Castle rock

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Castle rock

The castle Fels (lëtz .: Buerg Fiels) is located in the municipality of Fels in Luxembourg . It was probably built in the 12th century . Today only a fraction of the castle buildings have been preserved and restored for visitors .

Model of the Fels Castle
Castle entrance
Bailey of Fels Castle
Main castle of Fels Castle

History and choice of site

By archaeological investigations, the 1176 documentary occupied castle rock was dated to the first half of the 12th century. Defense-related reasons were decisive for the choice of the site. The construction as a spur system secured by steep rocky slopes refers to the defensive intentions of the builder. In addition to the aspect of defense, economic as well as territorial-political reasons have probably played a role for the building there. There are many indications that there was a regional riverside road ( Luxembourg - Diekirch ) in the Ernztal in the early Middle Ages and also the crossing point of another local road connection ( Mersch - Echternach ), as well as the economic use of the small river by fishing and milling operations.

Familys

Three families shaped the life of the castle Fels and the surrounding area.

The rock

Since then, no source has given precise information about the origins of the lordly von Fels family. The reasons for the settlement of this noble family in this area are also unknown. The possibility of a relationship with the von Ouren family, south of St Vith, is being considered by historians. Under Johann II von Fels, the youngest son of Arnold IV von Fels, the power of the von Fels dynasty reached its peak. As a loyal vassal of the House of Luxemburg, as well as his ancestors before him, Johann managed to combine the dignities of the banner office, the truchess and the judge judge in one person. However, Johann II was not the sole master of the Fels Castle. His aunt Jeannette and her husband, Lord and Count Johann von Homburg, received part of the castle after the death of Johann I, brother of Jeannette and uncle Johann II. Between 1338 and 1345 Johann II's sisters, Irmgard and Mathilde, who married the brothers Friedrich and Conrad von Homburg, also received part of the castle. Thus Haus von Fels and Haus Homburg were both owners of the castle. The village of Fels experienced an economic boom under Johann II. On March 25, 1343, Fels received permission from John the Blind, King of Bohemia and Count of Luxembourg, to set up four looms in rock. This act seems of paramount importance at the time, as residents of other localities were forced to share a single loom. Johann II died in 1359 without any descendants and so the first line of the von Fels dynasty died out with him. His death led to an inheritance dispute between his heirs, Friedrich and Conrad von Homburg. These claimed a large part of the property. Johann II was followed by his cousin Johann III, the last offspring of the older line of the Fels dynasty and son of Johann I and Jutta von Reuland. Johann III. thus ensured the continuation of this line. Johann IV. Also called Johann the Younger, son of Johann III. and Lucien von Walram was after the death of Johann III. new lord of the castle. John the Younger fought alongside Wenceslas I, Duke of Luxembourg. King Wenzel II later settled a dispute between the brothers Johann the Younger and Friedrich von der Fels and Count Arnold von Homburg that had arisen over their homes within the Fels Castle. As a result of financial deals between Johann the Younger and Arnold von Pittingen, the latter became the main owner of a new hall within the castle. Arnold had a chapel built, which was consecrated on July 13, 1386 to St. Peter of Milan. This hall came into the possession of the Lords of Criechingen through the marriage of his daughter Irmgards von Pittingen to Johann von Criechingen (Créhange). A family pact between the von Fels, von Homburg and von Manderscheid families triggered numerous succession and divisions between the von Fels, von Homburg, von Pittingen, von Criechingen, etc. families. As a result of these divisions, the castle fell into disrepair. In 1399, under the reign of Johann V, a second family pact, the so-called "Burgfrieden", was signed. This was completed as early as 1415. Johann V married Elsa von Heffingen and his eldest son Georg I was named Herr von Fels-Heffingen. However, after the numerous partitions, Georg I only owned 2/16 of the Fels Castle. Georg II von Fels-Heffingen and von Contern, grandson of George I, tried in vain to restore the honor and power of the old feudal lords of Fels in 1534 after the death of his father Arnold VI. But just a few years after his death, a fire in 1565 completely destroyed Fels Castle. Oswald von Fels-Heffingen, George II's son, who only owned some parts of the castle, tried to buy up the ruins of the castle, which had been destroyed in the fire. His rapid death thwarted this plan. His brother Paul von Fels-Heffingen and von Mersch continued Oswald's work. His plan was prevented by the large number of co-owners and the Fels Castle remained in ruins. Despite all the efforts of the other heirs of Fels, none of them succeeded in rebuilding them. The Fels castle then fell victim to stone robbers.

