Kunitzburg Castle (Gleißberg Castle)

The ruin of Gleisberg Castle, today mostly called Kunitzburg after the Jena district of Kunitz located below, lies five kilometers northeast of the city at the northern end of the so-called "Horseshoe". This is formed by the Jenzig and the steep Gleisberg, which projects westwards into the Saale valley. The ruin belongs to the Golmsdorf area.

A nobleman, Liutoldus de Glizberg, is first mentioned in 1133 in the approval of Bishop Udo of Naumburg for the foundation of the Benedictine monastery of Bürgel. It is presumed that he died without descendants. Furthermore, an alleged foundation charter by Bertha from 1133 is still under discussion, especially in older literature. The charter reports the death of her uncle Walther (patrui Woltheri) and her brother Ekbert von Gleisberg (Glizberk) and the consent of her relatives Otto von Kirchberg and Luthold von Gleisberg, as well as the names of her parents Damian and Ottilie. Otto Dobenecker had already recognized this document as a forgery by Hans Basilius von Gleichenstein from 1729. A frequently assumed connection with the "Counts of Glizburg (Gleisberg)" mentioned by Arnold von Quedlinburg as ancestors of the Vögte of Weida is also unlikely. It is more probable that Gleisberg was mistakenly read instead of Veitsberg, especially since no connections of the Vögte to the area around Gleisberg can be proven for this period.

In his research on the history of the Franconian noble family of the Reginbodonen, Wolfgang Hartmann assumes the existence of an "Ekbert von Gleisberg" and sees him as the father of "Liutold von Gleisberg" and brother of Bertha (the founder of Bürgel Monastery and wife of Margrave Heinrich von Groitzsch). He also assigns the nobles of Camburg, the burgraves of Kirchberg-Kapellendorf, and other families from the surrounding area as ancestors of this branch of the Reginbodonen.

In 1158, Frederick I elevated, among other possessions from the inheritance of Wiprecht von Groitzsch, the mountains Gleisberg (Glizberg) with the castle of the same name and Jenzig to imperial estates. Shortly thereafter, the castle was occupied by imperial ministerials who named themselves after Gleisberg Castle. These vassals, who apparently originally came from the family of Pappenheim and Kalden from the Palatinate, were family members of the Lords of Weimar. The most famous representative is Walter von Weimar, who is first mentioned in 1154 as villicus of Allstedt among the witnesses of a royal charter. The family provided the Vögte of the Scottish monastery of St. Jakob in Erfurt and were revered there as founders. A castrum Glizberg is only mentioned in documents in 1261.

Allegedly, the Roman-German King Rudolf von Habsburg destroyed Gleisberg Castle in 1289/90 when he had 66 castles destroyed to reclaim imperial land in Thuringia. However, a document from December 17, 1293, issued by Walter IV von Gleisberg at the castle, makes this seem unlikely.

The Lords of Gleisberg failed to operate an effective economy in the 13th and 14th centuries. Several times, properties belonging to the castle had to be sold. In addition, lands were repeatedly lost through donations to the church and legal disputes. For reasons that are not precisely traceable, probably due to lack of money, the Gleisbergers placed themselves under the feudal lordship of the Schenken von Dornburg around 1320, to whom they had previously been equal in rank. They continued to reside as vassals at the castle until they sold it to Heinrich II Reuss von Plauen for 150 marks in 1327. Heinrich V von Gleisberg probably lived in Weimar thereafter, while his brother Johannes entered the clergy. The rule of the Gleisbergers thus ended.

In 1327, Emperor Louis the Bavarian enfeoffed Heinrich II Reuss von Plauen with the castle. Either the feudal lordship of the Schenken von Dornburg was compensated, or Emperor Louis did not recognize it. Until at least 1350, Gleisberg was considered an imperial fief, as it is not listed as a Wettin property in the feudal book of Margrave Frederick the Stern. In 1359, the fief was confirmed for the younger line Reuss von Plauen. Heinrich II von Reuss was, at the time he bought the castle, guardian of the underage Margrave of Meissen Frederick II and used his money to acquire the lordship for his family. Due to this fact, the Wettins laid claim to Gleisberg.

From the reciprocal claims that the Wettins and the Bohemian kings, in Charles IV simultaneously German Emperor, made on the lordship, the margraves emerged victorious. When Heinrich Reuss IV died in 1398, Margrave Wilhelm seized the lordship as an escheated fief. The Reusses had managed to expand the lordship into a considerable landed estate through effective management and acquisitions.

Since the end of the 14th century, the castle was pledged to various rulers of Thuringia and ultimately incorporated into the Wettin administrative organism. Interesting is the valuation of the lordship in 1429, when it was sold for 4000 Rhenish guilders, at the same value as Hildburghausen or Heldburg. In 1440, with the death of Landgrave Frederick the Peaceful, Gleisberg was probably incorporated into the Dornburg office. The castle began to fall into disrepair due to lack of use. Only in the castle chapel was mass read twice a week by Kunitz priests. Only on April 28, 1450, were the masses moved to Kunitz.

On March 8, 1450, Duke Wilhelm of Saxony enfeoffed his councillors Busso, Apel, and Burkhard Vitztum and Friedrich von Witzleben with Gleisberg, with the obligation to repair the completely desolate and dilapidated castle. The Vitztums played an important role in Thuringia at this time. The Duke was probably beholden to them. Taking advantage of his trust, they accumulated riches and possessions to the detriment of the Duke. In 1450, a break occurred when Wilhelm recognized the true role of the Vitztums. They were expelled from the country.

Wilhelm of Saxony allied himself with the cities of Erfurt, Nordhausen, and Mühlhausen and stormed Gleisberg Castle in 1451. The Vitztums had repaired the castle as far as was possible in the short time. After the castle was stormed, the keep was demolished. An official still resided in the castle for a short time. However, no reconstruction took place, and the castle remained a ruin.