To be privately owned
CastleKleinbardorf
Kleinbardorf Castle
Kleinbardorf Castle is located on the northwestern edge of the Haßberge mountains in the Sulzfeld district of Kleinbardorf in the Rhön-Grabfeld district (Lower Franconia). The small moated castle is in good condition and is still inhabited.
Kleinbardorf is overlooked by the Judenhügel (Jew's Hill), whose high plateau bears a large, originally prehistoric ring fort. However, the impressive walls visible today date back to an early medieval expansion. Until the 17th century, the fortification was referred to as Wartburg.
In the 14th century, there was a toll station of the Counts of Henneberg in the village, which the Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg acquired in 1368. Ten years later, Dietrich and Conrad von Bibra bought this toll station. In the following decades, the von Bibra family acquired further property in Kleinbardorf. In 1508, Hans von Bibra submitted to the feudal sovereignty of the Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg. This fief was confiscated by the Prince-Bishopric in 1602 after the death of the childless Heinrich von Bibra. The deceased's relatives protested against this before the Imperial Court. The process dragged on until 1681, when the family was awarded possession again. In 1687, the Bibra family sold the estate and castle to the Dutch Lieutenant General Waibnom. In 1691, the Barons von Guttenberg acquired the property. In 1896, the descendants sold the lands to seven farmers from the municipality. Today, the castle once again serves as a private residence and has been extensively renovated by the owners.
The preserved manor house was built in 1589/90 under Heinrich von Bibra in simple Renaissance forms and was renovated and rebuilt under the von Guttenberg family in 1766.
Description+
The three-story castle building stands on a brick, square terrace, which is protected all around by moats with retaining walls. A small round bastion is attached to the southwest corner. Access is provided by a stone bridge to the east, flanked by four sandstone pillars with spherical finials.
The rectangular main building is simply designed but is enlivened to the north by a strong, four-story stair tower with an ogee dome. The main portal is to the left of the stair tower, which, however, is accessible through its own entrance. Both portals are richly architecturally structured and have inscribed tablets with building inscriptions (16th century). At the tower portal, eight ancestral coats of arms flank the words:
GOD THE LORD PROTECT THIS HOUSE
ALL WHO GO IN AND OUT
HEINRICH VON AND ZU BIBRA
KLEINBARDORF AND SCHWEBHEIM
Above it, the marital coat of arms of von Bibra and von Erthal is carved. At the main portal, the inscription reads:
BEFORE AN OLD HOUSE STOOD HERE
WHICH WAS TORN DOWN TO THE GROUND
WHEN ONE + THOUSAND + FIVE HUNDRED + YEAR
NINE + AND + EIGHTY + THE + YEAR + WAS
HEINRICH VON BIBRA THE HONORABLE
HAD THIS BUILDING MADE THE VERY BEST
The castle has a hipped roof – with a kink in the lower part – with dormer windows.
On the Judenhügel (Jew's Hill) above the village lies a large prehistoric ring fort, expanded in the early Middle Ages. The inner area of the fortification has served as an Israelite cemetery since 1574 for formerly almost 30 surrounding communities. The Protestant imperial knighthood of the area had taken in numerous Jewish families, who had to pay protection money for this. Today, approximately 4400 gravestones remain. The site is considered the largest Jewish cemetery in Bavaria.
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Source: Wikipedia · Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0
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: 50.2740, 10.4002