Castle mountains

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Castle mountains
Location of the former main building

Location of the former main building

Creation time : around 1060
Castle type : Hilltop castle
Conservation status: Castle hill, small remains of walls
Standing position : Counts, dukes
Construction: Quarry stone
Place: Odenthal - Altenberg
Geographical location 51 ° 3 '4 "  N , 7 ° 7' 44"  E Coordinates: 51 ° 3 '4 "  N , 7 ° 7' 44"  E
Berge Castle (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Castle mountains
Artificial hill in the castle complex
Exposed quarry stone wall in the flank of the artificial hill
3D model of the castle stable

The mounds in Odenthal - Altenberg the first fortified headquarters was of the noble family of the Counts (later Dukes) of mountain . The remains of the hilltop castle site located on a steep mountain hill on Dhünn shore and are now considered archaeological monument protected.

History of origin

The Burgplatz was in Deutzgau in the west of the Rheinisch-Bergisch district in the area of ​​the municipality of Odenthal . The Keldachgau given by older historians as the location of the castle does not apply according to current opinion, as this Gau only included areas on the left bank of the Rhine. Berge Castle, of which the ruins can still be seen today, was probably built around 1060. It was built by the father of the son, Count Adolf I von Berg , who was later named Count . From 1080 the family was nicknamed “de Berge” (Latinized “de monte”). In 1133 the Counts of Berg moved to their new castle Neuenberge (later called Schloss Burg ) in Burg an der Wupper .

Count Adolf II began in 1133 at the site of the previously partially demolished castle in agreement with his pious brother Eberhard with the construction of the "Monastery of the Old Mountain" (in other sources: "Monasterium Sanctae Mariae de Berge") for a delegation by twelve monks from the Cistercian monastery Morimond in Brabant-Burgundy. Until the planned completion, they resided in the remains of the old ancestral castle under the leadership of Abbot Berno. In the course of their renovation work, they expanded the plateau to double the area by backfilling on the southern slope.

A short time later, however, the construction of the monastery was stopped and moved to the valley. The reason was the better conditions on the river Dhünn for compliance with the Cistercian building and living regulations. In 1145 the new Altenberg monastery , for which material from the old fortress was broken, was finally completed to the extent that the first monastery church was consecrated that year. The two rocky mounds, on each of which a building stood, and a few remains of the wall remained of the old castle complex.

Description of the castle mountains

A description in the yearbooks of the Association of Friends of Antiquity in the Rhineland reports the condition of the castle in 1879:

“In the parish of Odenthal, Mülheim district, east of the former Altenberg Abbey, there is an old German fortification known as 'Erbericher old castle' on a wooded mountain not far from the Dünnbach. We see here first a ditch, partially destroyed, with a wall behind it, drawn from the northern slope of the mountain over its surface to the edge of the southern one. A hundred paces further there is a similar one, which is 96 paces long, and 90 paces further we find another one 112 paces long. Immediately behind this are two ditches and two walls. "

The description of Kombüschen and his assumption of graves is incomprehensible. Erberich Castle is described here. It is located west of Altenberg. The Alde Borch - Aldborch - Aldenborch - Burg Berge is located south of Altenberg.

Excavations in 1981

In 1981 an archaeological investigation of the site took place, which provided evidence of the location of Berge Castle and an approximate plan of the former development. Then the dirt road runs along the castle through the former moat that was destroyed when the road was built. The plateau on the castle hill represents the former castle courtyard, the elevation made of naturally grown rock probably served as the foundation of the main house. The largest elevation on the castle grounds is interesting: an artificial hill, probably after which the counts "von Berge" named themselves and after which the Bergisches Land is now named.

Since both the Counts of Berg and the Cistercians planned to vacate the castle, large and valuable finds were neither expected nor found during the excavation. In the former rubbish heaps on the steep flanks of the castle hill, however, in addition to lots of broken glass and kitchen waste, some interesting pieces could also be secured. These include a game die made of animal bones, a game stone made of bone, a gold-plated two-part pendant (possibly from a horse harness) and a few coins. Tiles from Italy and lead from lead glazing testify to a certain wealth of the counts.

Current condition

The remains of the castle preserved above ground are small and only indistinctly recognizable. These are old quarry stone walls with still recognizable remains of mortar . Attempted robbery excavations made it clear that the outer walls of the castle still exist underground and that the artificial hill, the highest point on the castle grounds, has a bricked underground. The entire area is a nature reserve and may only be entered in groups with the approval of the district administration of the Rheinisch-Bergisches Kreis in Bergisch Gladbach and accompanied by a guide who has the appropriate permission from the district administration.

Ground monument

Berge Castle was entered as ground monument no. 4 in the list of ground monuments in Odenthal .

literature

  • Matthias Untermann: The excavations at Berge Castle. Rheinland-Verlag, Cologne 1984, ISBN 3-7927-0806-X .

Web links

Commons : Burg Berge  - Collection of images

swell

  1. ↑ Manfred Groten. In: LVR / Portal Rheinische Geschichte. The Rhineland in the High Middle Ages . Section 1.3 County Constitution
  2. ^ Yearbooks of the Society of Friends of Antiquity in the Rhineland. on: archive.org