Mansfeld Castle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mansfeld Castle is a Christian youth education meeting place in Mansfelder Land, Germany. The castle which is surrounded by forest, stands on top of a large boulder overlooking Mansfeld town. The Late Gothic church of the castle, as well as the ruins, moats and the remains of the battlements from the time of the old fortress make Mansfeld castle a superior attraction. Often Martin Luther visited that castle. His parents lived in the village of Mansfeld. His father worked in the local copper mine, Martin Luther himself visited the school of Mansfeld.
[edit] History
- 1229: First documented mention of Castle Mansfeld Castle.
- 1509: Fire destroyed the castle from the Middle Ages.
- 1509 - ca. 1549: Building of three renaissance style castles (Vorderort, Mittelort, Hinterort) and a fortress (one of the largest in Germany), furnishing of the castle's church.
- 1540: Introduction of the Reformation by Martin Luther and Earl Albrecht of Hinterort to the county of Mansfeld.
- 1570: The Earls property is under administration because of his massive debt, the castles Mittelort and Hinterort fall into decay.
- 1618 - 1648: Repeated siege of the fortress during the thirty years' war.
- 1672: Saxonian government decides to destroy the fortress.
- 1674/75: The fortress is razed to the ground by 400 ordered fellow countrymen and 30 miners from Freiberg (Saxonia).
- 1710: Earl Johann Georg III , the last Earl that lived in Castle Mansfeld, dies.
- 1780: With Johann Wenzel Nepomuk dies the last heir of the line of Earls of Mansfeld, the castle is now owned by the Prussian state.
- 1794 - 1810: The castle is in possession of Carl Friedrich Bückling, developer of the first German steam-powered machine.
- 1859 - 1945: Mansfeld castle in possession of Baron Freiherr von der Recke.
- 1860 - 1862: Neogothic extension and furbishing of Castle Mansfeld.
- 1883 - 1908: Installation of the Neogothik windows and pews to the castles church, which can still be seen today.
- 1946: After the act of reforming landed property, the castle is possessed by the county of Saxonia-Anhalt.
- 1947: The castle is handed over to the protestant church of Saxonia for free of charge usage by the YMCA.
- 1997: The society Förderverein Schloss Mansfeld e. V., founded on May 24th in Halle/S., claims property of Mansfeld castle.
[edit] Resources
- (German) The Castle's Homepage
- www.imwe.net -The homepage of a scouting event once held in Mansfeld