Details
Founded: 13th centuryCategory: Castles and fortifications in Germany
Historical period: Hohenstaufen Dynasty (Germany)
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The oldest parts of Neidenstein castle date back to the 13th century. It was first mentioned in 1319 as a fiefdom of Friedrich von Venningen. 1385 the castle was still an imperial fief of the lords of Venningen whose line Venningen-Neidenstein resided at the castle. Siegfried von Venningen († 1393) and Jobst of Venningen († 1410) were Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order, Hans von Venningen († 1478) was Bishop of Basel and Siegfried III of Venningen († 1459) was bishop of Speyer. The Venningen Neidenstein family line died out in 1611.
The castle was expanded with the outer bailey in the 16th century. The murals in the castle dates from 1516. The outer gate tower dates from 1569. In the end of the 18th century the castle started to decline. In the 1890s the roof of the western part collapsed which has since it been only a ruin. In 1897-1903 much of the castle complex was restored but also the top floor of the fortified tower was removed. Starting in 1960, the restoration of the castle was continued.
Neidenstein castle is today privately owned by the family of Venningen and can be visited only occasionally.
References:The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.