Elberfeld Castle
| Elberfeld Castle | ||
|---|---|---|
 Castle, Church and Freedom Elverfeldt |
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| Alternative name (s): | Elverfeldt Castle | |
| Creation time : | before 1366 | |
| Castle type : | Niederungsburg | |
| Conservation status: | Burgstall | |
| Place: | Wuppertal-Elberfeld | |
| Geographical location | 51 ° 15 '26 " N , 7 ° 8' 52" E | |
| Height: | 150 m above sea level NN | |
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The castle Elberfeld was the first fixing of the place Elberfeld , now part of Wuppertal .
history
prehistory
From the 7th century, the relatively late and sparse settlement of the predominantly wooded Wupper area by old Germanic tribes (possibly Borchter or Westphalia ) took place. For a long time the region was the border area between the Franconian Empire and the area of influence of the Saxons , which, in addition to the inhospitable agricultural conditions compared to the Rhine plain, prevented larger settlement structures. With the Frankish conquest in the 9th century, the sparse population under Saxon influence was assimilated. As a result, Charlemagne had Franconian manors built to protect the Wupper area, including probably Elberfeld.
The historian Widukind , who worked in Corvey, reported towards the end of the 10th century about the first lord of a refuge in Elberfeld. This Fliehburg was owned by the Archbishop of Cologne from 955 and probably served as a supply station on the Heerstraße to Soest , the Hilinciweg . Widukind's chronicles speak of a Saxon lord of the castle Droste Brüning, feudal man of King Konrad I. After his death, according to Widukind, Eberhard von Franken claimed the castle, despite the siege he was unable to enforce his claims. It is unclear whether this refuge is identical to the later castle or its location.
First mentioned as Tafelhof Elverfeld
In 1161 a Schulte ( Villicus ) from a Tafelhof Elverfeld owned by the Archbishop of Cologne was first mentioned in a document. This fortified courtyard must be imagined as an agricultural property, which was primarily used for the production of food and only incidentally as an administrative center for the immediate vicinity. Above all, however, it served as a supply and overnight station in Cologne for clergymen, nobles and troops who traveled by road. The permanent house, later called Elberfeld Castle, probably emerged from this table courtyard and was mentioned again in 1176 as the “ Elvervelde ” courtyard . A chapel belonged to this courtyard, which was probably a predecessor of today's Old Reformed Church in Wuppertal , whose foundation can be dated to the 10th century based on its patronage of St. Laurentius and archaeological finds.
In this year 1176 the castle courtyard was pledged to the Count von Berg , who was able to control the road from Cologne to Westphalia . At some point in the 13th century, Cologne redeemed the pledge and the lords of Heppendorf appeared in 1243 as Cologne feudal people and owners of the castle under the name of lords of Elverfelde . The ownership and legal rights are not clear now that in addition to the claimed Cologne supremacy which emancipated from Cologne Bergisch counts, as well as Cologne governors and ministry officials used lords made the Elverfeldt family different, overlapping rights.
