The Castle can be visited
CastleWonsees - Sanspareil
Zwernitz Castle
Zwernitz Castle is a medieval castle complex in its origins, located in the village of Sanspareil, which belongs to the municipality of Wonsees, in the district of Kulmbach, Upper Franconia, Bavaria. Since 1745, the castle has been part of the Sanspareil Rock Garden created by Wilhelmine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth.
Zwernitz Castle is located in the Franconian Switzerland-Veldenstein Forest Nature Park in the village of Sanspareil. It stands on a narrow dolomite rock (approx. 500 m above sea level in the northern part of the Franconian Alb). It is accessible to visitors from April to October.
The castle was originally the seat of the noble Walpoten family. The first mention is in 1156 according to Erich Bachmann, and in 1163 according to other sources. The Walpoten Friedrich and Uodalrich called themselves "de Zvernze". After Friedrich II Walpoto last signed a document at Zwernitz in 1235 with the words cognomine Walpot dictus de Zwerenz in Castro meo, the castle was already in the possession of Counts Otto and Hermann von Orlamünde in 1260. In 1290, Count Hermann von Orlamünde, with the consent of his brother Otto, sold the castle to his brother-in-law, Burgrave Friedrich III of Nuremberg, who appointed castle governors. The castle remained in the possession of the Hohenzollerns for over 500 years.
First documented in 1318, Zwernitz became the seat of a burgravial, later margravial, office and high court. During the Hussite War, on February 6 (according to other sources, March 6) 1430, the Hussite leader Andreas Prokop and Burgrave Friedrich VI (as Elector of Brandenburg Friedrich I) met at Zwernitz Castle and agreed to a truce for a high ransom, whereupon the Hussites withdrew. This spared the Prince-Bishop of Bamberg, Friedrich III von Aufseß, the plundering of Bamberg, which had been captured by the Hussites. However, the communities belonging to the lordship suffered great poverty, as the ransom was collected from the people as a Hussite tax.
During the Second Margrave War, however, the castle did not fare so well. The troops of the city of Nuremberg under Colonel Haug von Parsberg conquered and destroyed it in November 1553 during their march to Plassenburg in Kulmbach. It was only hastily repaired 17 years later. The castle was destroyed once again in 1632 during the Thirty Years' War by the Croats. Two years later, Margrave Christian himself ordered its renewed destruction so that it would not fall into the hands of enemy troops again.
The castle lost its function as a defensive structure at the latest in the 17th century. Margrave Georg Friedrich Karl had the castle roofs repaired according to the instructions of the court architect Johann David Räntz and finally had the keep's roof renewed in 1732.
In the mid-18th century, Margravine Wilhelmine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth discovered Zwernitz Castle and the adjacent rock grove as a scenic gem to stage the story of Telemach as a landscape program there. In April 1745, the transformation of the rock grove into a landscape garden began. In this context, the castle was also restored as a romantic backdrop. In 1746, Margrave Friedrich ordered the renaming of the place and office of Zwernitz to Sanspareil (= Unparalleled).
In 1791, the last margrave abdicated, the Margraviate of Bayreuth became Prussian and was occupied by imperial French troops from 1806. Zwernitz-Sanspareil came to the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1810 with all Hohenzollern possessions.
The outer walls and buildings of the outer bailey, as well as the outbuildings of the lower bailey, were almost completely demolished at the beginning of the 19th century. In the first half of the 20th century, the castle was used as a youth hostel. Since 1942, it has been managed by the Bavarian Administration of State Palaces, Gardens and Lakes. After the end of the Second World War, the castle served to accommodate refugees. Afterwards, it was gradually renovated, and in 1963, the first exhibition rooms could be opened.
Architectural Description+
Zwernitz Castle is divided into the upper, lower, and outer baileys. The upper bailey stands on the narrow, lenticular plateau of the limestone cliff, while the equally narrow lower bailey occupies the sloping southern terrace of the castle rock.
Outer Bailey
The former outer bailey with its outer curtain wall completely surrounded the upper and lower baileys, except for the steeply sloping western narrow side of the rock cliff. The curtain wall was designed as a zwinger against the main attack side in the east, which was additionally secured by two flanking semicircular towers. A third round tower was located at the southwestern bend of the curtain wall. Only remnants of the outer bailey's buildings remain.
Lower Bailey
Access to the lower bailey is from the outer bailey through the Lower Gate, adorned with the coat of arms of Margrave Friedrich of Bayreuth. A narrow, sunken-lane-like forecourt leads through a gatehouse into the Chapel Courtyard. A latrine bay is still preserved on the southern outer wall of the gatehouse.
The Chapel Courtyard is bordered to the south by a defensive wall and the chapel building on the edge of the rock. Originally, the wall had a battlement, as can be seen from some corbels. The chapel building, like the adjoining Hirschkopf building, is a half-timbered structure on a stone plinth with pointed arch windows. Both buildings were renewed in post-medieval times using the medieval curtain wall. On the ground floor of the Hirschkopf building is a remarkable hall with deep niche windows. The interiors were altered and re-furnished several times from the 18th to the 20th century.
Keep
The keep, a round tower 34.5 meters high, 7.5 meters in diameter, and with a wall thickness of 2.5 meters, connects both parts of the castle at the junction of the upper and lower baileys. While the foundation of the keep lies on the lower rock terrace of the lower bailey, its entrance opening is at the level of the upper bailey. Only the lower half of the keep dates from around 1200. The upper half was mainly added and renewed in the 18th century. This can be seen from the shape of the ashlar stones and the two baroque cartouches on the southwest and south sides, one of which shows the Brandenburg coat of arms. The inscription of master mason J. G. Münch a. Thurnau 1851 indicates further work on the tower.
The keep, whose walls are pierced by narrow slits, is crowned by a polygonal, overhanging, wooden structure with eight windows and a slate roof with a lantern. The panoramic view from the tower extends from "Bamberg and Bayreuth up to the Palatinate" and "to the majestic mountains of Bohemia". Due to its exposed location, the keep was already part of a system of Upper Franconian watchtowers in the Middle Ages, from which, according to the watch order of 1498, fire signals warned of approaching dangers. Below the former entrance at a height of 11.5 meters above the base of the keep is the vaulted tower dungeon with a diameter of 2.65 meters.
A recently built staircase next to the keep overcomes the difference in level between the upper bailey and the lower bailey.
Upper Bailey
Above the exit of the antechamber to the upper bailey, the year 1550 indicates that it is predominantly of post-medieval origin. Older building components were used in its reconstruction. The antechamber is attached to the west to the upper floor of the Hirschkopf building. The antechamber, which is equipped with armor and weapons, is followed by the armory passage with fire extinguishers and mortars from the 19th century and various bladed and thrusting weapons from the 16th to 18th centuries. Here is also an iron-clad money chest from the 17th century. Three chambers are furnished with paintings and furniture from the 16th to 18th centuries.
To the east, the small but atmospheric Schönhof (Beautiful Courtyard) adjoins the armory passage, which originally had several buildings, if it was not even completely built over. Numerous windows embedded in the high curtain walls indicate this.
On the east side of the Schönhof, the Archive Building, formerly also known as the Tithe Barn, stands like a bastion on a widely overhanging cliff of the castle rock. The rusticated ashlar masonry of the Archive Building, like that of the keep, is of late Romanesque origin.
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Source: Wikipedia · Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image: Maciek Wegrzyn
This description draws on the facts documented in the linked Wikipedia article; Wikipedia content is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Wording and editing: Mobile History.
Location: 49.9835, 11.3154