebold donated his "Indian Collection" the museum had to expand. The ''Obervogteisall'', the upper tower rooms and the basement of the house all became part of the museum. From 1956 to 1960 the museum was upgraded and modified in three stages. For the 75th anniversary, the Society paid for the restoration and conversion of the old arsenal. Between 1982 and 1986 the city of Heidenheim restored the ''Fruchtkasten'' or granary and in 1987 opened a transportation museum. There are actually two different museums in the castle, which can be visited on separate tickets or on a combination ticket. The ''Museum für Kutschen Chaisen Karren'' or transportation museum located in the old ''Fruchtkasten''. This museum documents the growth and development of means of transportation before the automobile. In 1987 it was honored by the ''Europäischen Museums Forum'' for excellent design and execution.City of Heidenheim, ''Museum für Kutschen Chaisen Karren''
The castle museum includes a theatre which shows movies about the history of Heidenheim, local ancient artifacts, religious art, antique toys and Alfred Meebold's Indian Collection.


Broadcasting station of SWR

SWR operates on Hellenstein castle a low power broadcasting facility, which transmits the following programmes Until November 1993, there was also a mediumwave broadcasting station on Hellenstein Castle working on 1413 kHz with 100 W.


See also

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Heidenheim an der Brenz Heidenheim an der Brenz, or just Heidenheim (; Swabian language, Swabian: ''Hoidna'' or ''Hoirna''), is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is located near the border with Bavaria, approximately 17 km south of Aalen and 33&n ...
*
List of castles in Baden-Württemberg A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...


References


External links

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Hellenstein castle on burgenwelt.de
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Hellenstein castle on burgen.de
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{{Castles in Heidenheim Houses completed in 1544 Houses completed in 1611 Museums in Baden-Württemberg Transport museums in Germany 1544 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire Local museums in Germany