It is not one of the largest castles in the Main-Spessart district, and certainly not one of the most important. And yet both the size and the importance of the Laudenbach Castle are mostly underestimated. In general, surprisingly little is known about the once proud and fortified complex, of which only two towers and the remains of a curtain wall can be seen today.
Neither the exact time of construction nor the gentlemen who commissioned the construction of Laudenbach Castle are known. It is believed that it was built in 1150 by the Counts of Hohenlohe. There are no reliable findings for either this or any other assumption. It is likely that it was built in the High Middle Ages, probably between the 12th and 13th centuries, on the site of an earlier fortification.
In contrast to many fortifications in the region, Laudenbach Castle was exposed to frequent changes of rule and ownership in its early days. It is a vivid example of the growing influence of smaller count houses and the changing spheres of power and influence of the various Frankish noble families. In hardly any other area could so many small knight, aristocratic and count houses develop in such a small space as in Franconia in addition to the four spiritual territories of Mainz, Fulda, Bamberg and Würzburg. In the 14th century, the Counts of Wertheim prevailed in Laudenbach, the castle represented the northernmost sphere of influence of its territory.
The place chosen excellently
The site is superbly chosen for the construction of a castle: it stands on a spur of the Laudenbacher Schlossberg that extends far into the main valley and into the valley of the Laudenbach. Due to its high location and the natural steep slopes towards the Main and towards the Laudenbach valley, it was hardly surmountable for the attack techniques of the time. The only vulnerable place was the ridge.
From where the Jewish cemetery and the rifle house are located today, one would have had easy access. To ward off this possible danger, the medieval builders placed the top tower on a significantly higher, artificially created plateau, which is popularly known as the “Big Ture”. is called. Curiously enough, written documents already mentioned ?? thurre ?? 500 years ago. the speech, apparently the name has held up to this day. The Dicke Ture formed an “approach obstacle”, an upper outpost that could effectively stop any attackers from the ridge. The tower was not connected to the rest of the castle complex.
<!–
Laudenbach Castle was built as a strong medieval fortress with three square towers and expanded several times in later centuries to adapt to the changing war technology. The walls of the three towers are each two and a half meters thick, they were not intended for living, but exclusively for representation and defense.
No evidence of an attack on the castle
The castle never had to prove its defense readiness. The respective fiefdoms had to recruit a castle team and the Laudenbach population was responsible for providing guards in the event of a feud. There is no written evidence of an actual attack on the castle. The image was not shaped by knights and weapons, but all the more horses, cows, pigs, cackling chickens, male servants, maidservants and farmers who delivered their tithe. Everyday life in the castle has resembled a large fortified farm over the centuries.
Laudenbach was the official seat. The area of influence of the place included extensive goods in Duttenbrunn, Billingshausen, Rohrbach, Wernfeld, Steinfeld, Wiesenfeld, Halsbach, Harrbach and Karlstadt. The Wertheim bailiff sat with his family in the main building of the castle and had the task of administering the possessions of his lordship in the region. He had to keep correspondence with the Counts of Wertheim, settle disputes, collect tithes, taxes and duties and submit an annual invoice.
If you disregard the Dicken Ture, which is located outside the castle area, you can only see the trapezoidal inner area of the former castle, which is enclosed by a circular wall. The entire castle complex, however, was much larger: there is written evidence of a fortified outer bailey at the feet of the inner curtain wall with two houses, stables, barns, a wine press and ancillary buildings.
The castle had two gates
Written evidence also shows two goals, an ?? outer ?? and an “inner gate”. The outer gate led to the outer bailey and the inner one to the specially fortified area of the inner bailey. The entire system was laid out on four different rock plateaus secured with high circular walls. Fat Ture stands on the highest plateau.
On a significantly lower plateau is the trapezoidal core castle, still clearly recognizable in its dimensions, with the eastern tower and a surrounding inner wall. In the middle of this castle area there was originally another tower, the foundation of which was excavated last year.
To the south and east, the inner bailey is enclosed on a third level by the outer bailey. It covers the area along the Aegidius Street between today’s old school in the west and the church in the east. This area was protected by a mighty, eight to ten meter high outer wall, which can still be seen. The church is at its lowest level, but still well above the roofs of the residential buildings below. The exact course of the outer ring wall, the location of the two gates and the development of the entire site can only be guessed at. Archaeological investigations would have to be carried out to find out more.
In all descriptions of Laudenbach Castle, one can read that the complex was said to have been burned down together with Karlsburg during the Peasants’ War in 1525. For Karlsburg, this assumption can be considered certain, but for Laudenbach there are not a few indications to the contrary. Today we have to assume that a number of Laudenbach farmers and citizens sympathized with the powerful uprising and joined the peasant horde. But they left the castle completely untouched.
No evidence of destruction in the Peasants’ War
In the decades that followed, the Wertheim officials continued to use it as their administrative headquarters. Even the Laudenbach official accounts in the years after the uprising do not provide any evidence of work that would indicate a possible reconstruction after destruction. In contrast, there are countless invoices for minor maintenance repairs, such as replacing door locks, installing tiled stoves, repairing windows thrown in by the wind or repairing damaged roof tiles.
In a decree from 1526, Count Michael wrote that he wanted to severely punish the Laudenbachers for their participation in the Peasants’ War. They are to be forbidden from accessing the commons. This meant that the forest, pasture and water would no longer have been usable for the population. Count Michael, he continues, however, let himself be changed by the young Count Georg. After all, not everyone took part in the uprising. The punishment was reduced to an annual cash payment of 45 guilders.
For comparison: nine people were executed in Karlstadt because of the destruction of Karlsburg. Nothing is known of the destruction of Laudenbach Castle. The assumption that the renaissance castle in Laudenbach was built as an alleged atonement by the peasants for their participation in the uprising can be classified as a legend. The castle was commissioned by Etel Voit von Rieneck only 30 years after the Peasants ‘War and has nothing to do with the Peasants’ War.
Laudenbach Castle was not destroyed by fire, but by its insignificance. In 1612 Laudenbach was forcibly incorporated into the Würzburg bishopric by Julius Echter. From then on, the castle was superfluous as an official seat, taxes and duties from the former Laudenbach office were now collected by the administration in Karlstadt. Over the next two centuries, the castle walls were gradually torn down and used for other purposes.
About the author: Georg Schirmer, graduate psychologist and chairman of the sponsorship group for the former synagogue Laudenbach eV, has been researching the history of the Jewish community in Laudenbach in the state archives in Würzburg and Wertheim for four years. This is how he came into contact with the eventful history of the village. Above all, the hitherto largely unknown history of the castle spurred him on to more intensive research.
Literature: The corresponding sources from the Wertheim and Würzburg State Archives are available from the author Georg Schirmer.
–
