Mespelbrunn Castle
| Mespelbrunn Castle | |
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| Wasserschloss Mespelbrunn | |
The west face of Mespelbrunn Castle
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 Location of Mespelbrunn Castle in Germany
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| General information | |
| Type | Palace |
| Architectural style | mainly Renaissance |
| Town or city | Mespelbrunn |
| Country | Germany |
| Coordinates | 49°54′20″N 9°18′26″E / 49.905556°N 9.307222°E |
| Construction started | 15th century |
| Completed | 16th century |
| Client | Echter family |
| Owner | Ingelheim family |
Mespelbrunn Castle is a late-medieval/early-Renaissance moated castle on the territory of the town of Mespelbrunn, between Frankfurt and Würzburg, built in a tributary valley of the Elsava valley, within the Spessart forest. It is a popular tourist attraction and has become a famous Spessart landmark.
The first precursor of Mespelbrunn Castle was a simple house. The owner was Hamann Echter, vizedom of Aschaffenburg, a title which means that he was the representative of the ruling prince, the Archbishop of Mainz Johann von Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein at the castle and town of Aschaffenburg. On 1 May 1412, Johann gave the site, a forest clearing next to a pond, to Echter, a knight, who constructed a house without fortifications. It was a reward for Echter's services against the Czechs. The Echter family originates from the Odenwald region. Their name presumably means "der die Acht vollstreckt", the executor of the ostracism. In the 15th century the Spessart was a wild and unexploited virgin forest, used as a hideout by bandits and Hussites, who despoiled the regions nearby. Therefore in 1427 Hamann Echter, the son of the first owner, began to rebuild his father's house to a fortified castle with walls, towers, and a moat using the nearby lake.
Only the Bergfried, the round tower, remains from the 15th century. The following generations changed the defense structures to a typical manor-house, mainly built in the Renaissance style. Today's fundamental appearance is the result of reconstruction done between 1551 and 1569 by Peter Echter of Mespelbrunn and his wife, Gertrud of Adelsheim.
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