Castle Victory Monument in Rottenburg/Weiler
Pictures and text by Mark R. Hatlie
These pictures were taken on 22 January, 2006 in and near the town of Weiler which is part of the city of Rottenburg. This monument caught me by surprise. I was not expecting to find anything for this collection here.
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Here is the castle as seen from Weiler itself. The tower is just visible abover the trees in the winter. |
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Here is a closer view taken on the walk up to the castle. |
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The words above the gate read, "Victory and Minnesong Monument 1873" (Sieges- und Minnesang Denkmal 1873). (photo taken on 18 March, 2006) |
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Here is the view from "in front" of the monument. There is a picnic area here which is probably quite popular in the summer. |
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The door was locked. The gothic letters above the door read,Alt Rotenburg / renewed after the victory of MDMLXXI (Alt Rotenburg / erneut nach dem Siege MDMLXXI). A medieval castle was re-built as a monument to the 1871 victory over France! |
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The little plaque reads, Weiler Castle / An observation tower built in 1873/1874 by the Sülchgau Antiquities Association on the location of the castle of the dukes of Hohenberg which had been destroyed in 1407. |
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The recent wooden plaque put up by the forest service of Rottenburg gives a brief history of the castle. It dates to the 12th century and was the seat of the Hohenburg dukes from the 13th century. It was inhabited until the end of the 14th century and destroyed in 1407. The stones were used to build the monastery in Rottenburg in 1624. |
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This plaque reveals the real background of the castle/tower as it stands today: On the 18th of July, 1874 the Minnesong Monument was dedicated at Alt-Rotenburg in memory of the dukes of Hagenburg and the glorious triumphs celebrated by our German forfathers in war and song. The monument was built after the glorious campaign of 1871 by the Sülchbgau Antiquities Association under its first chairman, the noble Reichsfreiherr Hans Carl von Ow, lord of (the castles at) Wachendorf-Birlingen and Hohen-Entringen. He was a knightly and truly German nobleman, married in 1841 to Miss Berta von Gleichenstein, in 1865 to Miss Anna von Cellas and he lies buried in the chapel at Wachendorf. He lived according to his motto, "with honor to our forfathers, ...for/to our descendents". Part of the text is broken off. |
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Here it is on a sunnier day. (photo taken on 18 March, 2006) |
In the original German: Am 18. Juli 1874 wurde das Sieges und Minnesang-Denkmal auf Alt-Rotenburg eingeweidt zur Erinnerung an die Grafen von Hagenburg und an die glorreichen Triumphe welche unsere deutschen Ahnen als Sieger im Krieg und Lied gefeiert haben. Erbaut wurde das Denkmal nach dem ruhmreichen Feldzug 1871 von dem Sülchgauer Altertumsverein unter dessen ersten Vorstand dem edlen Reichsfreiherrn Hans Carl von Ow. Grundherr auf Wachendorf-Birlingen und Hohen-Entringen. Er war ein ritterlicher ächt deutscher Edelmann vermählt 1841 mit Freün Berta von Gleichenstein. 1865 mit Freün Anna von Cellas und liegt begraben in der Kapelle zu Wachendorf. Er lebte gereu seinem Wahlspruch: "den Ahnen zur Ehr' / den Enkeln...(?)"
