Scharzfels Castle
Encyclopedia
Scharzfels Castle is the medieval ruin of a fortification located east of the village of Scharzfeld
in the borough of Herzberg am Harz
in central Germany. It lies in a wood on a ridge about 150 m above the Oder valley
. For centuries after its construction in the 10th century it remained an impregnable fortress. The inner ward is built on a dolomite
rock outcrop about 20 m high. The castle was first captured after a siege in 1761 during the Seven Years' War
and then blown up.
-like position with its vertical rock faces made the castle impregnable. The stone castle buildings were built on top of the rock or in gaps. According to contemporary accounts, there was at least a great hall
and a tower
. Of the buildings and the defensive wall
only preserved fragments remain that have now been restored. In contrast, the tunnels and rooms hewn out of the rock still exist, including the 15 metre long corridor that runs from the castle entranceway.
Several hundred metres away from the castle ruins is the rock known as the Frauenstein which was once an observation tower and an outwork
.
. It only became of historical significance through Emperor Lothair of Süpplingenburg who acquired it in 1131 and turned it into an imperial fort (Reichsfeste). This purchase is witnessed by the same document in which the castle is mentioned in writing for the first time, as Castrum quoddam Scartuelt. From that time the castle was home to several lines of counts, including the counts of Scharzfeld who were named after the castle. After they had become extinct, the castle went in 1300 as a fief of the Principality of Grubenhagen into the possession of the counts of Hohnstein. After the extinction of the Harz-based line of the House of Hohnstein in 1593, the feudal castle and house returned to the House of Grubenhagen. In 1596 Duke Henry Julius of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel inherited the fortress. Later it passed into the possession of the Hanover line of the House of Welf.
and the Thirty Years' War
. In the 17th century Scharzfels became a state gaol. From 1695 Eleonore of the Knesebeck (b 1655) resided here, who came from a prestigious ancient Lüneburg family, albeit of the lesser nobility. She became the maid
to Princess Sophia of Ahlden after Sophia's marriage in 1682. Between the vulnerable sixteen-year old, Sophie Dorothea, who had married into the House Hanover, and Eleanor a friendly relationship developed, a sort of mother-daughter relationship, and she was a confidante in the extra-marital love affair of her mistress with the reckless Count of Königsmarck, serving as a letter bearer. The family of Eleanor of the Knesebeck tried again and again to initiate a legal process and sought in vain for a bail of 100,000 talers. The prisoner remained incarcerated in a tiny room, only being allowed to see an old nurse once a day. Her family eventually bribed the roofer, Veit Rentsch. As a result Eleanor was freed in 1697 with outside help in a daring rescue action, being lowered about 20 metres down from the high castle rock, her body being tied to the body of her rescuer, who abseiled with her. Previously, he had made an opening in the roof of the room where the prisoner was held and hauled her out with a rope. Below, her brother waited with a handful of mounted men and carried them to safety. She traveled to Vienna, where she managed secure an imperial letter of protection and drove to Brunswick. In 1717 she died in a village near this city. From the family of her former mistress, she received 2,000 talers in support.
, a body of French troops, numbering some 6,000 men, appeared in front of Scharzfels Castle. They succeeded in forcing the surrender of the castle which had been defended by 40 gunners, 100 infantry from the Harz and 250 invalid
s from Hanover
. When the defenders refused to give up voluntarily, the French attacked the castle with an assault and bombardment, but met with no success. As the result of a tip-off about a hidden path to the Liethberg a hill in the vicinity, the French were able to destroy the outwork at Frauenstein by shelling and then bombard the castle. After a ten-day siege, the garrison surrendered the castle on 25 September 1761. The capture of this hitherto impregnable fortress caused great jubilation in Paris
. Their joy was dampened somewhat when it became known that the defenders were largely invalids. After only four days' occupation the French blew up the castle and withdrew when it became known that Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick was advancing on Scharzfels. Since that time, the castle site has lain in ruins.
hiking network; it lies on the Karst Trail and Harzer Baudensteig trail. The north face of the dolomite rock is used for climbing
.
