Raueneck Castle (Ebern)
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Rauheneck Castle () (usual spelling today Raueneck = "forested corner" or " hill spur") is a ruined administrative castle of the Bishopric of
Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...
in the Haßberge in the county of Haßberge,
Lower Franconia Lower Franconia (, ) is one of seven districts of Bavaria, Germany. The districts of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia make up the region of Franconia. It consists of nine districts and 308 municipalities (including three cities). History After ...
,
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 ...
(Germany). The site, which was badly in need of repair, was closed until 2006 due to the danger of collapse but has been accessible again since the start of, as yet unfinished, emergency repair work.


Location

The ruins of the
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 ...
lie on a western hill spur of the ''Haubeberg'' (), which is situated north of the village of Vorbach, in the west of the former county borough of
Ebern Ebern () is a Town#Germany, town in the Haßberge (district), Haßberge district of Bavaria, Germany. It is situated southwest of Coburg and northwest of Bamberg. Its population is about 8,000. Its mayor is Robert Herrmann. Ebern is about 1,000 ...
. It is surrounded by mixed forest stands of the
Haßberge Nature Park Haßberge Nature Park () is a park of located in the north east of Franconian Keuperland in Bavaria, Germany. Isolated castles and ruins The park has a large number of isolated castles and ruins which are integrated into the park's well marked ...
.


