Waldschlössel Castle

Building Stock in the Second Third of the 11th Century

Courtyard

Four post holes allow for the reconstruction of a polygonal building with a length of about seven meters and a width of 3.5 meters, inside which two hearths were found. Accompanying finds provide initial indications of non-ferrous metal or glass processing. Several ceramic shards with yellow, red, and green material residues were found in the hearths and in the immediate vicinity. A shard of green transparent glass with painting was recovered at the southern hearth. Immediately in front of the building, several layers of stone from a sunken oven with a working area have been preserved in part. The stones in the oven show partly severe spalling due to high heat. The opening of the firebox is at ground level. Overall, there are great similarities to the oven in front of the kitchen in the upper court, so for now, a baking oven can be assumed there. However, should the initial indications of glass processing be confirmed, its use as a cooling oven cannot be ruled out.

Furthermore, there was another building as well as four ovens and hearths in the courtyard.

Residential Tower with Annex

In the cellar of the residential tower, supplies of wine and water were stored, which were brought from the Martha spring, among other sources, and directed into the cellar through an opening in the residential tower. The first floor housed the kitchen and probably storage rooms. The upper floors served as living quarters for the owners and servants.

Building Stock in the Last Third of the 11th Century

Courtyard

In the courtyard, remains of three buildings were found, one of which served as a bathhouse. In the middle one, traces of a forge were also found.

This stood directly at the gate tower. The fireplace in the southwestern corner of the building was not only significantly larger than previously known, but it is apparently an open fireplace with a width of about 1.50 meters. The northern stone cheek, with a height of about 1.10 meters, was already removed at the beginning of the excavations in this area. Only the stump of the southern cheek has been preserved, which shows partly severe spalling. Immediately next to the fireplace, a charred board with a length of one meter and a width of 0.20 meters was found along the foundation. This is likely a doorstep.

However, the core of the building is an elaborate heating system, which lies largely below the building's walking level. It was accessed by a stone staircase between the building and the ring wall. The heating room had a barrel vault with a crown height of 1.80 meters and was closed off to the outside by what was probably a double-leaf door.

The oven consisted of two parts: below a hot air chamber was the fire or stoking chamber, whose round-arched stoking opening is 20 cm above the floor of the heating room and shows no wear. The hot air chamber extended into the room above and apparently had a round opening at the top, which was closed with a stone and served for heat regulation. A channel branches off at right angles from the hot air chamber, running approximately along the longitudinal axis of the building and covered with stone slabs. For a steam bath, the hot slabs of the channel were doused with water. The construction of the oven is untypical for a pure steam bath. It is therefore very likely that there were also normal baths in wooden containers.

Upper Court

In the upper court, next to the residential tower, stood a larger building with an external baking oven, which housed the kitchen. By relocating this room, more space had been created in the residential tower. A wall opening to the gate tower served as a drain. Animals were temporarily kept in the annex to the residential tower.

Building Stock at the Beginning of the 12th Century

Some excavation finds could not be dated to the 11th century, which is why there must have been further reconstruction and usage phases at the beginning of the 12th century. However, no detailed information is yet known about this.

Current Building Stock

The "Outer Bailey"

To the east, the elongated oval "outer bailey" adjoins, a Carolingian refuge, which is partly covered by the later tower castle. Whether the early medieval complex was still used as an outer bailey in the 11th century cannot be said with certainty. Its wall, which today appears as a dry stone wall, consists mostly of boulders, which were originally perhaps held together by mortar. Gate systems were found on the north and south sides. From the design of the gates, it is concluded that wooden towers were located above them. The ring wall systems are still quite well recognizable in parts. The actual access from the outer bailey to the gate tower can currently only be guessed at. After the completion of the current excavations inside the castle, the outer facilities and the access path will be examined more closely.

The Tower Castle

The Gate Tower

The gate tower has a passage to the castle courtyard. Its external dimensions are 6.00 by 7.30 meters. The ashlar stones of the southern front wall were processed using a construction technique that was applied in the last quarter of the 11th century until the beginning of the 12th century.

The gate tower had two double-leaf gates with a passage height of 2.50 meters. Repair work can be seen on it, indicating multiple destructions. On the right side of the entrance, a door jamb was mistakenly installed during an earlier excavation (probably 1935). Although authentic, this belongs to one of the building entrances.

Castle Area within the Ring Wall

Adjoining the gate tower is the ring wall made of small ashlar stones, forming an irregular polygon. It was built shortly after the construction of the residential tower and probably replaced a rampart of sand and wooden stakes.

The castle area is divided into two sections. In the southeastern economic courtyard stood the utility buildings of the resident craftsmen. After the gate tower, one entered the upper court through another gate on the right side. This was accessible to the castle owners and their employees. The upper court was controlled from the gate tower and the annex of the residential tower.

In the western area of the economic courtyard, there is an area of about 35 m², where partly two solid mortar layers have been preserved. This is likely where the "mortar place" was located, where the mortar for the construction work on the complex was mixed.

The Residential Tower

The dominant residential tower of the castle has a square floor plan of about 13 by 13 meters and a wall thickness of about 2.5 meters. In earlier times, it is said to have had four to five stories, of which today only the ground floor and the cellar remain. Its approximate living area was thus between 280 m² and 350 m².

The ground floor was equipped with light slits, which probably also served as loopholes. Excavations revealed that the windows of the upper floors were equipped with arcaded windows. The top is said to have been a defensive platform, presumably covered with a quickly removable pyramidal roof.

To the north of the residential tower are the remains of an annex. This had a floor plan of about 4 by 4 meters and served as a latrine shaft, which could be reached from the respective floors. A second annex to the east probably served to protect the high entrance, presumably located on the second floor. The entrance of the annex is at a height of about 1.50 meters. In front of it is a platform, which was formerly only accessible by a ramp. It ran along the wall, making the use of a battering ram at the door of the annex impossible.