Details
Founded: 13th centuryCategory: Castles and fortifications in Germany
Historical period: Hohenstaufen Dynasty (Germany)
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The oldest parts of Neidenstein castle date back to the 13th century. It was first mentioned in 1319 as a fiefdom of Friedrich von Venningen. 1385 the castle was still an imperial fief of the lords of Venningen whose line Venningen-Neidenstein resided at the castle. Siegfried von Venningen († 1393) and Jobst of Venningen († 1410) were Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order, Hans von Venningen († 1478) was Bishop of Basel and Siegfried III of Venningen († 1459) was bishop of Speyer. The Venningen Neidenstein family line died out in 1611.
The castle was expanded with the outer bailey in the 16th century. The murals in the castle dates from 1516. The outer gate tower dates from 1569. In the end of the 18th century the castle started to decline. In the 1890s the roof of the western part collapsed which has since it been only a ruin. In 1897-1903 much of the castle complex was restored but also the top floor of the fortified tower was removed. Starting in 1960, the restoration of the castle was continued.
Neidenstein castle is today privately owned by the family of Venningen and can be visited only occasionally.
References:La Hougue Bie is a Neolithic ritual site which was in use around 3500 BC. Hougue is a Jèrriais/Norman language word meaning a \'mound\' and comes from the Old Norse word haugr. The site consists of 18.6m long passage chamber covered by a 12.2m high mound. The site was first excavated in 1925 by the Société Jersiaise. Fragments of twenty vase supports were found along with the scattered remains of at least eight individuals. Gravegoods, mostly pottery, were also present. At some time in the past, the site had evidently been entered and ransacked.
In Western Europe, it is one of the largest and best preserved passage graves and the most impressive and best preserved monument of Armorican Passage Grave group. Although they are termed \'passage graves\', they were ceremonial sites, whose function was more similar to churches or cathedrals, where burials were incidental.