Surviving documents record at least 17 occasions when kings or emperors stayed at Bodfeld whilst hunting in the Harz.
Otto I characterised Bodfeld in 936 as a hunting lodge (
Jagdhof); he visited Bodfeld at least 3 times and
Otto II 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 the royal hunting lodge at Bodfeld and its exact location began 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 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 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, 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 described the king, who was buried in
Quedlinburg, as the owner of Bodfeld and proves that ''"Bodfeld cannot 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 an important church festival, whereas they always did in other places such as
Quedlinburg,
Magdeburg or
Goslar. In 1967, Friedrich Stolberg, however, pointed out that this site was related to Saxon hunting lodges like
Siptenfelde 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 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 ==