History


Castle

According to legend, Rauheneck Castle had been built around 1180 the Brambergs after the destruction of their nearby
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 ...
had forced them to leave. Thereafter the family named itself after their new castle. In 1231, the free knight, Louis of Ruheneke, placed himself, half the castle and other sundry estates under the lordship of the Bishopric of Würzburg. This was almost certainly not by choice. The family of Rau(h)eneck appears to have died out a short while later (around 1250). The Lords of Rauheneck mentioned in the written records were designated as ''"nobiles"'' ( free knights) and it is probable that they are genealogically connected to the free knights of Bramberg. Frederick of Rauheneck occasionally bore the nickname "of Bramberc". He became involved in an inheritance dispute between House of Andechs-Merania and the
Bishopric of Bamberg The Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg () was an ecclesiastical State of the Holy Roman Empire. It goes back to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bamberg established at the 1007 synod in Frankfurt, at the behest of King Henry II to further expand the spr ...
(around 1248). To protect their barony, the Rauhenecks allied themselves with numerous lesser noble families in the surrounding area and enfeoffed their own estates to
vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...
s. In 1841/42, Georg Ludwig Lehnes, in his ''History of Baunach Valley'', counted the lords of Lichtenstein, Kößeln, Gemeinfeld, Brünn, Hofheim, Ostheim, Scherschlitz, Kotzenwinden (Kurzewind), Redwitz, Breitenbach, Westheim, Mehried, Holfeld, Neubrunn, Schoder and Kliebern amongst the retinue of the Rauhenecks. The names of some of these vassals ('' Dienstleute'') evince that, in the High Middle Ages, a local noble family was resident in virtually every village. However, all these families died out again or returned to the ranks of the commoners fallen or the peasantry. It is possible that its approach to the Bishopric of Würzburg was a response to intra-family conflict. Because of a dispute with his nephew, Frederick, Louis of Rauheneck placed his estates under the Bishopric in 1244 for a second time as a
feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...
possession. In return, he was appointed as the
castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...
(''
Burgmann From the 12th century in central Europe, a ''Burgmann'' (plural: ''Burgmannen'' or modern term ''Burgmänner'', Latin: ''oppidanus'', ''castrensus'') was a knight ministeriales or member of the nobility who was obliged to guard and defend castles. ...
'') at Rauheneck. After the Lords of Rauheneck had died out, the Bishopric appointed reeves (''vögte'') and castellans to the castle. In 1300, Conrad Staudigel held this office. In 1304, a Wolvelin appeared (probably from the family of Stein of Altenstein) as a public official. In 1338, Henry of Sternberg is recorded as a hereditary castellan at Rauheneck. The same year, Albert of
Aufseß Aufseß, also sometimes spelled Aufsess, is a municipality in the district of Bayreuth in Bavaria, Germany. Located in Franconian Switzerland on the Castle Road and the Franconian ''Bierstraße'', or Beer Road, Aufseß is best known for its con ...
is also noted as a hereditary castellan at Rauheneck. In 1341, Henry of Wiesen lived at the fortress and, in 1346, Hans Truchseß of Birkach. In 1364, Apel Fuchs was mentioned in a document. Before 1378, Gecke of Füllbach was bailiff (''
Amtmann __NOTOC__ The ''Amtmann'' or ''Ammann'' (in Switzerland) was an official in German-speaking countries of Europe and in some of the Nordic countries from the time of the Middle Ages whose office was akin to that of a bailiff A bailiff is a ...
'') at Rauheneck. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the Marschalks of Rau(h)eneck lived at the castle as Würzburg
vassals A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerai ...
. In 1378, Dietz Marschalk appeared as the first member of his family at the fortress. Dietz invested 280
guilder Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' (" gold penny"). This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Rom ...
s in expanding his castle seat, money that he was later to receive back from the Bishopric. He also had to pay 120 guilders for the castle estate ('' Burggut''). Ever since he had taken office, the ''Burggut'' was connected with the office of ''Amtmann''. Until 1379, the Kemmerers lived at the castle as joint owners. Dietrich Apel and Bernhard Kemmerer eventually sold their shares to the Marschalk family. In 1430, the Marschalks invested another 200 guilders in the modernization of the fortress in light of the threat posed by the
Hussites upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century upright=1.2, The Lands of the Bohemian Crown during the Hussite Wars. The movement began during the Prag ...
. In 1445, the Bishopric enfeoffed William Marschalk with Rauheneck again. In 1476, Heinz Marschalk gave the fief back to Würzburg. At that time the castle was pledged and was sold for hard cash by the bishopric. After this pledge, the administrative districts (''
Ämter Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...
'') of Ebern, Sesslach, Bramberg and Rauheneck began to merge gradually. Christoph Fuchs, hitherto bailiff of Ebern and Sesslach, now also managed the ''Amt'' of Rauheneck. In 1483, the lordship was again enfeoffed for 1,000 guilders. After Hartung of Bibra had redeemed the fee with the Bishopric in 1486, the castle was assigned to him as a seat. He had to undertake, however, always to have three armed horsemen (''Reisiger'') and their horses ready for service. After the Marschalk family became extinct in 1550 with the death of Frederick Marschalk, the castle finally returned to the Roman Catholic Bishopric of Würzburg. 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 ...
the ''Amt'' was used as a recruiting base for twelve
companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specifi ...
of infantry. In 1633/34, two mounted units camped at the castle, which was then under Swedish administration. The Swedish bailiff, Lorenz Scheffer, had to stand down a little later for the Catholic officials from Würzburg. In 1829, the Barons of Rotenhan became the new owners of the castle, but since then it has been left to fall into decay almost without interruption. July 2006 saw the start of the emergency safety work at the castle after the county of Haßberge was able lease the area for the next few decades. As a preparatory measure an educational archaeological excavation took place under the guidance of a medieval archaeologist.


