Kressenstein at Culmbach

Another estate was called the Kressenstein Castle as well. This castle was built in Culmbach by Hermann II Kress sometime in the early 16th century and was managed for a period of time by his descendants. He called himself a "von Kressenstein" which means "of Kressenstein" because he had the Kressenstein built in Culmbach. It should be noted that this Kressenstein Castle was a separate estate from the Kressenstein in Kraftshof. Interesting to me was that a descendant of Hermann II who managed the Kressenstein in Culbach purchased other estates from his wife's family who then moved to the Nuremburg area to take possession of the Neunhof estate before the Kresses of Nuremburg took possession of it again.

The Kressenstein at Culmbach

In the collectanea of Carl Sigmund Kress von Kressenstein (#509), we find that he had research made about the Kresses of Culmbach and the Kressenstein, which was in their possession there, by his proctor notary, Andreas Keller at Nuremberg, and that the result of these investigations has been preserved in the original. I quote here the most important passages. Report of October 19, 1737: "The so-called Kressenstein is still in existence and situated rather far from the old city wall (of Culmbach), outside the southern suburb, near the Rindlein or Bayreuth gate. Still (in 1737) to be seen there is a two storied dwelling-house, used today as a wine inn, various stables, buildings, a summer house, garden, etc. Before the present owner, Mrs. Weinl, a forester's wife, Magistrate Horn, and before him Commander and Provost von Magwitz were in possession of the estate." Even today (1930) the environment, on which several other houses are situated, is called "To the Kressenstein" and the whole was a nobleman's seat before the Margravian-Nuremberg war in 1533.

As of 2023, there is a short stretch of road in Kulmbach called Kressenstein with many buildings on either side.

This colored image is from a postcard labeled Kressenstein in Kulmbach. I'm not sure the castle up on the hill is actually a depiction of the old Kressenstein Castle. I assume that may be the Plassenburg Castle and this street may be Kressenstein. I'm not sure when this photograph was originally taken, but the clothing suggests that it's older. Apparently the castle still existed in 1737, but is this quite that old? Photography as we know it was invented much later than that, but as you can tell, this almost seems to be an oil painting rather than a photograph. With that said, you can find several beautiful buildings in this area along the stretch of road called Kressenstein today which leads me to believe this is a picture of the road rather than of the castle. I have found no photo that I can say for certain is a picture of the old Kressenstein. I imagine it lies in ruins and has been built over. We know that the town was burned to the ground on November 26, 1553 which likely means the Kressenstein was also at least partially destroyed. A year later the Plassenburg itself was destroyed in 1554.

This is a historical image of Culmbach with the Plassenburg Castle clearly situated on a high hill and farms and housing situated down below. I assume the Kressenstein was situated somewhere further away from the Plassenburg Castle as a defensive structure which was likely one of many surrounding the town of Culmbach.

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