Göltzsch moated castle

Dimensions and expansion

The "Feste Hus" was built at the point where the Pöltzsch stream flows into the Göltzsch floodplain. Today, the complex still looks like a rounded trapezoidal island measuring approx. 130 x 86 meters. It is surrounded by a wide water-filled moat, which is between 12-18 m wide in the south and west and 35-45 m wide in the north. In the far north-west of the island are the remains of an almost square moated castle. It is surrounded by a second surrounding moat, which is 6-10 m wide. The surviving foundation walls of this complex measure 22 x 20 m.

Image Source O. Braasch, Foto ©LfA 1993.

Excavations 1937-1939

In 1937, the town of Rodewisch decided to restore the castle buildings, which had been vacant and derelict since around 1925. To this end, historical building investigations, surveys and finally archaeological excavations were carried out from 1937-1939 in the "Rittergute Obergöltzsch". This revealed that the oldest existing buildings dated back to the 16th century. However, a documentary reference from the 15th century confirmed that at least one predecessor building must have existed. As a result, a search trench was dug across the castle courtyard. This brought to light the first remains of the foundation walls of the old moated castle. In order to clarify the location and size of the castle, large-scale excavations were carried out with the aim of systematically uncovering and "digging through" the older castle. The Reich Labor Service was called in for this purpose. The excavator was the architect and monument conservator Hans Nadler, who later wrote his doctoral thesis on the excavations in Rodewisch. In 1937, the prehistorian Heinz Arno Knorr, who specialized in Slavic ceramics, also visited the excavations and described them in a letter to the state curator and later director of the Dresden State Museum of Prehistory, Georg Bierbaum.

Image Source OA 13300/0095, Brief ©LfA 1937.

Excavation results

The excavations revealed that Göltzsch Castle must have already existed in the early 12th and 13th centuries, probably in the form of a fortification consisting of a wooden residential tower surrounded by a rampart and a moat. In the 14th century, this predecessor building was replaced by a stone building, a "Festes Hus". The core of the complex was a castle with living quarters and a small courtyard. Its walls were built in shell construction from quarry stone. It was surrounded by an earth rampart around 2 m high and additionally secured by a moat up to 7 m wide. Access was via a wooden drawbridge, the remains of which were well preserved in the damp ground. At the beginning of the 16th century, a Renaissance castle was built on the island. The entire castle complex was probably destroyed during the Thirty Years' War. Most of the rubble was disposed of in the moat and dates back to the first half of the 17th century.

Image Source OA 13300/0105, Foto ©LfA 1938.

Ceramic finds

The rich inventory of finds recovered during excavations in the late 1930s is remarkable. A large part of it came from the castle moat, which was filled in in the 17th century. More than 2,500 ceramic vessels from the 12th to 16th centuries were found in it alone, which are characterized by their good preservation. The pottery from the 12th to 14th centuries is mostly unglazed and bears a bottom mark. While the 16th century ceramics in particular stand out due to their colorful glaze and splendid decoration.

Image Source U. Wohmann, Foto ©LfA 2014.

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Other finds

Due to the damp storage in the moat, numerous wooden finds such as whisks, wooden ladles and bowls have also been preserved. Kitchen utensils such as knives, spoons, a table oven and parts of a chandelier were also unearthed. Bone remains and organic residues even allow a glimpse of the menu in the "Festen Hus": deer, sheep and venison were served, and the remains of quark dishes and cherry and plum pits were also found in some vessels. In another area, objects from a workroom and an armory were found, such as hammers, tongs, sharpening irons, scissors, wheel and spike spurs and crossbow bolt points. The living quarters were located in the north. Here the excavators discovered almost 800 pins with thimbles and silk thread, fillet needles and wool remnants. There were also small gemstones, coins, buttons, combs and toys for children. The special finds also include a two-part wooden "pocket sundial".

Image Source U. Wohmann, Fotos ©LfA 2014.

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Owner of the castle

Göltzsch Castle has had numerous owners over the centuries. Initially, these included the bailiffs of Plauen and the Wettin family. For almost the entire 15th century, it belonged to the burgraves of Dohna. At the beginning of the 16th century, the castle complex was acquired by Hans Edler von der Planitz and extended to include the Renaissance castle. Around two hundred years later, it came into the possession of the von Beust family, who sold it to the von Brandenstein family in the mid-18th century. In 1780, the old manor finally came into bourgeois hands when it was acquired first by the Franke family and then by the Adler family. At the beginning of the 20th century, Göltzsch Castle became the property of the town of Rodewisch.

Image Source O. Braasch, Foto ©LfA 1994.