The Homburgers

The oldest part of the castle is the Homburg House. This can be seen in documents that say that the two sisters of Johann II, Irmgard and Mathilde, the brothers Friederich and Conrad von Homburg married between 1338 and 1345. This wedding made them lords of the castle. The Homburg House was built in the 1340s. The house itself probably consisted of two parts, one for each of the married couples. The Homburg house fell victim to a major fire in 1565 and has not yet been rebuilt.

Castle plan

The Chriechinger

The Chriechinger House is the only house that has been completely restored so far. It consists of three floors and a basement. The stairwell has five floors with several smaller chambers. On the eastern side there is a wooden extension at the level of the first floor. The castle's bakery and kitchen are on the ground floor. What is particularly interesting about the oven is that the steam does not disappear directly through the vertical chimney: the chimney makes a bend halfway and then runs horizontally outwards. Exactly above this horizontal part of the fireplace was the master's bedroom. There is also a fountain two meters in diameter in the kitchen. The so-called Chriechinger legend exists about this fountain .

Chriechinger House

Fels Castle in the 20th and 21st centuries

Fels Castle and the entire complex were bought by the Luxembourg state in 1979 and a large number of major restoration and consolidation works were then carried out. These measures were supplemented by photogrammetric recordings and archaeological investigations. In the autumn of 1990 violent storms swept over the Grand Duchy, these killed almost the entire tree population on the Elsebeth plateau, on which the castle is located. During an on-site inspection near the former castle chapel, human bone remains and some well-preserved skulls were discovered in several exposed root stocks. Excavations are still being carried out on the castle complex today. Today the beautiful, restored complex is visited by around 25,000 visitors annually and exhibitions are shown in the rooms of the Criechinger Haus. Fels Castle was and is the landmark of the small Luxembourg municipality of Fels.

This article or section needs to be revised: This literature section should be massively abridged, see Wikipedia: Literature # Selection , in particular “Any list of books as long as possible is not desirable. The works must deal with the topic of the lemma itself and not with related, more general or more specific topics. ”
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Secondary literature

