Deep beneath our feet, Bommersheim Burg sleeps. Not in the peaceful slumber of the ages, but in the fragmented rest of a life violently interrupted. Bommersheim Burg doesn’t stand tall before us. Instead, it whispers from the earth. Here, where a mighty tower once commanded the landscape, now a children’s daycare plays host to laughter and games. The very ground holds the secrets of Bommersheim Burg. Originally a motte-and-bailey castle, a wooden tower perched atop an earthen mound, it grew. It evolved into a stone ring-walled fortress in the 13th century, mirroring the ambitions of its inhabitants. The world it knew was one of trade routes and feudal rivalries. The nearby Saalburgstrasse, possibly a Roman relic, still pulsed with the movement of goods and people. Imagine the sights and sounds of this once bustling hub. Merchants hawking wares, the clang of blacksmiths’ hammers, and the lowing of cattle. But progress, as it often does, brought conflict. The lords of Bommersheim Burg, caught in the throes of financial hardship, resorted to raiding passing merchants. This act of desperation ultimately sealed the castle’s fate. In 1382, the powerful city of Frankfurt, angered by these attacks, laid siege to Bommersheim Burg. The castle fell, and its stones were never resurrected. The remnants lay undisturbed for centuries, gradually fading from memory. In the late 19th century, the castle’s footprint became a fairground, its history buried beneath layers of revelry. Only in the 20th century, during construction work, did Bommersheim Burg begin to resurface. Now, a portion of the ring wall’s foundation has been painstakingly reconstructed. It stands as a stark reminder of the castle’s turbulent past. Although Bommersheim Burg’s physical presence is diminished, its story endures. It echoes in the red sandstone unearthed from the site and the everyday objects recovered from the castle’s well. These artifacts, now housed in the Vortaunusmuseum in Oberursel, offer a poignant glimpse into the lives of those who once called Bommersheim Burg home.
Adlerwerke
From bicycles to Nazi atrocities, the Adlerwerke in Frankfurt has witnessed a tumultuous history. The Adlerwerke, meaning “Eagle Works,” began