Burg Ruine Tannenberg Seeheim-Jugenheim | *FOLGE 15* Unterwegs im Odenwald | die PÜFFCHENS

The Beginnings The castle was built by Ulrich I of Münzenberg around 1230 on land belonging to Lorsch Abbey to secure his southern district (the districts of Tannenberg and Seeheim). This district was located on the Bergstrasse (Mountain Road) in southern Hesse. Documents show that his father, Kuno, had already begun construction of the castle in 1210. At that time, he no longer called himself "von Münzenberg" but "von Tannenberg." However, it is also possible that the castle was built at the beginning of the 12th century on the site of an even older fortification. It was first documented in 1239 as Seeheim Castle. With the death of Ulrich II of Hagen-Münzenberg, five-sixths of the castle passed to Philipp von Falkenstein through the Münzenberg inheritance, and subsequently to his daughter Guda, who was married to Konrad VI of Bickenbach as her second husband. The remaining sixth went to Reinhard I of Hanau. The castle formed the center of a small lordship. It had become a shared inheritance castle through the Münzenberg inheritance, the shares of which fragmented further and further over time[2]: 1290 5/12 Philipp von Bickenbach 5/12 Gottfried von Bickenbach 2/12 Lords of Hanau 1333 2/12 Hartmud von Kronberg 3/12 Klaus von Scharpenstein 5/12 von Fleckenstein (legal successor of Gottfried von Bickenbach) 2/12 Lords of Hanau 1334 1/24 Krig von Fetzberg 1/24 Family von Kronberg 1/12 Löw von Steinfurth 3/12 Klaus von Scharpenstein, from 1357: Chamberlain 5/12 v. Fleckenstein, from 1370: Schenken von Erbach 2/12 Lords of Hanau; Ulrich III of Hanau gave this sixth as a dowry for his daughter Else to Count Wilhelm II of Katzenelnbogen in 1355.[3] 1377 1/24 Krig von Fetzberg 1/24 Family von Kronberg 1/12 Löwe von Steinfurt 1/12 Johann von Frankenstein 1/12 Johann and Heinrich von Thann 1/12 Dieter II Kämmerer 5/12 Schenken von Erbach 1/12 Eberhard von Katzenelnbogen 1/12 Ulrich V of Hanau In 1382, a total of seventeen co-heirs are named. The co-heirs usually did not live in the castle. They were represented by their castle officials. The Robber Knights' Castle On August 29, 1379, 18 knights met at Tannenberg Castle and concluded an extended truce, pledging mutual protection. Among these comrades was Count Wilhelm II of Katzenelnbogen. He was a founding member of the Lions' League, established on October 13, 1379. Also belonging to the Lions' League were Werner Kalb from Reinheim, who at that time was the administrator of Tannenberg Castle (and the fief holder of Nieder-Modau Castle) and went down in history as a robber knight, as well as Johann von Cronberg as the 19th member.[4] [4] After fierce feuds between the Kronberg family and the city of Frankfurt (the Kronberg Feud), Hartmut the Younger of Kronberg, along with 30 helpers and servants, moved his residence to Tannenburg Castle at the end of the 14th century, though he only owned one-eighth of it. From then on, the castle became a feared stronghold of robber knights, from which raids and plundering were carried out. The Destruction Blidenstein On March 15, 1398, the Rhenish electors united with the cities along the Rhine and in the Wetterau region to renew the public peace for ten years. King Wenceslaus appointed Count Philipp of Nassau as Landvogt (governor) of the public peace. Hartmut and his brother Johann had no answer to the alliance of Archbishop Johann of Mainz, Count Palatine Rupert III, Bishop Raban of Speyer, and the cities of Worms, Mainz, Friedberg, and Gelnhausen. In June and July 1399, the castle was besieged.[5] With heavy weapons, including five cannons, the castle, by then garrisoned by 65 men, was subjected to heavy attacks. The largest trebuchet ever thrown in Germany was found in the castle's outer bailey and weighs an estimated 286 kg.[6] However, the garrison was able to repel the initial attacks, as they already possessed hand-held firearms. The turning point came with the heavy Frankfurt cannon. The stone-throwing cannon, weighing approximately 3500 kg, was pulled by 20 horses. Around 40 cannonballs, each 50 cm in diameter and weighing 170 kg, breached the castle walls. But it was only when the keep was destroyed by a gunpowder explosion that the garrison surrendered. The names of all the prisoners have been recorded.[7] Tannenberg Castle was thus one of the first German castles whose destruction by firearms is clearly evident in the archaeological finds. The castle ruins were further damaged by looters, especially at the end of the 18th century. The castle was not rebuilt and later served as a quarry for the inhabitants of the surrounding villages.