Architectural Marvels: Ittendorf Castle / Ittendorfer Schloss Zoomed close /...

Ittendorf Castle / Ittendorfer Schloss

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5 comments so far...

Fizgig May 09, 2018, 12:11 AM

Doesn't look like a typical castle.... Mansion, I could see.... Castle, never would've guessed ;) Nice capture!

Sonja May 09, 2018, 06:16 AM

I dont know how you would limit the term castle. According to translation books anything we call Burg unless it is a prehistoric ringwall for generall civil shelter and anything called a Schloss that is not a lock is translated "castle". Of course, a lot of our former medieval keeps sitting on a "Burgberg"or "Schlossberg" evolved to not much more than an ornate house. Other palace type places saw abuse in early industrial times by being reworked into a production place making "Schloss"to a part of the label (most common in beers from a Schlossbrauerei) whilst the owners moved on, littering chic new homes over big cities and bath towns that where sometimes also duped "Schloss" or diminutively "Schloessle" for being ornately made and in locations with a view by the regular inhabitants.

Historic ministerial clans with little old family seats around lake Constance are very numerous. Ittenhausen belonged in early medival times to some folks named Schmalegg, sporting the title Schenk (cupbearer). The lower outer walls are still very medieval in their looks where they are still intact or at least so far in place they keep the hill from detoriating, but the palace is a 17th century building, as in the pesants war this saw very much damage. By this time it belonged to a monastery, Einsiedeln. In the early 20th century it was briefly used as an agricultural school, now it is just in private ownership, without a name of the owner or purpose to google.

Fizgig May 09, 2018, 04:02 PM

Sonja.... Well, castles served primarily as housing for military forces -- they evolved into residences for nobles. So, they were designed for defense. As such, castles typically had certainly necessary defensive features like (but not limited to) moats; multi-layered tall walls; towers; crenellations; drawbridges; walkways esp. along the tops of walls; at least one portcullis; a bailey or courtyard.... Those are the typical [mainly external] things... Then you have the extra large castles that were so big they were like small cities. Yes, pompous royalty, over time, felt the need to double dip -- they turned castles into fashionable places to house themselves & their families with security forces the size of small armies to protect themselves. But that was not the original intent behind castles in function nor form.... Over time, yes, the term "castle" has been slapped on structures that do not fit the original definition nor architectural features of a castle.

But definitely, no true castle would ever have looked like a large house.... By definition it must have certain features (listed above) that a house used primarily for living quarters, not defensive purposes, just wouldn't have.

I definitely wasn't thinking of Disney's version of a castle ;) So, they may have labeled that large house on the hill a castle, but a castle it is not. If every large place like that were termed a castle, there would be whole cities teeming with them --- rather than mansions ;)

Sonja May 10, 2018, 08:57 AM

This is what we call "Burg" but all the "Schloss"residences also the one not based on a a ruin of a fortified but smaler house bill thenselves in english tourist info as "castle". "Manison"is more for the city homes of the upper middle class, comfy townhoses lining the road to the residence of the really important guys or the cathedral...

The Disney castle bases on wordfamous Neuschwanstein, a very late built "Schloss".
Neuschwanstein is pure historism. "Schloss" as overdimensioned "Burg" with all possible modern amenities in the palace part and easy accessible for comfy transport. A fashion of going back to have residences look a bit more rugged and less like a stucko birthday cake and to perch them in formerly defensible historic locations that have a view and are challenging the architect rather than look for space that allows for a tree and rabate flanked level driveway and huge level garden right at the doorsteps.

Ittendorf was rebuilt by far earlier and for slightly different causes tham the uppermost Schwangau ruins. From there Einsideln still tried to execute true regional power, not oze out national awesomenes.
It is an early baroque administrative seat, still discretely fortified, but the newest from times powerful weapons went smaler. The white house sits on a steep mountain with a formerly medieval fenced rock ringwall, but fitted and reworked with specialized baroque keyhole embrassures.
I need to take a closer shot once perhaps, so you see the outer lower walls better. From this vantage point all you can spot is a bit of bare rock the house perches on, and a number of almost similary sized rural buildings from the 19th and 20th century in front. Actually this is a real castle, just with an overdimensioned palace in it and no towers left but one stair house.

Sonja May 10, 2018, 09:07 AM

BTW, Fizgig, I tried to answer to the other discussion yesterday, I wrote a really long reply I failed to save elsewhere and then there seemed a technical defect. My post vanished not only at sending afterwards also your shot of the highrise seems now inaccessible, the registry in the conversations section stayed, but if I click it wont transport to a link.