Otzberg Castle
| Otzberg Castle | |
|---|---|
| castrum Othesberg Veste Otzberg |
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| Hering | |
Otzberg Castle seen from the southeast
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 Otzberg Castle
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| Coordinates | 49°49′11″N 8°54′40″E / 49.8196°N 8.9111°ECoordinates: 49°49′11″N 8°54′40″E / 49.8196°N 8.9111°E |
| Type | hill castle |
| Code | DE-HE |
| Height | 367 m above sea level (NN) |
| Site information | |
| Condition | Preserved with the exception of the barracks and cabinet |
| Site history | |
| Built | First recorded in 1231 |
| Garrison information | |
| Occupants | ministeriales |
Otzberg Castle (German: Veste Otzberg) in the German state of Hesse is a medieval castle on the summit of the Otzberg in the Odenwald forest at a height of 367 m above NN. On its northern slopes is the village of Hering, which grew out of the lower ward or castellan's settlement. The history of castle and village is therefore closely interwoven.
The region around the Otzberg probably belonged to the territory that King Pippin gifted in 766 A.D. to Fulda Abbey, together with Groß-Umstadt.
Otzberg Castle was probably built in the late 12th/early 13th century. At this time, Abbot Marquard I of Fulda secured the abbey estates and built castles that were visible from a long way as a sign of his influence.
He transferred the castle to Conrad of Hohenstaufen, brother of the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, as vogt. Conrad was Count Palatine of the Rhine.
The castrum Othesberg was first mentioned in the records in 1231. In this document the Archbishop of Mainz, Siegfried III, also the overseer of Fulda Abbey, guaranteed to Count Palatine Otto II the arrangement agreed in the previous year, the details of which are unknown.
In 1244 the castellanos de odesbrech are mentioned for the first time: the castellans or Burgmannen of Otzberg Castle. The fortifications must have been sufficiently developed that five castellans and their servants were able to occupy it. The castellans built houses in the village of Hering, so-called "castellan's houses" or Burgmannenhäuser. Of these only parts of the house owned by Gans of Otzberg have survived.
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