Esch-Sauer Castle
The Castle Esch-Sauer ( lux . Buerg Esch-Sauer ) is a Luxembourg hilltop castle in Esch in Canton Wiltz , with origins dating back to the 10th century and today as ruins remains.
history
The rock on which the castle is based was acquired by Meginold in 927. Before it was owned by the Stavelot Abbey . Not much is known from this time, only that Meginold's descendants - Gottfried and Heinrich - left the castle built here to go to the first crusade (1096-1099). In the 14th century the castle went out of family ownership and was divided between three families in the area: Brandenbourg , Kronenburg and Falkenstein.
The first building was - as is common in castle construction at the time it was built - a simple, square keep , which still towers today. The strategic justification for the castle lies in the ford that allowed the passage of the Sauer here . In the Gothic architectural style, the castle was extended significantly towards the north between the 12th and 14th centuries, mainly through additional fortified castle buildings, some of which were terraced into the rock form. Around the 14th century the village at the foot of the rock became increasingly important. In order to guarantee the security of the serfs, a wall was built around the hamlet, the shape of which was followed by the future building of houses. In the 15th century, a round tower tower was built south of the original keep. Between it and the keep is a moat 30 m wide and 20 m deep. In the Renaissance there was less interest in the castle. However, the entrance gate in the north has been renewed.
The three family houses kept the castle in good condition until the French Revolution (which spread as far as Luxembourg). In the middle of the 19th century, the farmers of the village administered the bulwark. They mended the roofs with thatch and in other ways, in a rather indifferent spirit, what the famous French writer Victor Hugo called the " vengeance of the village on the rule ". When the state bought it in 1893, it was already in ruins.
Renovation and extensions in modern times
Between 1903 and 1906 the architect Charles Arendt was commissioned to rebuild the keep and the castle chapel . He also invented the bell tower that he gave to the chapel; Castle chapels usually did not have a bell tower. Various ornaments made of red sandstone were reconstructed for the interior. The rest of the castle was only saved from further deterioration. The roofing of the chapel also overlooked the fact that its roof was probably originally used as a gun turret ; Arches surround the semicircular building.
swell
- François Reinert: The castles and palaces of Luxembourg. Vincent Merckx Editions, Brussels 2008.
Web links
Coordinates: 49 ° 54 ′ 39.7 ″ N , 5 ° 56 ′ 3.7 ″ E