Chapel

As early as 1232 a
chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...
was recorded at the castle, which was incorporated into the
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
of Ebern. In 1428 a
chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...
(''Kaplan'') is noted. The population of the surrounding villages of Jesserndorf and Bischwind attended the chapel for
church service A church service (or a worship service) is a formalized period of Christian communal Christian worship, worship, often held in a Church (building), church building. Most Christian denominations hold church services on the Lord's Day (offering Su ...
s and had to pay the pastor of Ebern five pounds in ''Heller'' coins annually. The chapel was consecrated to
Saint John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...
and was located in the ''
zwinger A () is an open kill zone area between two defensive walls that is used for defensive purposes. s were built in the medieval and early modern periods to improve the defence of castles and town walls. The term is usually left untranslated, ...
'' or outer defensive enclosure of the castle. In 1436, the Bishop of Würzburg approved a cemetery at the site. The church continued to be used after the abandonment of the castle until 1745. The vicarage had already been moved by 1615, however. Originally the castle chapel was clearly on the ground floor of the ''
palas A ''palas'' () is a German term for the imposing or prestigious building of a medieval '' Pfalz'' or castle that contained the great hall. Such buildings appeared during the Romanesque period (11th to 13th century) and, according to Thompson ...
'' next to the later gatekeeper's room. A small Gothic arch window has survived on the exterior wall. It is possible that the ground floor continued to be used even after the construction of the new chapel as a
prayer room A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...
. On the remains of the rendering of the round-arched entrance of the small guard's room two
consecration cross Consecration crosses are crosses on the interior walls and exterior architecture of a Christianity, Christian church (building), church or cathedral showing where the bishop has anointed the church with chrism or holy water in order to Consecrati ...
es are still visible.


Müllers of Raueneck

In 1842, the ''History of the Baunach Valley in Lower Franconia''''Geschichte des Baunach-Grundes in Unterfranken'' appeared in Würzburg,
self-published Self-publishing is an author-driven publication of any media without the involvement of a third-party publisher. Since the advent of the internet, self-published usually depends upon digital platforms and print-on-demand technology, ranging fr ...
by author, Georg Ludwig Lehne. He expressed the widespread view that the family of Marschalke of Raueneck had died out in 1550. On 1 August 1842, a G.K.W. Müller von Raueneck published a "correction" of this opinion in
Schleusingen Schleusingen is a town in the Hildburghausen (district), district of Hildburghausen, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 10 km north of Hildburghausen, and 12 km southeast of Suhl. Geography The town of Schleusingen in the Henneber ...
, claiming to be a descendant of this family. He maintained that a George of Raueneck lost his fortune as a result of family disputes and so, in 1508, entered the service of the Imperial Army. His wife, a von Lichtenstein, had died shortly beforehand. The nobleman therefore arranged for his four-year-old son, Friedrich, to be brought up by the childless Müller von Frickendorf. He later arranged for the boy to be made heir to the Rauenecks, but required that the family should henceforth bear the surname "Müller zu Raueneck". The Rauenecks were also supposed to be linked to the Austrian Rauhenecks. But according to Lehne the family was genealogically related to the lords of Rotenhan. This "correction" was published in 2005 without comment in a reprint of the ''History of the Baunach Valley''. In fact, the name of Müller von Raueneck appears even to the present day in some lists and directories of the nobility, but the surname seems to have disappeared in Germany today. The author of the "correction" even added his observations to a family tree of the Müllers of Raueneck citing unspecified "documentary excerpts". The details of the mysterious G.K.W Müller von Raueneck have not yet been properly verified by specialists. Thus, it is unclear whether it is just a joke, possibly from academic circles. Lehne was just a simple archive writer without any academic training; an early, dedicated
local historian Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively small local community. It incorporates cultural history, cultural and social history, social aspects of history. Local history is not mer ...
, whose work was possibly just being denigrated by someone.


