Fortification dielsberg

Dilsberg is built on a steep hill at an altitude of 288.6 m above sea level, and is washed by the Neckar River on three sides, making a large bend in this place. Due to its strategic position, Dielsberg was one of the most important links in the Kurpfalz defense system on Neckar.

Based on archaeological finds ( Honorius gold coin, fragments of relief depicting Mercury and ceramics), with a high degree of certainty, we can assume that at this place at least until the beginning of the 5th century there was a Roman watchtower (signal) tower.

Since 988, Dielsberg belonged to the bishops of Worms , who had exclusive rights to deforestation on the hill.

The fortification on the site liberated from the forest was laid between 1150 and 1200, probably under the Counts von Lauffen (a side branch of the Popponids ), who served in the service of the bishops of Worms and mentioned in 1208 as the owners of Dielsberg.

After the suppression of the male line of the von Lauffen clan in 1212, Dielsberg passed into the possession of the clan von Dürn , who from 1252 called themselves also counts ( comes ) von Dielsberg.

In 1287/88, Count Boppo II von Dürn sold Dilsberg to Rudolf von Habsburg , whose older son Albrecht promised to transfer the fortress to the Rhine Palatine Regions for his support as his new emperor.

Around 1300 (the exact date is unknown), probably during the reign of Rudolf I Dielsberg became a Kurpfalt fortress, and in 1347 received city ​​rights . In exchange, the population was obliged not only to maintain the garrison of the fortress, but also the court retinue of the palatine during fun trips and in case of war (Dielsberg was for a long time the “reserve” residence of the Rhine palatine grafs).

In the Thirty Years' War, Dielsberg confirmed his role as the "Heidelberg Bastion": fierce battles unfolded over the fortress. In 1621, Dielsberg was besieged by the army of the Catholic League under the command of Count Tilly ; after the fall of Heidelberg, the fortress surrendered in 1622. In 1633, Dilsberg was recaptured by the Swedes, but already in 1635 he was again occupied by troops loyal to the emperor . After the war ended in 1648, the fortress again passed under the control of Kurpfalz.

In the War of the Palatinate Succession, Dielsberg was occupied in 1690 by French troops under the command of General Melak . However, unlike Heidelberg and many other cities of Kurpfalz, Dilsberg was lucky, and it was not destroyed during the withdrawal of the French units.

The last military conflict in which Dielsberg took part was the Second Coalition War , in which the fortress garrison in 1799 was able to successfully repel the attack of the French army.

In 1803, with the abolition of the Kurpfalz, the Dilsberg fortification together with the city was transferred to the newly-formed Elector of Baden . The castle, the center of the fortress, which had lost its military significance by this time, was converted into a military prison and later into a punishment cell for the guilty students of the University of Heidelberg .

From the 1820s to 1895 the fortress was used as a quarry, and was almost completely demolished. Its complete disappearance was prevented only by a general romantic interest in the Middle Ages; Dilsberg began to gradually develop as a tourist center. In 1896, during restoration work, an 80-meter deep mine was discovered and cleared in 1926, which inevitably attracted the attention of visitors. Mark Twain showed great interest in the mine; the legend of its mysterious destiny is mentioned in his 1888 book A Tramp Abroad .

In October 1919, illegal meetings of the Second so-called "Heidelberg Congress" of the Communist Party of Germany took place in Dielsberg.

In 1934, a youth hotel was opened in the building of the old city gate.

The Dielsberg fortification is state-owned and managed by the State Castles and Parks of Baden-Württemberg. During the museum’s opening hours, you can climb the surviving late medieval tower and enjoy beautiful views of the Neckar Valley, Odenwald and Kraichgau .

• Christoph Bühler: Burgen der Kurpfalz. Bergstraße und Neckartal. Heidelberger Verlagsanstalt, Heidelberg 1990. S. 121 ff. ISBN 3-89426-012-2
• Wolfgang Wiese: Burgfeste Dilsberg. Führer. (Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg). Braus, Heidelberg 2000. ISBN 3-926318-80-5

• Official website (in German)
• Dielsberg on the Baukunst in Baden page (in German)