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261:. The prisoner remained incarcerated in a tiny room, only being allowed to see an old nurse once a day. Her family eventually bribed the roofer, Veit Rentsch. As a result, Eleanor was freed in 1697 with outside help in a daring rescue action, being lowered about 20 metres down from the high castle rock, her body being tied to the body of her rescuer, who abseiled with her. Previously, he had made an opening in the roof of the room where the prisoner was held and hauled her out with a rope. Below, her brother waited with a handful of mounted men and carried them to safety. She traveled to Vienna, where she managed secure an imperial letter of protection and drove to Brunswick. In 1717 she died in a village near this city. From the family of her former mistress, she received 2,000 talers in support.
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after Sophia's marriage in 1682. Between the vulnerable sixteen-year-old, Sophie
Dorothea, who had married into the House Hanover, and Eleanor a friendly relationship developed, a sort of mother-daughter relationship, and she was a confidante in the extra-marital love affair of her mistress with the
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a hill in the vicinity, the French were able to destroy the outwork at
Frauenstein by shelling and then bombard the castle. After a ten-day siege, the garrison surrendered the castle on 25 September 1761. The capture of this hitherto impregnable fortress caused great jubilation in
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293:, a body of French troops, numbering some 6,000 men, appeared in front of Scharzfels Castle. They succeeded in forcing the surrender of the castle which had been defended by 40 gunners, 100 infantry from the Harz and 250 invalids from
306:. Their joy was dampened somewhat when it became known that the defenders were largely invalids. After only four days' occupation the French blew up the castle and withdrew when it became known that Prince
191:. From that time the castle was home to several lines of counts, including the counts of Scharzfeld who were named after the castle. After they had become extinct, the castle went in 1300 as a fief of the
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only preserved fragments remain that have now been restored. In contrast, the tunnels and rooms hewn out of the rock still exist, including the 15-metre-long corridor that runs from the castle entranceway.
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In 1627 the castle was expanded, occupied by a garrison and heavily fortified. In the centuries after the construction of the castle no enemy power was able to capture it, despite conflicts such as the
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nothing visible remains apart from a well house. The lower or outer ward is now a flat terraced area with a tourist restaurant. From the outer ward a stairway, built in the 19th century, leads to the
95:-like position with its vertical rock faces made the castle impregnable. The stone castle buildings were built on top of the rock or in gaps. According to contemporary accounts, there was at least a
297:. When the defenders refused to give up voluntarily, the French attacked the castle with an assault and bombardment, but met with no success. As the result of a tip-off about a hidden path to the
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257:, serving as a letter bearer. The family of Eleanor of the Knesebeck tried again and again to initiate a legal process and sought in vain for a bail of 100,000
199:. After the extinction of the Harz-based line of the House of Hohnstein in 1593, the feudal castle and house returned to the House of Grubenhagen. In 1596
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244:(born 1655) resided here, who came from a prestigious ancient Lüneburg family, albeit of the lesser nobility. She became the
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187:). This purchase is witnessed by the same document in which the castle is mentioned in writing for the first time, as
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The castle of
Scharzfels was probably built in the 10th or 11th century and belonged in its early days to the
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51:. For centuries after its construction in the 10th or 11th century it remained an impregnable fortress. The
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Uwe
Ohainski; Jürgen Udolph (2000), Jürgen Udolph (ed.), "Die Ortsnamen des Landkreises Osterode",
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on the 20-metre-high dolomite rock. The rock has an area of about 20 metres × 60 metres. This
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rock outcrop about 20 m high. The castle was first captured after a siege in 1761 during the
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354:(in German), vol. Part II, Bielefeld: Verlag für Regionalgeschichte, pp. 146ff,
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inherited the fortress. Later it passed into the possession of the
Hanover line of the
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385:, Die Urkunden der deutschen Könige und Kaiser, Vol. 8. Berlin 1927. No. 31, p. 47f.
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was advancing on
Scharzfels. Since that time, the castle site has lain in ruins.