Description

Parts of the impressive
Hussite file:Hussitenkriege.tif, upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century file:The Bohemian Realm during the Hussite Wars.png, upright=1.2, The Lands of the ...
period ''
zwinger A () is an open kill zone area between two defensive walls that is used for defensive purposes. s were built in the medieval and early modern periods to improve the defence of castles and town walls. The term is usually left untranslated, ...
'' systems (walled fighting enclosures) have survived with their two round towers and a
bretèche In medieval fortification, a bretèche or brattice is a small balcony with machicolations, usually built over a gate and sometimes in the corners of the fortress' wall, with the purpose of enabling defenders to shoot or throw objects at the atta ...
(''Schießerker''), as well as the ruins of the ''
palas A ''palas'' () is a German term for the imposing or prestigious building of a medieval '' Pfalz'' or castle that contained the great hall. Such buildings appeared during the Romanesque period (11th to 13th century) and, according to Thompson ...
'', with its great hall, the late Gothic
chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...
and two basement
Vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosur ...
s. Today the grounds are entered on the east side over a stone arch
bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
dating to the 16th/17th century. The bridge was needed when the main entrance had been moved next to the ''
palas A ''palas'' () is a German term for the imposing or prestigious building of a medieval '' Pfalz'' or castle that contained the great hall. Such buildings appeared during the Romanesque period (11th to 13th century) and, according to Thompson ...
'' and the
neck ditch A neck ditch (), sometimes called a throat ditch,
at www.roadstoruins.com. Accessed on 3 Jan 2012. is a dry
window A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof, or vehicle that allows the exchange of light and may also allow the passage of sound and sometimes air. Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent ma ...
of the upper floor poses serious historic preservation problems. One of the windows was underpinned by a steel frame. Of interesting is a small
fireplace A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design. ...
in the tiny room next to the bridge. It may well have been the gatekeeper's room. Of the other internal buildings only remains of walls and vaults have survived. Whether the castle has possessed a ''
bergfried ''Bergfried'' (plural: ''bergfriede''; English: ''belfry''; French: ''tour-beffroi''; Italian: ''torrione''; Castilian: ''torre del homenaje'') is a tall tower that is typically found in castles of the Middle Ages in German-speaking countries an ...
'' cannot be ascertained. A possible site for such a tower is considered by some castle researchers castle to be a pile of rubble west of the ''palas''. A highly stylized illustration on a 1665 map shows a tower with a
gable roof A gable roof is a roof consisting of two sections whose upper horizontal edges meet to form its ridge. The most common roof shape in cold or temperate climates, it is constructed of rafters, roof trusses or purlins. The pitch of a gable roof c ...
next to the chapel. This illustration is considered as evidence of the existence of a ''bergfried'' in the web project "Castles in Bavaria" (''Burgen in Bayern'') by the House of Bavarian History. However, this schematic illustration is certainly no indication of the actual existence of such a structure. Until a specialized archaeological investigation of the surmised tower location has been carried out all such suggestions must remain speculative. Nevertheless, when Dietz Marschalk took office in 1378, he had to pay the watchman and the gatekeeper. Of note are the ruins of the old late Gothic chapel, which projects
bastion A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...
-like into the neck ditch. There are still cleaning residues from the original consecration crosses. However, the chapel has been badly affected by the increasing
vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The t ...
of the ruins. In early 2005, part of the beautiful external cornice (''Kaffgesims'') was thrown into the ditch. Some structural damage resulted from a failed attempt by a youth group to renovate the top of the wall in the late 20th century. Around 1980, a human skeleton was unearthed in the chapel during an illegal excavation, suggesting that a
tomb A tomb ( ''tumbos'') or sepulchre () is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called '' immurement'', alth ...
or
crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...
lay under the chapel. Of the ''zwinger'' system facing the valley, there are still two round towers, a long section of the ''zwinger'' wall to the left of the chapel and, adjoining it, a tower-like projection identified as a
cistern A cistern (; , ; ) is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. To prevent leakage, the interior of the cistern is often lined with hydraulic plaster. Cisterns are disti ...
. Below the main bailey was a large
outer bailey An outer bailey or outer ward is the defended outer enclosure of a castle.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 22. It protects the inner bailey and usually contains those ancillary bui ...
. Here, there is still the
gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...
wall of a large
barn A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen G ...
-like building. In 2008, this part of the castle was also made safe. In the vicinity are other wall remains, artificial modifications to the rock and a stone
fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...
trough. Further uphill is the entrance to a spacious, artificially enlarged
cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...
, which was apparently used as a cellar. Northeast of the castle a mighty boulder shows clear traces of human workmanship. On the top, a rectangular cavity has been carved, possibly another cistern. Nearby, a memorial stone commemorating the unsolved
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
of a berry-picker in the early 20th century. The quarry that can be made out behind it probably dates to the Middle Ages, used to produce building stone for the construction of the castle. The whole castle was built of local
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 ...
. Numerous beautiful
architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...
elements lie neglected and overgrown with moss on the
forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
floor. The buildings are in severe danger of collapse, In the summer of 2006, however, essential emergency work started to make the site safe. The castle's decay has been accelerated by a frequent
esoteric Western esotericism, also known as the Western mystery tradition, is a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas and currents are united since they are largely distinct both from orthod ...
-
occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...
activities. The castle is a station on the Haßberge Castle Educational Trail (''Burgenkundlicher Lehrpfad Haßberge'') established by the county of Haßberge.


