Wartburg Castle is very well known. Our blog from 2009 describes the connection with my favorite medieval Minnesinger (troubadour), Wolfram von Eschenbach; St. Elisabeth of Thuringen, who was brought to the Wartburg from Hungary when she was four years old; and most famous of all, Martin Luther, who translated the Bible into German there.
Not as well known is the Neuenburg Castle. It and the Wartburg were built by the same person, a Frankish Count called Ludwig der Springer (Louis the Jumper), at about the same time, around 1090. In spite of its obscurity, the supporting scientists writing about Naumburg Cathedral also found Neuenburg Castle worthy of the designation World Heritage Site.
"Of the highest significance for the chivalric and courtly cultures of this time is Neuenburg Castle established by the landgraves of Thuringia. It counts among the greatest Romanesque Castle complexes worldwide and preserves one of the most impressive spiritual testimonies to the life of Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia with its
exceptional two-storey chapel."
By the year 1100, Neuenburg Castle was the largest and most important fortification in central Germany. Still today, sections of the curtain walls in the north and east, part of the gate, the part of the castle on the lower part of the slope, and trenches in the east and in the south are open to visitors. The landmark is the castle keep, called "Dicker Wilhelm" (fat William), which today is outside of the castle on the high ground. It is visible from far away as a symbol of power.
The original castle was built in the Romanesque style, and the best evidence of that is the chapel.
"the Chapel of Neuenburg displays the distinctive fusion of the Rhenanian and Saxon artistic styles as a masterpiece of the courtly art, strongly connected with the life of Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia"
The chapel has two stories. The ground floor was for the peasants, and the upper floor for the nobles.
The ground floor has an opening in the ceiling. That opening met the liturgical requirements that the peasants have a view of the room with the altar and can hear the priest. The upper floor is very fancy, except for the hole in the floor. The four impressive columns in the middle of the room get their dark color from the carboniferous limestone of which they are made.
Outside of the entrance to the upper floor is a statue of St. Elisabeth. This is the same woman we talked about in out blog "Poets and Thinkers". She was brought to the Wartburg when she was four years old, and married Ludwig IV, the Landgrave of Thuringia, when she was 14 and he was 20. After her husband's death when she was 20, and just a few weeks before the birth of her third child, Gertrude, she sent her children away and regained her dowry. She used the money to build a hospital in Marburg where she herself served the sick. In 1224 or 1225 she visited Neuenburg and is said to have cured a sick man.
Neuenburg Castle was a popular place. Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa visited Neuenburg Castle in 1172, and the legend of the “living wall” of soldiers providing the best military defense was born. The most important poets of the 13th century, namely Wolfram von Eschenbach and Walther von der Vogelweide, also stayed at Neuenburg Castle. And this is where Heinrich von Weldecke, who was an inspiration to Hartmann von Aue and Gottfried von Straßburg, completed his AEneas novel, which was the first courtly romance in a Germanic language.
Not as well known is the Neuenburg Castle. It and the Wartburg were built by the same person, a Frankish Count called Ludwig der Springer (Louis the Jumper), at about the same time, around 1090. In spite of its obscurity, the supporting scientists writing about Naumburg Cathedral also found Neuenburg Castle worthy of the designation World Heritage Site.
exceptional two-storey chapel."
By the year 1100, Neuenburg Castle was the largest and most important fortification in central Germany. Still today, sections of the curtain walls in the north and east, part of the gate, the part of the castle on the lower part of the slope, and trenches in the east and in the south are open to visitors. The landmark is the castle keep, called "Dicker Wilhelm" (fat William), which today is outside of the castle on the high ground. It is visible from far away as a symbol of power.
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| Dicker Wilhelm |
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| Visitor's entrance to the castle |
The original castle was built in the Romanesque style, and the best evidence of that is the chapel.
The chapel has two stories. The ground floor was for the peasants, and the upper floor for the nobles.
 |
| Upper floor of the chapel |
 |
| Ground floor of the chapel |
The ground floor has an opening in the ceiling. That opening met the liturgical requirements that the peasants have a view of the room with the altar and can hear the priest. The upper floor is very fancy, except for the hole in the floor. The four impressive columns in the middle of the room get their dark color from the carboniferous limestone of which they are made.
Outside of the entrance to the upper floor is a statue of St. Elisabeth. This is the same woman we talked about in out blog "Poets and Thinkers". She was brought to the Wartburg when she was four years old, and married Ludwig IV, the Landgrave of Thuringia, when she was 14 and he was 20. After her husband's death when she was 20, and just a few weeks before the birth of her third child, Gertrude, she sent her children away and regained her dowry. She used the money to build a hospital in Marburg where she herself served the sick. In 1224 or 1225 she visited Neuenburg and is said to have cured a sick man.
Neuenburg Castle was a popular place. Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa visited Neuenburg Castle in 1172, and the legend of the “living wall” of soldiers providing the best military defense was born. The most important poets of the 13th century, namely Wolfram von Eschenbach and Walther von der Vogelweide, also stayed at Neuenburg Castle. And this is where Heinrich von Weldecke, who was an inspiration to Hartmann von Aue and Gottfried von Straßburg, completed his AEneas novel, which was the first courtly romance in a Germanic language.
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