Castle Sponheim is a medieval ruin in Burgsponheim

Burgsponheim

Burgsponheim is a municipality in the district of Bad Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate in western Germany....

 on the edge of the Hunsrück

Hunsrück

The Hunsrück is a low mountain range in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the river valleys of the Moselle , the Nahe , and the Rhine . The Hunsrück is continued by the Taunus mountains on the eastern side of the Rhine. In the north behind the Moselle it is continued by the Eifel...

 in Rhineland-Palatinate

Rhineland-Palatinate

Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....

 and original residence of the Counts of Sponheim

County of Sponheim

The County of Sponheim was an independent territory in the Holy Roman Empire which lasted from the 11th century until the early 19th century...

. Significant portions of the castle remain standing.

Site

The castle stands on a crag, approximately 250 meters long, around which the Ellerbach, a tributary of the Nahe, flows on the south and east sides. The ruin is on the peak of the crag, which is roughly 150 meters high.

History

The castle was probably already built in the 11th century and is first mentioned in 1127 in two documents. In the 12th century it was extended and became the proud seat of the Counts of Sponheim

County of Sponheim

The County of Sponheim was an independent territory in the Holy Roman Empire which lasted from the 11th century until the early 19th century...

.

In the 13th century the castle lost importance with the first divisions of the county, becoming a residence of ministeriales

Ministerialis

Ministerialis ; a post-classical Latin word, used in English, meaning originally servitor, agent, in a broad range of senses...

.

The existence of a castle chapel

Chapel

A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...

 is documented in an indulgence

Indulgence

In Catholic theology, an indulgence is the full or partial remission of temporal punishment due for sins which have already been forgiven. The indulgence is granted by the Catholic Church after the sinner has confessed and received absolution...

 dated 1300.

When the ruling male line of the Rhenish branch of the House of Sponheim

House of Sponheim

The House of Sponheim or Spanheim was a noble family of the Holy Roman Empire in the High Middle Ages. They were Dukes of Carinthia from 1122 until 1269 and Counts of Sponheim until 1437...

 became extinct, the castle became a joint jurisdiction of the Margraves of Baden

Margraviate of Baden

The Margraviate of Baden were a historical territory in the Holy Roman Empire. It was already named so in 1112 and existed until the division in 1535 and lived with the reunion back in 1771, until the Electorate of Baden came up in 1803...

 and the Counts of Veldenz or the Counts Palatine by Rhine

House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken

The House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was the Royal House of Sweden from 1654 to 1720.By this point it had splintered into several different houses...

. In the Thirty Years' War

Thirty Years' War

The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....

 the castle was besieged by Spinola, which caused some destruction.

Layout

Within a ring wall

Curtain wall (fortification)

A curtain wall is a defensive wall between two bastions of a castle or fortress.In earlier designs of castle the curtain walls were often built to a considerable height and were fronted by a ditch or moat to make assault difficult....

, the castle comprised a residential section, a round tower, and a strongly fortified rectangular keep

Keep

A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...

, provided for habitation purposes with privy

Garderobe

The term garderobe describes a place where clothes and other items are stored, and also a medieval toilet. In European public places, a garderobe denotes the cloakroom, wardrobe, alcove or an armoire. In Danish, Dutch, German and Spanish garderobe can mean a cloakroom. In Latvian it means checkroom...

, enlarged windows, and fireplace

Fireplace

A fireplace is an architectural structure to contain a fire for heating and, especially historically, for cooking. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or other flue allows gas and particulate exhaust to escape...

s. The keep was constructed of rough-hewn stone

Rustication (architecture)

thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...

and dates roughly to the mid-12th century. Other towers with rough-hewn masonry are found only south of the River Nahe.

Sources

• Köhl, Stefan: "Burg Sponheim", in Burgen und Schlösser 1992 volume 1, pp. 6–19

External links

• Burg Sponheim at burgenwelt.de