  • Fels: The most beautiful country in the Gutland . In: Escher Tageblatt , August 6, 1932, p. 5.
  • The ruins of the chateau de Larochette . In: Luxemburger Wort , December 1, 1891, p. 2.
  • Bodo Bost: “Those who have young people have the future”: In 1912, Father Johann Lütgen (1868–1923) from Larochette built the largest seminary in South America . In: Die Warte , 27 = 2269 (2009): pp. 8–9.
  • Victor Dasburg: Le château fort de Larochette: Guide touristique pour la visite des ruines des anciens châteaux féodaux de Larochette . Ms. Faber, Mersch 1947.
  • Joseph Heintz: Existe depuis 250 ans: le manoir de Roebé à Larochette . In: Luxemburger Wort , 209, 1975, p. 5.
  • Joseph Heintz: Larochette-Fels-Fièls: The mighty stronghold rock . In: Heimat und Mission , 8/9, [s. l.] 1984, pp. 166-176.
  • Joseph Heintz: The parish Fels / Larochette . In: Heimat und Mission , 10, [s. l.] 1984, pp. 201-207.
  • Joseph Heintz: Déi Fielzer had close Eisebunn…: a hundred years ago the Jhangeli Chruchten rock was inaugurated . In: Luxemburger Wort , 35 1982, p. 11.
  • Antoine Namur: Le fils de Martin Reinert de Larochette devenu Somrou, Rajah de Sardannah dans le Mogol: Epître . Pierre Buck, Luxembourg [sd], p. 3.
  • J.-P. Nimax: Le Luxembourg pittoresque Larochette: le center de la Petite Suisse luxembourgeoise, Dans Guide de l 'Hôtel Ginter . J.-P. Nimax, Luxembourg [sd], p. 15.
  • Alfred E Prim: Meysemburg Castle, former manor house and Nazi spy center . In: De Feelser Babbeler , 2, Larochette 1983, pp. 34-37.
  • Mathias Tresch: Larochette: Le château et les seigneurs, le bourg et les bourgeois . In: Les cahiers luxembourgeois , 1-2, P. Schroell, Luxembourg 1938.
  • Vitalis Tschiderer: Étude sur le chemin de fer de l'Ernz: partie de Cruchten à Larochette . V. Buck, Luxembourg 1869, p. 8.
  • Jules Vannérus: La famille Schramm de Larochette, Ons Hémecht: Organ of the Association for Luxembourg History, Literature and Art, 22e a., Cah. 1 (janvier 1916), Sankt Paulus-Druckerei, Luxembourg 1916, pp. 38-46.
  • Jules Vannérus: La famille Schramm de Larochette, Ons Hémecht: Organ of the Association for Luxembourg History, Literature and Art, 22e a., Cah. 4 (1st avril 1916), Sankt Paulus-Druckerei, Luxembourg 1916, pp. 97-104.
  • Jules Vannérus: La famille Schramm de Larochette, Ons Hémecht: Organ of the Association for Luxembourg History, Literature and Art, 22e a., Cah. 5 (May 1, 1916), Sankt Paulus-Druckerei, Luxembourg 1916, pp. 137–141.
  • Jules Vannérus: La famille Schramm de Larochette, Ons Hémecht: Organ of the Association for Luxembourg History, Literature and Art, 22e a., Cah. 7 (1er juillet 1916), Sankt Paulus-Druckerei, Luxembourg 1916, pp. 194–197.
  • Jules Vannérus: La famille Schramm de Larochette, Ons Hémecht: Organ of the Association for Luxembourg History, Literature and Art, 22e a., Cah. 11 (November 1st, 1916), Sankt Paulus-Druckerei, Luxembourg 1916, pp. 321-324.
  • Jules Vannérus: La famille Schramm de Larochette, Ons Hémecht: Organ of the Association for Luxembourg History, Literature and Art, 26e a., Cah. 5-6 (mai-juin 1920), Sankt Paulus-Druckerei, Luxembourg 1920, pp. 78–81, 115-119, 146-151.
  • Jules Vannérus: La famille Schramm de Larochette, Ons Hémecht: Organ of the Association for Luxembourg History, Literature and Art, 27e a., Cah. 1-2 (1er janvier-février 1921), Sankt Paulus-Druckerei, Luxembourg 1921, pp. 16-22.
  • Charles de Vaulx: Larochette dans ses murs du 12e siècle: un témoin vivant: le manoir Heuardt de Roebé . In: La maison d'hier et aujourd'hui , 50, Association royale des demeures historiques de Belgique, [s. l.] 1981, pp. 70-83.
  • John Zimmer: Le château de Larochette (Grand-duché de Luxembourg): maison de Créhange, une résidence seigneuriale du XIVe siècle . In: Château Gaillard , XIV (1990): Actes du colloque international tenu à Najac (France), Caen: Center de recherches archéologiques médiévales, 1990, pp. 393-416.
  • John Zimmer: On the choice of the castle site using the examples of Luxembourg, Vianden, Befort and Fels . In: Château Gaillard , XVIII (1998), Actes du colloque international tenu à Gilleleje (Denmark), Center de recherches archéologiques médiévales, Caen 1998, pp. 265-268.
  • John Zimmer: The Rock Castle: Its Building History (éd. Les amis du château de Larochette), Sankt Paulus-Druckerei, Luxembourg 1990.
  • John Zimmer: On the excavations at Fels Castle , 40ième anniversaire de la chorale Sängerfënn, Sankt Paulus-Druckerei, Luxembourg 1990, pp. 172–175.
  • John Zimmer: The castles of the Luxembourg country (éd. Les amis du château de Larochette, Les amis de l'ancien château de Beaufort, Amis du château de Bourscheid, Amis du château de Vianden) Vol. 3, Sankt Paulus-Druckerei, Luxembourg 1996, pp. 76-82.

