Great Castles in Germany Hambach
Hambacher Schloss, Hambacher Fest, Germany's Cradle of Democracy
May 28, 2008
In the hills above "Neustadt an der Weinstraße" (Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany) is Hambach Castle (Hambacher Schloss). It is famous for the "Hambacher Fest", a national democratic festival celebrated in May 1832 with 30 000 participants from Germany, France and Poland. Among the Polish were many who fled after the November uprising (1830-1831) first to Germany and then to France. People from all ranks of society came together at the "Hambacher Fest" to express their dissatisfaction with the ancien regimes and to demand democratic reforms. A similar event happened at the Wartburg (near Eisenach) in 1817.
Hambacher Fest: Milestone Towards Unity
The Palatinate belonged to France until the beginning of the 19th century, and the ideas of the French Revolution took root. After the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) the area came under Bavarian control. Dreams of German unity were shattered, democratic reforms were stalled, and the population felt oppressed.
The mass demonstration had been cleverly disguised as a non-political county-fair, and it was the first time that a fledgling democratic movement raised its voice. Germans, French and Poles formed an alliance to demand more representative government and a national economic policy. People were tired of the sectionalism that had prevailed in Germany since the Thirty Years' War.
The gathering had no immediate results, but it is celebrated as a milestone towards German unity.The German poet Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) expressed regret from his self-chosen exile in Paris writing:
"That was the last installment granted us by the Goddess of Freedom; only at that time, during those days of the Hambach Festival, might it have been possible to bring about, with some hope of success, a general transformation in Germany."
Hambach Castle's History
The strategically positioned castle was first mentioned in Roman times around 900, but became important only in the days of Salian kings and Speyer bishops, who used it as a summer residence and retreat. During the 16th and 18th century it was destroyed and rebuilt several times.
In 1844 the Bavarian Crown Prince Maximilian received the castle as a gift from the people of the Palatinate. Efforts to rebuild the castle never quite succeeded and it remained a ruin until after the Second World War. The Land of Rhineland-Palatinate restored Hambach Castle for the 150th anniversary of the "Hambach Festival" in 1982.
Hambach Castle Today
The castle is open to visitors and celebrated the 175. anniversary of the Hambacher Fest in 2007. The inside rooms host a museum and accomodations for conferences and events. Currently access to the inside is closed due to renovations until November 2008.
The outside areas are open and can be visited, guided tours included. The views over the Palatine lowlands and the Rhine Valley from the terrace are amazing. On a clear day one can see the Odenwald on the opposite Rhine banks.
Historic Neustadt (Weinstraße)
Neustadt sits in a sheltered side valley at the edge of the vineyard-covered Haardt mountains and the Rhine Valley. The town of 55.000 on the German Wine Route has one of the warmest climates in Germany (summer temperatures of 30-35 C, one reason why this area is lovingly called "Germany's Tuscany". The foothills are topped with impressive mansions housing wealthy wineries. Neustadt has a beautiful historic old town centre with five blocks of pedestrian zone, and a market-square surrounded by well-preserved half-timbered houses. The annual Christmas Market is held here. Highlights are the Chuch of St. Mary (Marienkirche) and the Casimirianum, a historic elaborate building that served as a Calvinist highschool (founded in 1578).Neustadt is less than an hour away from Ludwigshafen, Mannheim and Heidelberg.
Information about Hambach Castle in German, French and English
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