Old Falkenstein Castle
| Old Falkenstein Castle | |
|---|---|
Burg Alt-Falkenstein | |
Falkenstein/Harz | |
 View of the Selke valley from the castle site | |
| Coordinates | 51°40′48″N 11°14′23″E / 51.68000°N 11.23972°E |
| Type | hill castle |
| Code | DE-ST |
| Height | 335.6 m above sea level (NN) |
| Site information | |
| Condition | castle ruins, circular ditch (Ringgraben), advance rampart (Vorwall), wall remnants |
| Site history | |
| Built | 11th century A.D. |
Old Falkenstein Castle (
Harz
. It was built in the 11th century A.D. and destroyed in 1115.
Location
The ruins of Old Falkenstein are located in the eastern Harz region of
nature reserve of Selketal ("Selke Valley") about 1.25 kilometres (0.78 mi) northwest of the Köhlerhütte,[2] which itself is northwest of Pansfelde near Kreisstraße
1344. From there woodland paths run over the Hirschplatte, up to 364.2 m above NN, to the ruins.
About 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi) east-northeast lies New Falkenstein Castle, a preserved medieval ridgetop castle.
History
The castle was probably built under the lordship of the German Emperor
Lothair of Süpplingenburg and was never rebuilt. Afterwards the neighbouring castle of New Falkenstein[3] was built, and the Old Falkenstein was probably no longer occupied from the beginning of the 12th century, as surviving pottery shards indicate.[4]
Layout
The castle site consisted of an oval
outer ward about 85 metres (279 ft) long, the whole site extending over some 200 metres (660 ft) in length.[5] Today, elements of the circular moat (Ringgraben) and advanced rampart (Vorwall) as well as remnants of the northern ring wall (Ringmauer) are still visible.[4]
From the rocky ridge of the ruined castle there are views of the Selke valley. A cross recalls the fatal accident here on 11 July 2003 of local history researcher and area monument curator, Hans Reißmann.
References
- Federal Agency for Nature Conservation
- ^ Köhlerhütte am Hirschstein (auf harzlife.de) mit Lage auf Topographischer Karte (harz-ausflug.de), inklusive eingezeichnetem Zugang
- ^ Burg Alter Falkenstein / Burg Neuer Falkenstein Archived 2010-01-16 at the Wayback Machine and other castles at stangerode.de
- ^ a b Burg Alter Falkenstein, auf alleburgen.de
- ^ Burg Alter Falkenstein with map Grundriss und Geländeschnitte der Burg Alter Falkenstein, at ausflugsziele-harz.de
Literature
- Friedrich Stolberg: Befestigungsanlagen im und am Harz – Von der Frühgeschichte bis zur Neuzeit, Verlag August Lax, Issue 2/1983, ISBN 3826910028
External links
- "Old Falkenstein Castle". Alle Burgen (in German).