Janos
19 Jul 04, 14:41
About 5 kilometer’s from Pfungstadt on the Odenwald mountain range exists the ruins of the Castle of Frankenstein. The name of the Famous Horror novel Frankenstein comes from this castle although the story by Mary Shelley was entirely fictional.
In the thirteenth century it was a custom for the oldest son to inherit the family titles and estates. A nobleman’s younger son who obtained the land the castle is built on through marriage and needed to establish his own domain built the castle of Frankenstein. The castle was completed shortly before 1252 and the titled status of the owner’s was that of Barons. The castle has a breathtaking view of the valley below the Odenwald mountain range. It is not huge compared to some of the more famous castles in the region but is was a well built fortress composed of high stone walls and fortified with a series of moats and drawbridges, most of which have been long since filled in.
The Barons of Frankenstein held ownership rights over the towns of Niederbeerbach, Bessungen and Eberstadt. This gave them the right to tax the people living within those towns. The Baron’s of Frankenstein had a much larger and more powerful neighbor in the Person of the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (to which the town of Pfungstadt belonged) who resided in nearby Darmstadt. The relationship was not a friendly one and eventually, in 1662, the family sold the Frankenstein and surrounding towns to the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt for 88,000 florins. The Baron’s of Frankenstein then relocated to Franconia where many of their descendants still reside today. The castle then served as a residence for invalids and pensioned soldiers. It eventually fell to ruin and was only rehabilitated in recent times as a thriving tourist attraction.
As with all castles there are legends and stories that surround them, albeit none of the local legends of Frankenstein are as dramatic as Mary Shelley’s fictional account, there are some interesting ones, including one involving Pfungstadt.
The first legend deals with one of the Barons named Georges. As the legend goes, once upon a time there existed a Man-eating monster that was terrorizing the town of Niederbeerbach. It is said that "Knight" Georges confronted and slayed the monster, although he was mortally wounded in the battle. To this day the tomb of the hero exists in the choir of the church of Niederbeerbach.
Another true story exists regarding the use of a Donkey. As part of their annual taxation, the residents of Bessungen had the right to use one of the Baron’s Donkey’s. It seems that if a wife was accused of beating her husband they could borrow a donkey and the accused would have to ride the donkey through town facing backwards. This is an interesting, if hard to understand, practice that fell into disuse in 1588.
Another piece of local folklore involves the town of Pfungstadt. During one of the disputes between the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and the then current Baron of Frankenstein, it seems the Baron of Frankenstein was summoned to meet with the Landgrave and he refused to come. This greatly irritated the Landgrave so he instructed the militia from the nearby town of Pfungstadt to proceed to the castle and forcibly escorts the Baron to meet with him in Darmstadt. The men from Pfungstadt, which would certainly have included our ancestor’s, surprised the Baron’s men by attacking very early before dawn while the guards slept. They succeeded in capturing the Baron however, as the story goes, they were very hungry and decided to eat before embarking on the journey to Darmstadt. The Baron was furious at the amount of food they consumed and eventually complained bitterly about it to the Landgrave.
When they arrived at Darmstadt to deliver the Baron to the Landgrave they were again hungry and asked to be fed before departing back home to Pfungstadt. The Landgrave was also shocked at the amount of food they consumed and remarked that the militia from Pfungstadt was too expensive to use because they all eat so much. To this day the people from Pfungstadt are known for their healthy appetites.
JS
In the thirteenth century it was a custom for the oldest son to inherit the family titles and estates. A nobleman’s younger son who obtained the land the castle is built on through marriage and needed to establish his own domain built the castle of Frankenstein. The castle was completed shortly before 1252 and the titled status of the owner’s was that of Barons. The castle has a breathtaking view of the valley below the Odenwald mountain range. It is not huge compared to some of the more famous castles in the region but is was a well built fortress composed of high stone walls and fortified with a series of moats and drawbridges, most of which have been long since filled in.
The Barons of Frankenstein held ownership rights over the towns of Niederbeerbach, Bessungen and Eberstadt. This gave them the right to tax the people living within those towns. The Baron’s of Frankenstein had a much larger and more powerful neighbor in the Person of the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (to which the town of Pfungstadt belonged) who resided in nearby Darmstadt. The relationship was not a friendly one and eventually, in 1662, the family sold the Frankenstein and surrounding towns to the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt for 88,000 florins. The Baron’s of Frankenstein then relocated to Franconia where many of their descendants still reside today. The castle then served as a residence for invalids and pensioned soldiers. It eventually fell to ruin and was only rehabilitated in recent times as a thriving tourist attraction.
As with all castles there are legends and stories that surround them, albeit none of the local legends of Frankenstein are as dramatic as Mary Shelley’s fictional account, there are some interesting ones, including one involving Pfungstadt.
The first legend deals with one of the Barons named Georges. As the legend goes, once upon a time there existed a Man-eating monster that was terrorizing the town of Niederbeerbach. It is said that "Knight" Georges confronted and slayed the monster, although he was mortally wounded in the battle. To this day the tomb of the hero exists in the choir of the church of Niederbeerbach.
Another true story exists regarding the use of a Donkey. As part of their annual taxation, the residents of Bessungen had the right to use one of the Baron’s Donkey’s. It seems that if a wife was accused of beating her husband they could borrow a donkey and the accused would have to ride the donkey through town facing backwards. This is an interesting, if hard to understand, practice that fell into disuse in 1588.
Another piece of local folklore involves the town of Pfungstadt. During one of the disputes between the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and the then current Baron of Frankenstein, it seems the Baron of Frankenstein was summoned to meet with the Landgrave and he refused to come. This greatly irritated the Landgrave so he instructed the militia from the nearby town of Pfungstadt to proceed to the castle and forcibly escorts the Baron to meet with him in Darmstadt. The men from Pfungstadt, which would certainly have included our ancestor’s, surprised the Baron’s men by attacking very early before dawn while the guards slept. They succeeded in capturing the Baron however, as the story goes, they were very hungry and decided to eat before embarking on the journey to Darmstadt. The Baron was furious at the amount of food they consumed and eventually complained bitterly about it to the Landgrave.
When they arrived at Darmstadt to deliver the Baron to the Landgrave they were again hungry and asked to be fed before departing back home to Pfungstadt. The Landgrave was also shocked at the amount of food they consumed and remarked that the militia from Pfungstadt was too expensive to use because they all eat so much. To this day the people from Pfungstadt are known for their healthy appetites.
JS