Legend

There is a striking coincidence between a legend associated with the castle about of a buried treasure that can only be lifted by a
Sunday's child ''Sunday's Child'' is a John Martyn album released in 1975. John Martyn's follow-up to 1973's '' Inside Out'' is a more song-oriented, less experimental album. His eighth record, including two with his wife Beverley Martyn, shows the many fac ...
and an almost identical saga about the ruined castle of the same name near Baden in
Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...
. In both stories the treasure is guarded by a
restless spirit In mythology and folklore, a vengeful ghost or vengeful spirit is said to be the spirit of a dead person who returns from the afterlife to seek revenge for a cruel, unnatural or unjust death. In certain cultures where funeral and burial or crem ...
. The treasure hunter must have been rocked in a
cradle Cradle or Cradles may refer to: * Cradle (bed) * Bassinet, a small bed, often on rockers, in which babies and small children sleep Mechanical devices * Cradle (circus act), or aerial cradle or casting cradle used in an aerial circus act * Crad ...
made from the wood of a cherry tree growing on the top of the castle. The similarity between the two legends was already noted by
Ludwig Bechstein Ludwig Bechstein (24 November 1801 – 14 May 1860) was a German writer and collector of folk fairy tales. He was born in Weimar, the illegitimate child of Johanna Carolina Dorothea Bechstein and Hubert Dupontreau, a French emigrant who disappea ...
in his 1853 ''German Fairy Tale Book'' (''The Little Cherry Tree at Raueneck Castle'', No. 827). Perhaps the legend was transferred in the early 19th century because of the similarity of the castle's name to its better-known counterpart in the
Vienna Woods The Vienna Woods (, ) are forested highlands that form the northeastern foothills of the Northern Limestone Alps in the states of Lower Austria and Vienna. The and range of hills is heavily wooded and a popular recreation area with the Viennese ...
.


Safety work

In the course of the archaeological educational dig, several pits that had been opened by grave robbers were filled and part of the high medieval enceinte of the inner bailey were exposed. This brought to light the remains of a floor of stone flags and a toilet. The garderobe opening was in the wall, the partially preserved waste pipe led into the moat before the construction of the ''zwinger'' system. Safety work has not yet finished. By the end of 2006 other conservation measures had been carried out on the ''palas''. Here the gaping hole in the cellar vault was sealed up with brick. One of the Renaissance double windows that was in serious danger of collapse was given an internal steel support frame. The masonry of the exposed enceinte, with its
opus spicatum ''Opus spicatum'', literally "spiked work," is a type of masonry construction used in Roman architecture, Roman and medieval architecture, medieval times. It consists of bricks, tiles or cut Rock (geology), stone laid in a brickwork#Herringbone b ...
infill, was made safe, as was the top of the chapel walls. The architectural details lost in recent times (chapel and ''palas'',
cross-wall A cross-wall is an interior dividing wall of a castle. It may be an external wall dividing, for example, the inner and outer wards, or it may be a wall internal to a building such as the keep.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Cas ...
to the castle courtyard) were not, however, reconstructed.