First mentioned as Elverfeldt Castle
| year | event |
| 1355–1366 (?) | Construction of the castle |
| 1366 | First written mention of the castle as a result of the sale to Engelbrecht Sobbe |
| 1396 | Engelbrecht Sobbe dies and inheritance is passed on to Anna and Johann Sobbe. His brother-in-law Eberhard von Limburg becomes lord of the castle |
| 1398 | Siege of the castle in the wake of the Bergisch-Märkische disputes after the battle of Kleverhamm. Death of Dietrich II von der Mark during the siege. |
| 1399 | Johann Sobbe becomes lord of the castle |
| 1402 | Sale of the castle to the Archbishop of Cologne |
| 1402–1413 (?) | Johann Sobbe bought back the castle |
| 1403–1413 (?) | Granting of the freedom privilege to the Burgmannensiedlung |
| 1408-1409 | Renewal of the fortifications of the castle |
| 1414 | Transfer to the ownership of Bernd Ovelacker |
| 1425 | Transfer of Bernd Ovellacker's stake in the rule of Elberfeld and the castle to Duke Adolf VII of Jülich-Berg |
| 1427 | Duke Adolf VII von Jülich-Berg finally acquires the rule of Elberfeld with the castle from the heirs of Eberhard von Limburg. |
| 1429-1597 | Decay of the fortifications of the castle under the Elberfeld officials |
| 1535 | Elberfeld is destroyed by fire |
| 1597 | The Bergisch dukes redeem the pledge of the castle, freedom and office of Elberfeld. |
| 1598 | Johann von der Waye maps Castle and Freedom Elberfeld. The Elberfeld camp register provides information about the situation |
| 1603, 1605 | Measurement of the castle area by Johannes von Pasqualini , parceling and sale to Elberfeld citizens |
| 1609 | Creation of a plot of land from which the exact location can be seen today |
| 1610 | Request for the extension of the fortifications of freedom. For financing purposes, the city privilege was granted to freedom at short notice, but not confirmed due to the unsatisfactory construction progress of the city wall in 1623. |
| 1647 | Demolition of the city wall and thus the last remains of the castle at the request of the population |
Finally, in 1366, there was explicit mention of a “ castle ” for the first time , which still belonged to the noble Elverfelde family. On August 9, 1366, Johann von Elverfelde sold the castle to the knight Engelbrecht Sobbe ; the three deeds of sale from 1366 are the first documentary evidence of the castle that emerged from the Tafelhof. As before, the castle and the Elberfeld rule is a fiefdom of the Archbishops of Cologne at this time , Engelbrecht Sobbe therefore their liege.
Engelbrecht Sobbe offers the castle to Count Engelbert III on January 21, 1369 . from the Mark as an open house , i.e. as a base for operations in the Electorate of Cologne. In 1371, the ownership of a forest area in today's Burgholz State Forest is recorded. The name Burgholz is probably derived from this property. Engelbrecht Sobbe dies in 1396, his son Johann Sobbe and daughter Anna Sobbe inherit the property.
After the death of Dietrich II von der Mark, probably during the siege of Elberfeld Castle, the county of Mark fell to Adolf von Kleve. At this time, Eberhard von Limburg (husband of Johann's sister Anna Sobbe and Adolf VII von Jülich-Berg's follower) was the lord of Elberfeld Castle. The Bergisch began to assert themselves, probably received their Unterbarmer property back shortly after 1399 (at the latest in 1420 the Beyenburg and Barmen were back in Bergisch) and extended their territorial property to the part of Barmen in the Mark region. It is not known whether this gain came at Mark's expense through military force or through an agreement. In any case, until 1420 the border of the Bergisch-ruled territory shifted to the east to the Schellenbeck brook . They then pledged the office to Eberhard von Limburg, who was considered a loyal follower of Adolf VII von Berg . The deposit was used to replenish the scarce state treasury.
On January 28, 1399, Eberhard von Limburg ceded the rule of the castle to his brother-in-law Johann Sobbe, who on May 23, 1402 sold the castle to the Archbishop of Cologne with his consent. A two-year buyback right is negotiated.
In 1413 at the latest, Johann Sobbe was enfeoffed again by Cologne with the castle, which he offered to Adolf Graf von der Mark und Kleve on November 4th of that year as an open house. Johann Sobbe died in 1414 and was inherited by Bernd Ovelacker , who now offered the castle to Duke Adolf VII of Jülich-Berg as an open house. On September 25, 1425 he finally transferred his holdings over the castle and rule to Duke Adolf VII of Jülich-Berg.
However, since Eberhard von Limburg, who had become the lender of the neighboring Bergisches Amt Beyenburg , still had legal claims, the castle and lordship did not become the final property of Duke Adolf VII von Jülich-Berg until after his death on November 12, 1427. To acquire Eberhard's daughter Mathilda, Adolf took out loans, to secure them he pledged the income from the Elberfeld estate and half of the income from the Cronenberg estate to the lender. The Elberfeld Office was set up soon afterwards and the lender was appointed as a bailiff .
The " Freedom " settlement that emerged after the castle developed from a Burgmann settlement . First of all, one has to assume a settlement for serfs , then ministerials as residents. In the late Middle Ages , the community emancipated itself and developed a dynamic life of its own with its own economy, mainly the bleaching trade. As its name suggests, the settlement had a certain amount of tax exemption and self-determination.
