Burgstall Stettenburg: A Medieval Castle Site in Bavaria
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Germany
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Holy Roman Empire
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page8 sections
History
Origins and the Lords of Stettenberg
Burgstall Stettenburg is the site of a medieval castle in Obervolkach, within Volkach, Bavaria, Germany. Its masonry points to construction in the first half of the 13th century, although its exact foundation date is unknown. Volkach was mentioned in 906, but that notice names neither Obervolkach nor Stettenburg. The castle’s first recorded mention came in 1225, when its ditches were noted.
Stettenburg was the ancestral seat of the Lords of Stettenberg, who held it as a fief of the Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg, an ecclesiastical territory whose bishop also exercised secular authority. The castle probably served as a residence for a ministerial, a member of the service nobility who served a lord. A charter issued by Count Rupert of Castell records his ownership of vineyards beside the castle. A mill stood below it during the 13th century.
Rebuilding and Later Lords
In 1339, Emperor Louis the Bavarian gave Friedrich von Castell permission to rebuild the castle. The work did not proceed because the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg withheld approval. Eberhard von Stettenberg was elected Bishop of Worms in 1426 and died in 1443. At a later date, Bishop Otto von Wolfskeel of Würzburg appointed two lords of the castle.
The Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation lists the ruin as a built monument and its ditches and earthworks as archaeological monuments.
Remains
The castle probably occupied a single rectangular enclosure, oriented northwest to southeast, with defensive ditches and an enclosing wall. Its surviving building is a stone keep. The site lies on a projecting spur of Stettenberg, about 30 metres below and west of the hill’s summit.
Setting and Enclosure
Hilltop Setting and Plan
The castle site is in the Dornstück area of Obervolkach, about 1,000 metres northwest of the Catholic parish church of St Nicholas. The hill reaches 273.7 metres above sea level, while the castle lies at a stated elevation of 240 metres. The northern part of the hill is wooded and the southern part is used as a vineyard. The Volkach River curves around its western and southwestern sides, while the Weidach stream valley bounds it to the east and southeast. The river and moderately steep slopes helped protect the site on three sides. The castle area measures about 80 metres long and 40 metres wide.
Ditches and Enclosing Wall
A neck ditch, cut across the approach to a projecting spur, defended the eastern side. Much of it has been filled and levelled, though traces remain on the northern and southern slopes. A faint inner bank is thought to represent a collapsed curtain wall, the wall enclosing the castle grounds; its foundation can be seen at the northeast corner. The enclosing wall descends slightly toward the western tip of the spur.
Two ditches on the slopes, one north and one south of the castle area, join the neck ditch. The northern ditch is about 2 metres deep and 5 metres wide. A bank closes the western side of the castle area; it extends for about 20 metres and reaches up to 2 metres in width and 1 metre in height.
Keep
The keep, the only building surviving as a ruin, stood near the middle of the eastern side, about 10 metres behind the neck ditch. Its square footprint measures 8 by 8 metres, and its walls are 2 metres thick. The standing masonry reaches about 4 metres in height. It uses two-shell construction, with outer stone faces enclosing a rubble core. The exterior is made of bossed ashlar, cut blocks with projecting faces, edged by dressed borders. Small ashlar blocks form the inner face. A narrow, slit-like opening passes through the wall.