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Several hundred metres away from the castle ruins is the rock known as the
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Castle entrance at the top of the stairway at a height of around 20 metres
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35:) is the medieval ruin of a fortification located east of the village of
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Scharzfels Castle is no. 151 in the system of checkpoints in the
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who acquired it in 1131 and turned it into an imperial fort (
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trail. The north face of the dolomite rock is used for
460:. IG Klettern Niedersachsen e. V. Archived from
47:. It lies in a wood on a ridge about 150 m above the
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Die
Urkunden Lothars III. und der Kaiserin Richenza
544:Description of the castles and 19th century photos
74:on a dolomite rock outcrop and its access stairway
145:Ca. 1900: Around the castle gate; postcard by
560:Description and sketches at karstwanderweg.de
117:, which was once an observation tower and an
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503:, Verlag für Regionalgeschichte, Bielefeld,
576:Reconstruction as it was in the Middle Ages
501:Graf Sigebodo II. von Scharzfeld/Lauterberg
201:Duke Henry Julius of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
236:. In the 17th century Scharzfels became a
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160:Postcard with views of the castle ruins
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419:: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
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352:Niedersächsisches Ortsnamensbuch (NOB)
195:into the possession of the counts of
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83:Of the fortifications of the former
517:, Verlag Jungfer, Herzberg, no ISBN
489:Band II, Landbuch-Verlag, Hanover,
16:Castle ruins in Scharzfeld, Germany
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485:Friedrich, Ernst Andreas (1992).
552:Legend of the castle at Sagen.de
499:Nück, Wolfgang-Dietrich (2008).
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322:hiking network; it lies on the
568:Escape from the castle in 1697
273:Rock tunnels on the upper ward
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383:Monumenta Germaniae Historica
528:Description at Burgenwelt.de
171:Emergence in the Middle Ages
193:Principality of Grubenhagen
105:. Of the buildings and the
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487:Wenn Steine reden könnten.
641:Ruined castles in Germany
602:51.6290278°N 10.4088889°E
223:copperplate of the castle
189:Castrum quoddam Scartuelt
181:Lothair of Süpplingenburg
536:Description at Burgen.de
626:Castles in Lower Saxony
607:51.6290278; 10.4088889
513:Vladi, Firouz (1990).
458:"Burgruine Scharzfeld"
308:Ferdinand of Brunswick
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440:, Ueberreuter, 1993,
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240:. From 1695 Eleonore
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177:Magdeburg archdiocese
147:Karl Friedrich Wunder
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314:Walking and climbing
289:In 1761, during the
255:Count of Königsmarck
33:Burgruine Scharzfels
631:Castles in the Harz
598: /
515:Die Burg Scharzfels
373:Emil v. Ottenthal,
63:and then blown up.
328:Harzer Baudensteig
320:Harzer Wandernadel
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39:in the borough of
509:978-3-89534-692-7
234:Thirty Years' War
211:Fortress and gaol
20:Scharzfels Castle
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636:Herzberg am Harz
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398:. Archived from
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291:Seven Years' War
250:Sophia of Ahlden
242:of the Knesebeck
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61:Seven Years' War
41:Herzberg am Harz
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464:on 19 July 2011
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396:"Archived copy"
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522:External links
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283:defensive wall
281:View over the
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590:51°37′44.50″N
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646:Rock castles
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466:. Retrieved
462:the original
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434:Thea Leitner
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404:. Retrieved
400:the original
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248:to Princess
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79:Construction
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579:(in German)
571:(in German)
563:(in German)
555:(in German)
547:(in German)
539:(in German)
531:(in German)
375:Hans Hirsch
324:Karst Trail
185:reichsfeste
115:Frauenstein
49:Oder valley
43:in central
620:Categories
468:31 October
406:2014-01-07
338:References
238:state gaol
89:upper ward
85:outer ward
72:upper ward
53:inner ward
37:Scharzfeld
299:Liethberg
285:to Barbis
253:reckless
197:Hohnstein
25:‹See Tfd›
415:cite web
332:climbing
232:and the
57:dolomite
480:Sources
295:Hanover
265:Capture
166:History
119:outwork
45:Germany
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381:. In:
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259:talers
221:Merian
101:and a
29:German
304:Paris
219:1654
103:tower
98:palas
93:eyrie
505:ISBN
491:ISBN
470:2010
442:ISBN
421:link
356:ISBN
326:and
246:maid
70:The
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