Scharzfeld
Scharzfeld is a village in the borough of Herzberg am Harz in the district of Osterode am Harz in South Lower Saxony, Germany.Scharzfeld lies at a height of about 220 m above sea level and has 1,765 inhabitants ....
in the borough of Herzberg am Harz
Herzberg am Harz
Herzberg am Harz is a town in the Osterode district of Lower Saxony, Germany.- History :Herzberg castle was first mentioned in 1154. The town was part of the state of Brunswick-Grubenhagen, and the castle was for some time used as a residence by the dukes...
in central Germany. It lies in a wood on a ridge about 150 m above the Oder valley
Oder (Harz)
The Oder is a 56 km long river in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Rhume. Its source is in the Harz mountains, near Sankt Andreasberg. It flows southwest through Bad Lauterberg, Pöhlde and Hattorf am Harz...
. For centuries after its construction in the 10th century it remained an impregnable fortress. The inner ward is built on a dolomite
Dolomite
Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
rock outcrop about 20 m high. The castle was first captured after a siege in 1761 during the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
and then blown up.
Construction
Of the fortifications of the former outer ward nothing visible remains apart from a well house. The lower or outer ward is now a flat terraced area with a tourist restaurant. From the outer ward a stairway, built in the 19th century, leads to the upper ward on the 20 metre high dolomite rock. The rock has an area of about 20 x 60 metres. This eyrieEyrie
Eyrie may refer to:*Bird nest of raptors*The Eyrie Vineyards, an American winery in Oregon*Eyrie Bay, a bay in Antarctica*The Eyrie, a stronghold in the A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy novel series*Eyrie, a Neopet.-See also:...
-like position with its vertical rock faces made the castle impregnable. The stone castle buildings were built on top of the rock or in gaps. According to contemporary accounts, there was at least a great hall
Great hall
A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, nobleman's castle or a large manor house in the Middle Ages, and in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries. At that time the word great simply meant big, and had not acquired its modern connotations of excellence...
and a tower
Tower
A tower is a tall structure, usually taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires....
. Of the buildings and the defensive wall
Defensive wall
A defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements...
only preserved fragments remain that have now been restored. In contrast, the tunnels and rooms hewn out of the rock still exist, including the 15 metre long corridor that runs from the castle entranceway.
Several hundred metres away from the castle ruins is the rock known as the Frauenstein which was once an observation tower and an outwork
Outwork
An outwork is a minor defense, fortification, built or established outside the principal fortification limits, detached or semidetached. Outworks were developed in the 16th century, such as ravelins, lunettes , caponiers to shield bastions and fortification curtains from direct battery...
.
Emergence in the Middle Ages
The castle of Scharzfels was probably built in the 10th or 11 century and belonged in its early days to the Magdeburg archdioceseDiocese of Magdeburg
The Diocese of Magdeburg is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church located in the Germany. Its seat is Magdeburg; it is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Paderborn....
. It only became of historical significance through Emperor Lothair of Süpplingenburg who acquired it in 1131 and turned it into an imperial fort (Reichsfeste). This purchase is witnessed by the same document in which the castle is mentioned in writing for the first time, as Castrum quoddam Scartuelt. From that time the castle was home to several lines of counts, including the counts of Scharzfeld who were named after the castle. After they had become extinct, the castle went in 1300 as a fief of the Principality of Grubenhagen into the possession of the counts of Hohnstein. After the extinction of the Harz-based line of the House of Hohnstein in 1593, the feudal castle and house returned to the House of Grubenhagen. In 1596 Duke Henry Julius of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel inherited the fortress. Later it passed into the possession of the Hanover line of the House of Welf.
Fortress and gaol
In 1627 the castle was expanded, occupied by a garrison and heavily fortified. In the centuries after the construction of the castle no enemy power was able to capture it, despite conflicts such as the Peasants' WarGerman Peasants' War
The German Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt was a widespread popular revolt in the German-speaking areas of Central Europe, 1524–1526. At its height in the spring and summer of 1525, the conflict involved an estimated 300,000 peasants: contemporary estimates put the dead at 100,000...
and 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....