swell

  • Arnold, seigneur de Larochette, et Jutta, sa femme, aussi Jean, leur fils, font donation à la chapelle de St. Quirin, au château de Larochette, de leurs biens sis à Wies près d'Echternach, Archives nationales Luxembourg, In section Ancienne: cote: A-LII n ° 282, 26/03/1341.
  • Bernhart, seigneur de Larochette, Jean de Larochette, curé à Linster, et Arnolt de Larochette, frères, procèdent de commun accord au partage des successions pater- et maternelle. Bernhard obtient le château de Larochette, avec seigneurerie, biens fiefs et le bannergut etc., aussi Lymerscheit, Archives nationales Luxembourg, In section Ancienne, cote: A-LII n ° 2198, 15/12/1490.
  • Contrat de mariage entre Henri de Larochette et Aleidis d'Autel, Archives nationales Luxembourg, In section Ancienne: cote: A-LXV-6-126 / 1, 12/11/1425.
  • George, baron de Criechingen et de Pittingen, maréchal héréditaire du duché de Luxembourg et du comté de Chiny, déclare avoir été en procès avec son cousin, feu Wirich, baron de Crichingen et de Pittingen, conseiller, justicier des nobles et chevalier, au sujet entre autres de la seigneurie de Larochette, Archives nationales Luxembourg, In section Ancienne: cote: A-LII n ° 3448, 13/01/1589.
  • Henri de Larochette, chevalier, seigneur de Schengen, promet à Jean et à Pierre, frères, seigneurs de Larochette, ses neveux, de leur vendre tous ses droits au château de Schengen aux villages de Burren et de Besch avec dépendances, Archives nationales Luxembourg, In section Ancienne: cote: A-LII n ° 863, 05/11/1390.
  • Henri de Larochette, chevalier, seigneur de Schengen, déclare avoir fait un partage avec Jean, seigneur de Larochette, son neveu; il abandonne à celui-ci tous ses droits indivis sur le château et la seigneurie de Rulant avec dépendances, sur les dîmes de Uren, de Roitzscheit, le village de Herburen, Archives nationales Luxembourg, In section Ancienne: cote: A-LII n ° 943, 17/07/1395.
  • Jean, archevêque de Trèves, déclare avoir donné en fief à Arnold de Larochette en son nom et celui de Jean, son frère, la moitié du château de Siedlingen, une part du village du même nom et de ceux de Paltzel et Nennich, Archives nationales Luxembourg, In section Ancienne, cote: A-LII n ° 3013, 29/08/1558.
  • Larochette, Archives nationales Luxembourg, In section Ancienne: cote: A-XLIX-13, 19/10/1433.
  • Larochette, Archives nationales Luxembourg, In section Ancienne: cote: A-XLIX-13, 10/03/1710.
  • Paul de Larochette et Appollonie de Kerpen, sa femme, seigneur et dame de Larochette, Heffingen et Mersch, lui bailli à Remich et à Grevenmacher, déclarent avoir amodié à Adam Dhame de Larochette, leur maison et château de Larochette, Archives nationales Luxembourg, In Section Ancienne: cote: A-LII n ° 3548, 15/04/1598.
  • Sentence du conseil provincial de Luxembourg dans une affaire entre paul de Larochette, seigneur de ce lieu et de mersch, demandeur, contre les communs habitants de Beringen, Moesdorf et Gladbach; ceux-ci sont condamnés à coopérer par des corvées à la reconstruction du château de Mersch, Archives nationales Luxembourg, In section Ancienne: cote: A-LII n ° 3298, 14/07/1576.

Web links

Commons : Burg Fels  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ John Zimmer: On the choice of the castle building site using the examples of Luxembourg, Vianden, Befort and Fels . In: Château Gaillard , XVIII, Actes du colloque international tenu à Gilleleje (Denmark). Center de recherches archéologiques médiévales, Caen 1998, p. 265.
  2. ↑ John Zimmer: The Rock Castle: Your Building History (éd. Les amis du château de Larochette), Sankt Paulus-Druckerei, Luxembourg 1990, p. 11.
  3. ↑ Ibid., P. 12.
  4. ↑ Ibid., P. 13.
  5. ^ A b John Zimmer: The Rock Castle: Your Building History (éd. Les amis du château de Larochette), Sankt Paulus-Druckerei, Luxembourg 1990, p. 14.
  6. ↑ Ibid., P. 7.
  7. ↑ John Zimmer: The Castles of the Luxembourg Country (éd. Les amis du château de Larochette, Les amis de l'ancien château de Beaufort, Amis du château de Bourscheid, Amis du château de Vianden) Vol. 3, Sankt Paulus-Druckerei, Luxembourg 1996, p. 76.

Coordinates: 49 ° 47 '8 "  N , 6 ° 13' 0.5"  E