It was a Thursday on July 21, 1707 when the Hohenburg went up in flames. Exactly 315 years later to the day, Stephan Bammer, Deputy Chairman of the Friends of the Hohenburg Castle Ruins, brought history back to life. During an evening tour of the ruins in Lenggries, he told of the background to the devastating fire and explained what the castle looked like, of which today only the stump of the tower, which served as a prison at the time, can be seen, and the importance of its location would have.
At the beginning of the tour, Stephan Bammer gave the participants a flyer showing an engraving from 1701 of the former Hohenburg. It can be seen that the castle was not surrounded by forest then, unlike today. The hill was formerly used for wine growing and orchards, said Bammer.
An old engraving of the former Hohenburg Castle, the hill was used for wine and fruit growing.
(Photo: Manfred Neubauer)
On the way up, he explained how the castle’s location protected it from an enemy attack. The impressive collection of weapons in the armory should also contribute to protection. Ironically, the only incident that resembled an attack was the looting of this same armory in 1705, and that too by the Lenggrieser residents of the area. According to reports, they wanted to arm themselves for the Bavarian uprising, which also led to the “Sendlinger Murder Christmas”.
On the way up, Stephan Bammer explains how the castle’s location protected it from an enemy attack.
(Photo: Harry Wolfsbauer)
Stephan Bammer explained how fate then took its course: The lord of Hohenburg, Count Hörwarth, reported this disobedient action by his subjects to the imperial regime in Austria. The government responded by stationing Austrian soldiers in the castle. But instead of granting their protection, Stephan Bammer suspected that they were the ones who ultimately caused the Hohenburg to fall.
Today, in addition to the remains of the wall, only the stump of the tower (middle back), which was used as a dungeon, can be seen.
(Photo: Harry Wolfsbauer)
It was on the morning of July-Thursday 1707 that the castle unexpectedly went up in flames. Observers had testified that the fire had spread in both directions along the wooden attic floor – and unusually quickly. According to Bammer, it is still not certain who started the fire. However, it was “noticeable” that the soldiers were seen leaving the castle first with their luggage, Bammer said. “They wanted to get away from this unloved place,” he suspects, because the soldiers were often poorly paid at the time. In addition, in Lenggries they were not allowed to make up for their financial hardship by robbing the population, as was customary at the time, because the Emperor had expressly forbidden them to do so. This in turn was probably due to Count Hörwarth’s good relations with Austria.
According to Bammer, the soldiers themselves justified the fire by saying that the chimney was poorly swept and the fire ignited as a result. However, servants contradicted this statement. They testified under oath that the fire spread “1.5 feet” (about 0.45 meters) next to the fireplace with the help of a fire accelerant. They also agreed that when the castle was on fire, they heard someone sing “two Lord’s Prayers long” – a time indication at that time – beautifully. Count Hörwarth didn’t quite believe that: “Angels don’t laugh at damage,” he is said to have said and heard the witnesses again. But they stuck to their version of events.
According to the sources, the devastating fire broke out near the chimney, said Stephan Bammer.
(Photo: Harry Wolfsbauer)
Stephan Bammer said during the tour that at that time Count Hörwarth decided not to rebuild his castle but to build a new one nearby instead. The choice for the location fell on an already leveled area closer to the village of Lenggries, which was used as a field at the time. This was the beginning of the construction of today’s Hohenburg Castle. Among other things, the stones of the ruins were used for the construction, which is one of the reasons why there is hardly anything left of the castle today. The other reason: over the centuries, the ground level rose by two meters, which today covers the entire ground floor of the ruin. Not only the stones, but also the Black Madonna, as well as the missals and robes of today’s Hohenburg Castle Chapel originally come from the old castle. Like many other things, they were saved after the fire. The Hohenburg Castle has been used as a school since 1953 – without the fire in the old castle, however, it would probably never have existed.
The visitors of the tour and Stephan Bammer (far right).
(Photo: Harry Wolfsbauer)
More information about the former castle can be found on the Website of the Friends of the Hohenburg Castle Ruins Find.