Altenschönbach Castle

Schonebach is first mentioned in 1230 as a Vogt property of the Counts of Castell, who subsequently had to hold it as a fief from the Bishop of Würzburg. In the partition treaty of 1265/67, the village is first written as Altenschonbah and was evidently still in their own possession. At the latest since the second half of the 14th century, the Counts then granted the Vogt property as a sub-fief to the Lords of Thünfeld, but explicitly excluded the "vesten" (castle), which they possibly used themselves for a time. From the Thünfeld, the Vogt property passed to the Kotner, who presumably built the first castle on the site of the present castle; until then, the fortified seat was still on a spur of the Steigerwald. Under the Knights Esel von Altenschönbach, who resided here from 1442 to 1545, the Castell feudal connection seems to have been dissolved, as the Esel already held the place as a fief from the Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg in the 15th century. Philipp Esel had the parish church built in 1496.

During the Peasants' War in 1525, the castle was destroyed but soon rebuilt and sold in 1543 to Wolf von Crailsheim zu Mainsondheim, bailiff of Kitzingen, Stephansberg, and Mainbernheim. He introduced the Reformation in Altenschönbach in 1545 and died in 1556 in Kitzingen, where he was also buried. The Crailsheim family, who were elevated to the status of Imperial Barons in 1713, still own the castle today.

The Protestant parish church in the center of the village dates from the late 15th century. Its predecessor from the mid-14th century had been extended by Peter Esel von Altenschönbach in 1496. At that time, the church was probably still in the outer bailey of the castle. By shifting the choir space to the north, the peculiar asymmetrical floor plan that presents itself to the visitor was created. The interior design largely dates from the early 17th century. Worth seeing is the wooden ceiling with tendrils and the 64 coats of arms of Franconian noble families. These are the ancestors of Hans Siegmund von Crailsheim (1575-1634) and his second wife, Johanna Zobel von Giebelstadt (1582-1642).

A richly decorated shell limestone altar from the Rococo period, a simple pulpit, tomb slabs from the 15th century in the choir, and especially the epitaph of Georg Wolfgang von Crailsheim († 1595) with his wife Helena Geyer von Giebelstadt and their 13 children demand the visitor's attention. On the southern and northern inner walls of the nave are the tombstones of ten children of the couple, who died between 1579 and 1599; one of the tombstones commemorates a daughter who was stillborn in 1592.

The castle with its mighty defensive tower is surrounded by a curtain wall, but is only the remnant of an originally larger complex. The residential building on the western side dates from the 19th century. Above the gate, one can see the coat of arms of the Crailsheim (a golden crossbar in a black shield) and the Geyer von Giebelstadt. The castle is still inhabited by the Barons von Crailsheim today.

The Former Moated Castle

Enchanted castles are hard to find, they lead a life of their own – just like Altenschönbach Castle. Located in the heart of the village in the Kitzingen district, it hides in the green of its nature park, concealing a good 700 years of changing building history behind giant trees, a defensive wall, and a Renaissance backdrop. A first searching glance. Where is the magnificent building? Nowhere. The austere charm of a former administrative building greets the visitor – and a lord of the castle who lives for and with the history turned to stone: Berthold von Crailsheim calls the masonry a "castle collage," which has been the private home, studio, and permanent construction site of the former art teacher since 1979.

Collage – the term fits. Standing in the inner courtyard, one encounters completely different remnants of castle life: a massive, three-story residential tower from the age of knights, the Biedermeier building planned as an administrative building about 150 years ago, a high defensive wall, and agricultural buildings from the last century exude rural history. One in which von Crailsheim has immersed himself.

The heart of the complex (Crailsheim: "an eternal construction site") is the three-story palas. A angular residential tower that has provided people with a not exactly luxurious roof over their heads since the 14th century. The massive structure was not only a residential building but also served a military purpose. The castle at that time, owned by the Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg, was a border bastion. In 1550, Wolf von Crailsheim, bailiff in Kitzingen, introduced the Lutheran faith in Altenschönbach – "with brute force." Bizarre consequence: a Protestant rules a fief of the Catholic Prince-Bishop.

The castle became an eye-catcher in the 16th century. Georg Wolf von Crailsheim transformed the rather sober estate into a Renaissance castle, his son lived here in "princely pomp" until he died in 1640 during the turbulent times of the Thirty Years' War. After that, the Barons neglected their castle for about 300 years. Nevertheless, the administrative building was built in 1848, which was actually intended to be the seat of the regional judge and which still receives visitors to the castle today. Joachim von Crailsheim also walked through here, who came from Upper Bavaria in 1936 and practiced agriculture and gave the castle's face new features. The administrative building got a bay window, a wooden pantry has since hung on the outer wall.

The noble farmer was followed by the aesthete Berthold von Crailsheim, who moved into the castle in 1979 with his – now deceased – wife Liselotte. With the artist couple, who previously lived in Munich, a piece of comfort moved into the previously rather uncomfortable masonry. Electricity and new water pipes were laid, but a central heating system was only installed in 2002. The art teacher and the painter wanted to turn their home with its Tuscan flair into a cultural meeting place. Which worked for eight years. Friends, acquaintances, and artists from Munich filled the castle with life until the warmth of real Tuscany outranked the rather cooler Altenschönbach and the guests stayed away.

This created more space for the castle, which constantly needs its master. Berthold von Crailsheim repairs crumbling masonry here, replaces rotten boards there, or has the tower's roof renewed. His special attention is given to the angular building. The tower, whose wooden ceilings impress Crailsheim as much as the wooden door with its 15th-century carvings, is to remain original. The now 71-year-old wants to preserve all of this. Also with his own hands, which constantly set new accents in the Altenschönbach Castle collage.