Bodfeld was a small royal palace or lodge that was primarily established for hunting purposes and, when the town of Elbingerode was emerged, for the administration of ore mining in the central Harz

Harz

The Harz is the highest mountain range in northern Germany and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The name Harz derives from the Middle High German word Hardt or Hart , latinized as Hercynia. The legendary Brocken is the highest summit in the Harz...

 that underpinned the power of the Ottonian

Ottonian

The Ottonian dynasty was a dynasty of Germanic Kings , named after its first emperor but also known as the Saxon dynasty after the family's origin. The family itself is also sometimes known as the Liudolfings, after its earliest known member Liudolf and one of its primary leading-names...

 and Salian kings and emperors in medieval Europe. The term Bodfeld is also used to describe an area of forest that lies predominantly south of Elbingerode.

Today, the ruins of the legendary "palace" of Bodfeld are suspected to lie on a hill spur called the Schloßkopf north of Elbingerode.

History

Surviving documents record at least 17 occasions when kings or emperors stayed at Bodfeld whilst hunting in the Harz. Henry I stayed in Bodfeld several times, for example he fell ill here in 935. Otto I

Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor

Otto I the Great , son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of Germany, King of Italy, and "the first of the Germans to be called the emperor of Italy" according to Arnulf of Milan...

 characterised Bodfeld in 936 as a hunting lodge (Jagdhof); he visited Bodfeld at least 3 times and Otto II

Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor

Otto II , called the Red, was the third ruler of the Saxon or Ottonian dynasty, the son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy.-Early years and co-ruler with Otto I:...

 four times. Otto III spent at least 14 days in Bodfeld in 991 together with his grandmother, Adelheid, and visited it again in 995. Conrad II was recorded there once, and Henry III at least four times. The last document issued by him was written in Bodfeld (28 September 1056). Henry III died in Bodfeld after a seven-day illness on 5 October 1056 in the presence of the pope and many imperial princes. Henry IV became King of the Germans in Bodfeld in 1056.

Towards the end of the 13th century to royal hunting lodge at Bodfeld and its exact location begin to sink into oblivion. However, thanks to intensive research by Paul Höfer memories of Bodfeld were re-awakened at the end of the 19th century. In view of the place name Königshof (Königshütte since 1936 when it merged with Rothehütte) he wrongly believed it to be the Königsburg

Königsburg

Königsburg is a ruined medieval castle southeast of Königshütte, a village in the borough of Oberharz am Brocken, in Harz district in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.- Site :...

 on a rocky hill above the confluence of the Warme and Kalte Bode. He publicized this several times in the Harz Association's magazine for history and archaeology. Others supported his view including C. Schuchhardt in his 1924 publication, Fortresses of the Early Historical Period in Lower Saxony. In 1933 castle researcher, Paul Grimm, proved that the Königsburg could never have existed in the era of the Saxon kings, but had been built later. His evidence was the fact that in excavations of the Königsburg no trace of red pottery had been found. In the run up to this, Schuchhardt had already changed his opinion in 1931.

Grimm now suspected Bodfeld to be on the other, northern side of the River Bode in the vicinity or on the site of the abandoned village of Lüttgen-Bodfeld, whose church, St. Andrew's, had been uncovered in the 19th century. He did not reach a definite conclusion, however, and wrote: "Confirmation of the exact location of the Bodfeld hunting lodge remains the subject of further research." In 1940, the diplomat, Carl Erdmann

Carl Erdmann

Carl Erdmann was a German historian who specialized in medieval political and intellectual history. He is noted in particular for his study of the origins of the idea of crusading in medieval Latin Christendom, as well as his work on letter collections and correspondence among secular and...

