Spieser Schlossberg

Postal Spies - View of the Rock that bore the main castle

At the Postal Spies, a high Outbound medieval nobility castle was above the village of Spies in the community Betz stone in the Upper Franconian district of Bayreuth. Only very few remains of walls testify to her.

The castle barn is freely accessible and serves as an observation point.

Geographical location

The former hill fort is located in the northern Franconian on the 616.4 m above sea level. NN high peak of the free-standing conical Spieser castle hill, whose summit is located about 50 meters above the town. The Postal lies immediately north of the town Spies and about five kilometers south of Betz stone.

In the vicinity there are other former medieval castles, about 1.5 kilometers east of the ruins locking block and another castle stables on the hog mountain. To the northwest are the ruins of wild rock and Postal Strahlenfels. In the southwest, a former castle, the present castle in Großengsee, a castle stables in St. Helena and the unknown castle stables were on the top of mountain 582 meters high eponymous collection. A little north of the former castle Spies was yet another Outbound castle on the Hühnerstein. From the summit rocks also can be seen the ruins of Hohenstein.

History of the castle

The name first appeared Spies with Pertholt Spiez in the year 1187. 1189 a Henry Spiez was called, Ministerialer the dukes of Andechs- Meranien. Ulrich I. Spies presumably counted for the narrower followers of the 1248 late last Meranier Duke Otto, as he was in 1245 and 1248 mentioned as a witness certificate. In 1254 he was one of the referees in meranischen succession dispute. But whether have the castle built by Spies Spies gentlemen, is unknown. They sold their own free castle before 1346. Spieser The noble family went out to 1475th

In 1346 the castle appeared in the records as the property of Hartmann von Waizmannsdorf. He had the imperial city of Nuremberg granted the right opening for four years. After 1350, the castle was sold to Heinrich von Berg, who in 1354 she applied to the crown of Bohemia fief.

The sons of Heinrich, Eberhard and Henry of mountain lay with Nuremberg end of the 14th century in constant feud. They had become robber barons. The imperial city persuaded King Wenceslas to destroy the castle Spies robbery and other castles. The Berger sold a third of the castle to the Nuremberg Castle Count Johann III. hoping to save the castle. On September 23, 1397 Wenzel stood in front of the castle, besieged it for seven days and took it on the eighth day. Of the 24 men who had defended the castle, 22 escaped by abseiled over the rocks. Were captured only by Aufseß Hans and Georg von Wichsenstein, they were in the service of the Berger brothers. Hans von Aufseß was soon released, but George of Wichsenstein was executed at Nuremberg.

The brothers Henry and Eberhard had to swear on October 13, 1397 Urfehde. Shortly after King Wenceslas forbade the reconstruction of the destroyed castle Spies. Then Henry the castle stables had to sell in 1404 at the Nuremberg citizens Heinrich Harsdorfer. Excluded from the sale was the third, the Burggraf Johann III. had bought. He enfeoffed 1421 Konrad von Aufseß it. Konrad built despite ban the castle until 1426 again; then imposed King Siegmund of the Empire about Konrad. 1427 Konrad sold the castle to Margrave Friedrich, who pledged in 1431 to Kunz sturgeon to Neuhaus. The Spies castle was a margravial office. 1469 is a Fritz sturgeon, and in 1482 his son Kunz sturgeon detected as caregivers. In 1482 the castle burned off by lightning, but was rebuilt.

The interference of various crimes were guilty, whereupon Margrave Frederick took the castle in 1491 after a brief struggle. The former destruction are unknown. 1492 Thomas sat by Kühedorf as bailiff at the castle.

The castle was stormed on May 26, 1553 in the Second Margrave War of citizens of Nuremberg, looted and completely destroyed.

In 1562 the castle was called " a crumbling old castle " in 1618 only as a heap of stones. She served time probably as a quarry.

Today the site of the former castle is forested, only the summit rocks are devoid of vegetation and offer a wonderful view of the Franconian Alb. Has obtained from the castle moat with only the flattened outer wall and two wall remains. You can reach the castle stables from the village of Spies, by going to the north of the village. On a playground coming over, you find yourself at the entrance to the former castle.

The image captured by the Bavarian State Conservation Office as a Postal medieval archaeological monument bears the monument number D- 4-6334 - 0005th

Description of the castle stables

The Spieser Schlossberg is at its peak in 616.4 meters height Felsriff, which is about 120 meters from the south stretches to the north and is 10 to 15 meters wide. At the north end of the reef are three major rock towers, one of which was the northernmost not built as a single. The north and east sides of the castle area falls approximately 10 meters from vertical, the west side steeply by about 7 meters, only the south side rises gently from the village. Here was also the entrance to the castle.

The castle consisted of a castle on the top Felsriff, a lower castle west of the reef and an outer bailey to the south of the castle.

On the south side of the castle, a moat with an initial charge of Wall was built to protect the most vulnerable side. The trench is from east to west for about 15 meters long, five meters wide and one meter deep. It ends in the east at the foot of the rocky reef and on the west by a large rock that was most likely involved in the attachment. At the entrance to the castle, next to the rock, the trench and the wall is leveled. This probably was a gateway. After digging the castle path runs north through the gently sloping terrain of the outer bailey. It is west of the road detect a rectangular depression, probably the site of a building.

The lower castle stood about five feet above the outer ward on a 30 by 20 meters large triangular terrace. In the north of the castle, there is a cistern, with a diameter of 0.70 meters, still has a depth of 1.50 meters and is filled with water. At the entrance to the castle you can see a wall, the rest of the verstürzten curtain wall, and to the east a depression of the rocky reef with several small caves, probably stood a building.

As the stairway to the upper castle was, is not clear today to get from the south of the castle on steps straight up. The upper castle was likely composed of two large buildings on the rocks. You can see from the upper castle only a staircase to the rest of southern outcrop of rock and a ruined wall.

Since hardly any stones are found from the castle yet, they were probably worn by the villagers and used for construction of houses. The verebnete moat speaks for it.

At the foot of the northernmost rock tower, which was not cultivated, and therefore lay outside the castle, there is a small cave, the fox hole. Whether it was used by the inhabitants of the castle as a cellar, is unclear, but quite possible.

Johann Christoph Stierlein published in 1792 a full-scale topographic map of the castle ruins and their vicinity. On his drawing the terrain below the castle with a moat and wall is clearly visible. The shielded by the other sides main castle is listed with several wall sections, to a place where he suspected the main building.