As a defense system, the castle probably only existed between 1350 and 1500. From 1550 to 1647, an expanded city wall surrounded freedom, which was then demolished at the request of the citizens.
On April 18, 1536, Freiheit and the castle fell victim to a fire. The fire was caused by a burning thatched roof in freedom, accidentally triggered by a certain Eckhardt Wichelingshaußen, who left a burning fuse unattended. The bourgeois settlement was quickly rebuilt, but the castle remained in ruins. In 1597 Berg redeemed the pledge and took possession of the office, freedom and castle ruins.
Laying down the castle
In 1603, their land was leveled, measured, parceled out and sold in 1605. A block of houses was built, which for some time continued to be called a castle. The streets “Turmhof” and “Burgstraße” are still a reminder of past history. The street name Wall , on the other hand, is due to the city fortifications. During construction work in 2011, the foundations of the city wall and the mill gate were exposed. The former Elberfeld town hall , which today houses the Von der Heydt Museum , and its predecessor buildings were also built in the castle area. The historical administrative center retained its function for centuries until the new Elberfeld town hall on Neumarkt was inaugurated in 1900.
Architecture and Archaeological Findings
There are hardly any remains of the Niederungsburg , now a castle stable , and there are no representations of the building. Therefore, one can only speculate about the shape and appearance on the basis of the plan of the parcelling of the castle area in 1605. From analogies one can certainly assume the development from an agricultural property to a property fortified by a moat and rampart. However, this castle will not have fulfilled fortification purposes, but rather a simple residential and administrative building with stone foundations and wooden structures.
According to a Wuppertal jeweler, a vault of the old Elberfeld castle complex is said to have survived under various buildings and is now used by the jeweler as a sales room.
During construction work in May 2010, the remains of the wall and sediments from a trench came to light. In an initial assessment, the archaeologist Michelle-Carina Forrest said that during the excavations around the old Elberfeld town hall in the eastern area of the “tower courtyard”, “a 1.70 m wide foundation made of old slate” was encountered. In view of the mighty wall, it is quite possible that this foundation could be related to the old Elberfeld castle complex, especially because the foundations reach so deep into the earth and because a dark, clayey mass of earth was discovered where it is According to the first assumptions, the ditch around the former moated castle could have been backfilled.
However, after another section of the wall appeared in the progress of the excavation work at the intersection of “Poststrasse” and “Schöne Gasse” (foundation width: a good two meters), the trench can only be assumed a few meters further east. The two remains of the foundation, which, in accordance with the projection of the Johann von der Waye map on today's maps, are interpreted as the foundation walls of the main building of Elberfeld Castle, currently allow the assumption that this is a light measure in width - with length still unknown of 15.3 meters.
Presumed foundation of the western outer wall (towards the castle courtyard) of the main building of Elberfeld Castle
(status May 17, 2010)
Part of the eastern outer wall (towards the moat) of the main building of Elberfeld Castle (status May 25, 2010)
Siegburg ceramics from the area of Elberfeld Castle; found after the Second World War while excavating the cellar at Poststr. 14, the so-called "Moserhaus", presumably from the backfilling of the former moat
See also
- Elverfeldt (noble family)
- List of castles and palaces in Wuppertal
- List of castles, palaces and fortresses in North Rhine-Westphalia
literature
- Hermann Kießling: Castle and Freedom Elberfeld. 1550-1650. A study of the settlement history based on the most important sources. Bergisch-Märkischer Genealogischer Verlag, Wuppertal-Vohwinkel 1972.
- Hermann Kießling: Elberfeld Castle. In: Michael Metschies (Ed.): Aristocratic seats , castles, fixed houses in Wuppertal (= contributions to the history and local history of the Wuppertal. Vol. 23, ISSN 0522-6678 ). Born-Verlag, Kassel 1973.
Individual evidence
- ^ Portrait of the vault on the website of a jeweler
- ↑ Report in the Westdeutsche Zeitung online on May 14 , 17 , 19 and 20, 2010 .