, also questioned Höfer's thesis and agreed with Grimm. Other researchers, such as Friedrich Stolberg, author of the standard work first published in 1967, Fortifications in and around the Harz from Early History to the Modern Period, followed suit and wrote: "The Königsburg near Königshütte is not directly related to the royal hunting lodge of Bodfeld on the other side of the Bode" It was only the most modern infra red aerial photographic technology and most recent archaeological analysis of excavated stone artefacts that confirmed the hitherto suspected presence of a royal lodge from the Ottonian period on the Schloßkopf by the upper reaches of the Teufelsbach in the Drecktal valley northeast of Elbingerode. This could well be the royal lodge of Bodfeld which, characteristically for the period of its construction, was built on a hill spur (see also Königspfalz Werla) although the River Bode that gave the lodge its name is about four to five kilometres from here. However, that appears to be irrelevant because the medieval Bodfeld was an extensive area of territory.

In terms of its design, the site on the Schloßkopf resembles the Pfalz of Grone laid out by Henry I. Based on Henry's written records, Carl Erdmann

Carl Erdmann

Carl Erdmann was a German historian who specialized in medieval political and intellectual history. He is noted in particular for his study of the origins of the idea of crusading in medieval Latin Christendom, as well as his work on letter collections and correspondence among secular and...

 described the king, who was buried in Quedlinburg

Quedlinburg

Quedlinburg is a town located north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. In 1994 the medieval court and the old town was set on the UNESCO world heritage list....

, as the owner of Bodfeld and proves that "Bodfeld cannot be be judged to have the political character of a 'Pfalz'". This underscores the fact that resident monarchs in Bodfeld patently did not come here to celebrate a important church festival, whereas they always did in other places such as Quedlinburg

Quedlinburg

Quedlinburg is a town located north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. In 1994 the medieval court and the old town was set on the UNESCO world heritage list....

, Magdeburg

Magdeburg

Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....

 or Goslar

Goslar

Goslar is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines of Rammelsberg are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.-Geography:Goslar is situated at the...

. In 1967, Friedrich Stolberg, however, pointed out that this site was related to Saxon hunting lodges like Siptenfelde

Siptenfelde

Siptenfelde is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 August 2009, it is part of the town Harzgerode....

 and its proximity to the Königsstieg ("King's Path") suggests there is a connexion. In all probability there was also a link between this hunting house (Jagdhaus) mentioned in 1483 and 1531 and the village of Erdfeld on the old Halberstadt Military Road, mentioned in 1343 in a deed by the Count of Regenstein

House of Regenstein

The House of Regenstein, also Reinstein, was a Lower Saxon family of counts, which was named after the eponymous Regenstein Castle near Blankenburg on the edge of the Harz Mountains of central Germany.- History :...

 and which lay just 1½ kilometres away. Erdfeld was abandoned in the late Middle Ages in favour of nearby Elbingerode.

From Heinz A. Behrens, historian and building archaeologist, who conducted the most recent research, we now have a reconstructed picture of the whole site thanks to archaeological and geo-electric surveys. There is an information board at the site which shows that the lodge was extensive yet defensible; it had a chapel, two round towers, a great hall, a second assembly hall, other residential buildings, gatehouse and stone walls on two sides.

Bodfeld Forest

Bodfeld is also the name of an area of forest which Henry II ceded to Gandersheim Abbey in 1009 as part of an exchange. Its boundaries may be deduced from an enfeoffment letter by Abbess Sophia of Gandersheim dating to the year A.D. 1319. According to that this forest area extended from Braunlage in the west to Elbingerode in the northeast and to Stiege and Beneckenstein in the south.

Other hunting lodges in the Harz

• Siptenfelde
  Siptenfelde
  Siptenfelde is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 August 2009, it is part of the town Harzgerode....
  
  : Otto I issues documents here twice
• Hasselfelde
  Hasselfelde
  Hasselfelde is a town in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated in the eastern Harz, approximately 17 km south of Wernigerode. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Oberharz am Brocken...
  
  : Henry III stayed here at least twice

Sources

• Prell, Martin (1971), Auf alten Wegen zu neuen Erkenntnissen. Ein Beitrag zur Erforschung der mittelalterlichen Besiedlung der Elbingeröder Hochfläche im Harz. In: Nordharzer Jahrbuch 4, 1971, p. 7–27
• Wille, Lutz (2010), Zur Örtlichkeit des Reichshofes Bodfeld, in: Harz-Zeitschrift 62 (2010), p. 153–167.