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Founded: 1215-1240Category: Castles and fortifications in Germany
Historical period: Hohenstaufen Dynasty (Germany)
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The ruins of Lützelhardt Castle atop Seelbach’s local mountain of the same name, is the oldest historic monument in Seelbach.
Three castle buildings interlinked to each other, occupy the site and display a blend of Romanesque and early Gothic architecture. Particularly impressive are the remains of the main building with its Romanesque windows.
The castle complex was probably built by knights of the House of Zähringen who bore the name von Lützelhardt. It was erected between 1215 and 1240.
The exposed location of the castle served to guard the pass over the Schönberg. Only after a short period of use, the castle was destroyed by fire at the middle of the 13th century by the rivalling House of Geroldseck. Since 1990, the local Seelbach branch of the Schwarzwaldverein (Black Forest Association) has been responsible for the castle’s upkeep.
Legend has it that the destruction of the castle came about after the head of the House of Lützelhardt captured and shackled Baron Walter von Geroldseck and drove him through the forest for days on end. Von Geroldseck assumed that he was far from home when he was finally locked in a dungeon. Some two years later, the baron heard the faint sound of his castle’s horn and concluded that he wasn’t far from home after all, so he bribed the watchman, named Rublin, to help him escape. Following months’ of recovery, the baron sought vengeance and ordered the destruction of Lützelhardt Castle. And so it came to be that the castle was seized and burnt to the ground by the Geroldsecks in 1235.
The castle ruins can be visited year-round free of charge.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.