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Four
medieval defence works at the Hausberg near Jena
Beside the historical inn, the Fox Tower dominates on the
Hausberg as a landmark. It is the widely most observable residue
of a close group of castles in the high and late Middle Age. The
historical tradition mentions three names: Kirchberg, Greifenberg,
Wintberg. The Kirchberg is first of all referred to already in a
chronicle of 937, as well as after that in the 2nd half
of 10th and beginning 11th century. The
associated castle area is also mentioned in the 11th
century. Royal burgraves governed at the Hausberg since the middle
of 12th century. Nearly in the same period (1156) the
nobles of Greifenberg were documentary for about 100 years. Rather
late (1279) the Wintberg castle was vouched.
Latest investigation in
the 1990s proved the existence of four medieval castles, and
assigned the Fox Tower as part of the “later Kirchberg” close
to the former royal castle.
The documented
history of the Hausberg castles exemplifies for a strategically
important place the typical conflicts between the imperial,
regional and local rulers, which climaxed to the destruction of
three castles by means of strong siege equipment in 1304.
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