. In the 17th century Scharzfels became a state gaol. From 1695 Eleonore of the Knesebeck (b 1655) resided here, who came from a prestigious ancient Lüneburg family, albeit of the lesser nobility. She became the maid
Maid
A maidservant or in current usage housemaid or maid is a female employed in domestic service.-Description:Once part of an elaborate hierarchy in great houses, today a single maid may be the only domestic worker that upper and even middle-income households can afford, as was historically the case...
to Princess Sophia of Ahlden after Sophia's marriage in 1682. Between the vulnerable sixteen-year old, Sophie Dorothea, who had married into the House Hanover, and Eleanor a friendly relationship developed, a sort of mother-daughter relationship, and she was a confidante in the extra-marital love affair of her mistress with the reckless Count of Königsmarck, serving as a letter bearer. The family of Eleanor of the Knesebeck tried again and again to initiate a legal process and sought in vain for a bail of 100,000 talers. The prisoner remained incarcerated in a tiny room, only being allowed to see an old nurse once a day. Her family eventually bribed the roofer, Veit Rentsch. As a result Eleanor was freed in 1697 with outside help in a daring rescue action, being lowered about 20 metres down from the high castle rock, her body being tied to the body of her rescuer, who abseiled with her. Previously, he had made an opening in the roof of the room where the prisoner was held and hauled her out with a rope. Below, her brother waited with a handful of mounted men and carried them to safety. She traveled to Vienna, where she managed secure an imperial letter of protection and drove to Brunswick. In 1717 she died in a village near this city. From the family of her former mistress, she received 2,000 talers in support.
Capture
In 1761, during the Seven Years' WarSeven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
, a body of French troops, numbering some 6,000 men, appeared in front of Scharzfels Castle. They succeeded in forcing the surrender of the castle which had been defended by 40 gunners, 100 infantry from the Harz and 250 invalid
Invalid
Invalid may refer to:* Patient, a sick person* A person with a disability* .invalid, a top-level Internet domain not intended for real useAs the opposite of valid:* Validity, in logic, true premises cannot lead to a false conclusion...
s from Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
. When the defenders refused to give up voluntarily, the French attacked the castle with an assault and bombardment, but met with no success. As the result of a tip-off about a hidden path to the Liethberg a hill in the vicinity, the French were able to destroy the outwork at Frauenstein by shelling and then bombard the castle. After a ten-day siege, the garrison surrendered the castle on 25 September 1761. The capture of this hitherto impregnable fortress caused great jubilation in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Their joy was dampened somewhat when it became known that the defenders were largely invalids. After only four days' occupation the French blew up the castle and withdrew when it became known that Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick was advancing on Scharzfels. Since that time, the castle site has lain in ruins.
Walking and climbing
Scharzfels Castle is no. 151 in the system of checkpoints in the Harzer WandernadelHarzer Wandernadel
The Harzer Wandernadel is a network of checkpoints for walkers in the Harz mountains in North Germany. It includes a system whereby the hiker can earn badges at different levels by walking to the various checkpoints in the network and recording them...
hiking network; it lies on the Karst Trail and Harzer Baudensteig trail. The north face of the dolomite rock is used for climbing
Climbing
Climbing is the activity of using one's hands and feet to ascend a steep object. It is done both for recreation and professionally, as part of activities such as maintenance of a structure, or military operations.Climbing activities include:* Bouldering: Ascending boulders or small...
.
Sources
- Friedrich, Ernst Andreas (1992). Wenn Steine reden könnten. Band II, Landbuch-Verlag, Hanover, ISBN 3-7842-0479-1
- Nück, Wolfgang-Dietrich (2008). Graf Sigebodo II. von Scharzfeld/Lauterberg, Verlag für Regionalgeschichte, Bielefeld, ISBN 978-3-89534-692-7
- Vladi, Firouz (1990). Die Burg Scharzfels, Verlag Jungfer, Herzberg, no ISBN