Gallery

The ruins of Rauheneck just before and during emergency repair work in 2006 and 2007. File:Burg Raueneck 5.jpg, The west side of the castle seen from the south with the chapel and the southwestern ''
zwinger A () is an open kill zone area between two defensive walls that is used for defensive purposes. s were built in the medieval and early modern periods to improve the defence of castles and town walls. The term is usually left untranslated, ...
'' tower File:Burg Raueneck 3.jpg, The west ''zwinger'' with the cistern tower (left), as well as one of the two surviving cellar vaultings File:Burg Raueneck 4.jpg, The
castle chapel Castle chapels () in European architecture are chapels that were built within a castle. They fulfilled the religious requirements of the castle lord and his retinue, while also sometimes serving as a burial site. Because the construction of suc ...
of the lower ward. Left: what is probably the high medieval main gateway. In its state before the renovations File:Burg Raueneck 6.jpg, The
neck ditch A neck ditch (), sometimes called a throat ditch,
at www.roadstoruins.com. Accessed on 3 Jan 2012. is a dry
cross-wall A cross-wall is an interior dividing wall of a castle. It may be an external wall dividing, for example, the inner and outer wards, or it may be a wall internal to a building such as the keep.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Cas ...
File:Burg Raueneck 7.jpg, View out of the east ''zwinger'' of the ''
palas A ''palas'' () is a German term for the imposing or prestigious building of a medieval '' Pfalz'' or castle that contained the great hall. Such buildings appeared during the Romanesque period (11th to 13th century) and, according to Thompson ...
''. Left: the exposed masonry of the high medieval
enceinte Enceinte (from Latin ''incinctus'' "girdled, surrounded") is a French term that refers to the "main defensive enclosure of a fortification". For a castle, this is the main defensive line of wall towers and curtain walls enclosing the positio ...
File:Burg Raueneck 9.jpg, The secured ''palas'' from the east. Left, near the bridge, a part of the ''zwinger'' wall. The right-hand window of the upper storey was protected by a steel frame File:Burg Raueneck 8.jpg, Staggered, high Gothic double window on the ground floor of the east wall of the ''palas'' File:Burg Raueneck.jpg, The western cellar vaulting to the east File:Burg Raueneck 10.jpg, The castle chapel after repairs to the tops of the walls (August 2007) File:Burg Raueneck 2.jpg, The southwestern ''zwinger'' tower File:Burg Raueneck 12.jpg, Arrow slit on the northwestern ''zwinger'' tower File:Burg Raueneck 11.jpg,
Garderobe Garderobe is a historic term for a room in a medieval castle. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' gives as its first meaning a store-room for valuables, but also acknowledges "by extension, a private room, a bed-chamber; also a privy". The word der ...
shaft on the high medieval enceinte on the eastern side. The shaft opened over the moat in front of the ''zwinger''


Literature

* Georg Ludwig Lehnes: ''Geschichte of the Baunach-Grundes in Lower Franconia''. Würzburg, 1842, Nachdruck Neustadt an of the Aisch, 2005, . * ''The Kunstdenkmäler of the Königreichs Bavaria, XV, Bezirksamt Ebern'', Munich, 1916, pp. 177–182. * Isolde Maierhöfer: ''Ebern'' (Historischer Atlas von Bavaria, Teil Franken, Issue 15). Munich, Kommission für bayerische Landesgeschichte, 1964. * Joachim Zeune: ''Burgen in the Eberner Land''. in: ''Eberner Heimatblätter'', 2 issues, Ebern, 2003.


References


External links


Ruins of Raueneck Castle
at the home page of the House of Bavarian History (plans, history, architecture, condition)
Artist's impression
by Wolfgang Braun Castles in Bavaria Hill castles Buildings and structures in Haßberge (district)