The castle of Homburg am Main is an attractive motif for Lower Franconian picture calendars and a special place with an eventful history. Perched high above the Main and the former official town on a tuff rock, it is a very special eye-catcher right next to the famous and steep Kallmuth vineyard.
From a geological point of view, the tufa-limestone at the point where the Bischbach makes its way through a gorge to the Main is a real specialty. The so-called Bachtuff was easy to dismantle. In the 18th century, Balthasar Neumann is said to have used the porous and light sediment to build his wide-span vaulted ceilings in the Würzburg Residence. There have been several major rockfalls at this location over the years. A stalactite cave in the massif was to play a very special role in local history.
The rock spur with a view of the Main offered ideal conditions for the construction of a fortified castle from the start. It was only accessible from one side and therefore easy to defend. The castle hill thus became a territorial cornerstone of the respective rule between the bishopric of Würzburg and the county of Wertheim. A neighboring castle was built at this special place as early as Carolingian times, which from the 8th century onwards was named Hohenburg for Homburg.
According to legend, at this time Saint Burkard was the first bishop (742-754) of Würzburg to seek refuge from persecutors in the stalactite cave, which can now be reached via 50 steps below the castle. According to the pious legend, a spider that quickly built a web in the entrance when the captors approached saved his life. After resigning from his bishopric, Burkard is said to have returned to this cave as a hermit and died there in 755 the following year. The cave became a place of pilgrimage that was once more frequently visited. In 1721 two baroque altars were located there, one of which is still preserved today.
The exact construction history of the Homburg Castle Hill has not yet been comprehensively documented. Some of the early days remain hidden. The three-story, round, Romanesque keep (12th century) in the castle courtyard, adjacent to the castle barn, which was built much later, is the primary evidence of the former fortress. A grumpy lion head on the outside is likely to be even older. In the 18th century an octagonal room was added to the tower, which from afar looks like a lantern and from whose windows you can cast wonderful views of the mainland.
Changing balance of power
In the 10th century Homburg came under Emperor Otto III. (980-1002) to the Hochstift Würzburg. It began a time of changing and sometimes multiple rule relationships for the citizens. Only at the end of the 15th century did the Würzburg bishop Rudolf von Scherenberg (1401-1495) regain sole supremacy of the bishopric. Würzburg senior officials, office cellars and centgraves ruled in the Homburg office.
From 1465 to 1602, the old Franconian noble family of the von Gebsattel was decisive. In 1561, the knight Philipp von Gebsattel (1527-1576) laid the foundation stone for the construction of Homburg Castle as the seat of the Würzburg office in an exposed location. The three-storey angular building was completed with an elaborate exposed framework by 1568.
Since 1991, a renovated alliance coat of arms in the castle courtyard has been a reminder of the time it was built. In addition to the ancestral evidence with the coats of arms of the ancestors, it shows the ibex trunk of the von Gebsattel and the soaring beaver of the von Bibra family. Because the client’s wife Anna came from this traditional noble family. These two heraldic symbols are also worn on the castle.
The castle building underwent many alterations and extensions. The representative interior expansion was particularly advanced under the Würzburg prince-bishop Johann Gottfried zu Guttenberg (1645-1698) at the end of the 17th century.
The coat of arms in one of two splendid stucco cartouches on the ceiling in the stucco hall, which is presumably the former official room, tells of this. Incidentally, in Guttenberg, not far from Homburg, the new construction of the Mariabuchen pilgrimage church near Lohr had begun. Under Prince-Bishop Johann Philipp von Greiffenklau (1699-1719) the west wing, which defines the view of the castle from the Main to this day, was added.
A major change brought about the transfer of rule to the Grand Duchy of Würzburg and subsequently to the Kingdom of Bavaria at the beginning of the 19th century. Homburg Castle became the seat of the newly formed royal authorities, the regional court and the rent office. Of course, the district court was soon relocated up the Main to the up-and-coming Marktheidenfeld. The substance of the Homburg buildings was getting on in years. A major rock fall in 1831 raised security issues, so that the royal tax authorities were withdrawn from Homburg. A time of great uncertainty began.
In January 1868 one could see from the newspapers that the royal rent office in Lengfurt had commissioned the Marktheidenfeld notary Öhrlein to auction the old castle. The value was given as 8,000 guilders, the adjoining property at 3.2 days’ work. The property is suitable for agricultural purposes or as a factory because of the cheap labor in the area. Finally, the municipality of Homburg acquired the castle the following year for 16,500 guilders, and it has remained in municipal ownership ever since.
Rescue from decay
That meant salvation from decay. Again it was rebuilt so that the Homburg pastor could move in, as well as the school with the teacher and the municipal administration. There are still citizens of Homburg who can remember their school days in the castle. Because only in the early 1970s did this use come to an end. First the school moved out. She was followed by the pastor and in 1978 the town hall in neighboring Lengfurt was established in the newly formed Triefenstein market.
Again the castle was threatened with decay, even demolition. There was a standstill. Fortunately, a group of Homburg citizens did not want to accept this. Combined in the “Association for the Rescue of Homburg Castle”, they looked for a new function for the building in the Triefenstein market.
Comprehensive exterior renovation
A comprehensive exterior renovation of the castle was started in the 1990s. At the same time there was progress inside. The rooms were modernized and renovated like the stucco hall. An atmospheric castle chapel was created on the ground floor under a Gothic cross-vaulted ceiling from the elements that had been collected. Today married couples can say yes there in a festive atmosphere.
Artists moved into the castle in 1996. The current winner of the Würzburg Culture Prize, Elvira Lantenhammer, invites you to exhibitions under the title “Art at Homburg Castle” and to summer academies in her studio. The pianist and expert for old Franconian compositional art, Michael Günther, organizes the widely acclaimed concert series “Clavier am Main” in the stucco hall. In his rooms he shows his unique collection of historical keyboard instruments and music. The artist Linda Schwarz has housed her workshop in the castle, where she can deal with innovative, non-toxic printing techniques.
Homburg Castle has become a lively place again. An event hall has been created in the castle barn, in which the carnival sessions of the Carneval association “Die Steeäisel” are among the annual highlights. The castle courtyard and the neighboring castle garden are the scene of one of the most atmospheric wine festivals in Lower Franconia every summer. Of course, most of it has now become impossible due to the corona pandemic. But times are changing, as this review also showed.
The former association for the rescue of the Gebsattel castle has meanwhile become the “Kulturverein Schloss Homburg”. He won’t run out of tasks in the future.
literature: Scherg, Leonhard; The Homburg Castle; in: Homburg am Main ?? 1200 years of Hohenburg, 880 years of Kallmuth viticulture, 550 years of the city of Homburg (Contributions to the history of the Triefenstein market, Volume 2); Triefenstein 1981, page 128 ?? 136.
About the author: Martin Harth (62) is a freelance journalist and city councilor in Marktheidenfeld. He has been dealing with cultural and historical issues in the area for many years. His special focus is on researching the history of the Jewish minority in the region around Marktheidenfeld.
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