Henry's accession to the demolition of his…

Henry's accession to the demolition of his Harz castles includes the Harzburg.

To protect the royal burial ground, Henry directs that only the towers and walls of the Harzburg be removed; the buildings themselves remain.

This enrages the surrounding rural population who, in March 1074, razes the castle and its church to the foundation walls and desecrates the royal tombs.

This deed may have had a considerable personal effect on Henry, but politically it puts all the trumps in his hand: the plunder of the church and the desecration of the royal tomb causes great outrage in his kingdom, and many Imperial princes return to Henry's side.

The Saxon nobility refuses any blame for the actions of the rural population and immediately offers to restore the castle and church at their own expense.

Henry, using the destruction as a pretext for renewed hostilities, gains the support of several bishops, the lower feudality and city burghers.