Schwarzenfeld Castle (German: Schloss Schwarzenfeld) is a historic castle in Schwarzenfeld in the district of Schwandorf in Upper Palatinate of Bavaria, Germany. It was the home of noble Holnstein family, including Count Maximilian von Holnstein, a close advisor to King Ludwig II of Bavaria.
| Schwarzenfeld Castle | |
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| General information | |
| Country | Germany |
History
editThe history of the Schwarzenfeld Castle goes back to the first half of the second millennium. Schwarzenfeld is first mentioned in 1015 in a deed of donation from Emperor Henry II to the Diocese of Bamberg (which Henry II created from parts of the Diocese of Würzburg and Eichstätt).[1] Schwarzenfeld Castle was built by Conrad Pullenhofer on the Naab (a tributary of the Danube) in 1372. In 1389, the noble family of Plankenfelser, who came from Upper Franconia, took over the Castle. At the end of the 16th century, the Teuffel von Pirkensee family bought the estate, which had been devastated during the Thirty Years' War along with the village of Schwarzenfeld.[1]
Holnstein family
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After changing hands several more times, Count Maximilian Joseph von Holnstein, the hereditary governor of the Upper Palatinate, acquired Schwarzenfeld in 1789.[1] Count Holnstein was a grandson of Emperor Charles VII of Bavaria (by his mistress Maria Caroline Charlotte von Ingenheim),[2] and was married to Princess Maria Josepha of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst (eldest daughter of Prince Charles Albert II).[3]
After Count Holnstein died in 1824, Schwarzenfeld was inherited by his son, Count Carl Theodor von Holnstein,[4] the first husband of celebrated beauty Caroline von Holnstein of Schloss Fronberg.[2][5] Upon the death of Count Carl in 1857, Schwarzenfeld was inherited by his only son, Count Maximilian von Holnstein, the most famous member of the von Holnstein family.[6][7] Between 1890 and 1892, Holnstein had Julius Hofmann (the engineer behind Neuschwanstein Castle)[8] rebuild and enlarge the castle to include its outbuildings and the two towers in the "historicism" style.[9] Holnstein retired to his castle in Schwarzenfeld in 1893 and lived there until his death in 1895.[10][11]
Count Holnstein's widow Maximiliane (née Baroness von Gumppenberg-Pöttmes) lived in the castle until 1907 when the family moved to Upper Bavaria. The Castle remained unused for a long period of time apart from several short-term leases.[12] In 1934, Maximilian's grandson, Count Ludwig Maximilian von Holnstein (1897–1966), sold the castle to the market town of Schwarzenfeld.[1]
Present day
editThe castle changed hands frequently, including to the National Socialist People's Welfare,[13] before a major fire broke out on 25 June 1982. In 1995, Hans Nabburg sold the castle ruins to investors who converted it into a conference hotel with the foundation stone being laid on 15 September 1995 by the Bavarian Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber.[1]
Today the Castle is the site of the Annual Shell Show and Fair,[14][15] and continues to operate as a convention center and luxury hotel.[16][17]
Gallery
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Map of Schwarzenfeld, c. 1682 -
Photograph of the castle, 2008 -
Photograph of the castle, 2008 -
Photograph of the castle, 2017 -
Detail of the tower of the castle, 2017
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Markt Schwarzenfeld: Schloss Schwarzenfeld". www.schwarzenfeld.de. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
- ^ a b Raineval, Melville Henry Massue marquis de Ruvigny et; Raineval, Melville Henry Massue Marquis of Ruvigny and (1914). The Titled Nobility of Europe: An International Peerage, Or "Who's Who," of the Sovereigns, Princes, and Nobles of Europe. Burke's Peerage. p. 793. ISBN 978-0-85011-028-9. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- ^ zu), Chlodwig Karl Viktor Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (Fürst (1906). Memoirs of Prince Chlodwig of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfuerst. Macmillan. p. 158. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- ^ Status ecclesiasticus Ratisbonensis: 1829 (in German). 1829. p. 41. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
- ^ "Bayerischer Kurier: 1877,9/12". Bayerischer Kurier (in German). Lentner. 1877. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- ^ Neues Allgemeines Deutsches Adels-Lexicon: Graffen - Kalau v. Kalheim (in German). Voigt. 1863. p. 452. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
- ^ Das deutsche Reich in geographischer, statistischer und topographischer Beziehung: 1 (in German). 1874. p. 594. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
- ^ Zils, Michael (2001). Museums of the World: Afghanistan-Swaziland. K.G. Saur. p. 289. ISBN 978-3-598-20608-5. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
- ^ Lepik, Andres; Bäumler, Katrin (2018). The Architecture Under King Ludwig II: Palaces and Factories. Birkhäuser. ISBN 978-3-0356-1536-4. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
- ^ Craemer, Josef Ludwig (1900). The Royal Bavarian Castles in Word and Picture: A Brief History of All the Royal Buildings and an Exact Guide to the Palaces. Craemer. p. 134. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- ^ Vierhaus, Rudolf (3 May 2011). Hitz - Kozub (in German). Walter de Gruyter. p. 105. ISBN 978-3-11-094653-6. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
- ^ Bartmann, Peter (1996). Schloß Schwarzenfeld und das Vermächtnis der Grafen von Holnstein aus Bayern (in German). Selbstverlag der Verfasser. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
- ^ Gothaisches genealogisches Taschenbuch der gräflichen Häuser (in German). Justus Perthes. 1942. pp. 9–10. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- ^ Spirula Mededelingenblad. Stichting Biologia Maritima. 1995. ISBN 978-88-86070-09-6. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
- ^ Of Sea and Shore. Of Sea and Shore Publications. 1997. p. 76. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
- ^ "Schloss Schwarzenfeld". schloss-schwarzenfeld.de. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
- ^ Bahnmüller, Wilfried; Bahnmüller, Lisa (20 May 2021). Die Radel-Bucket-List Bayern: 25 Radtouren, die man einfach gemacht haben muss (in German). J. Berg. ISBN 978-3-86246-785-3. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
External links
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- Official homepage (in English)
- Mausoleum und Ahnengruft der Grafen von Holnstein (in German)