Gemen Castle

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The water castle Gemen, view from the south
Aerial view of the main castle (2014)

The Gemen on sale in the Münsterland parkland in the former swamp area of the river Aa . Even if the name suggests otherwise, the complex is now a castle . Its former castle freedom gave today's Borken district of Gemen in North Rhine-Westphalia its name.

The castle emerged from the gradual reconstruction of a more than 900 year old moated castle , which was built by the noble lords of Gemen , one of the most influential Westphalian aristocratic families of the time. It stands on two islands that are surrounded by an extensive system of forces. The castle was the center of the Gemen rule .

Residents and owners

middle Ages

In 962 a farm called Gamin was first mentioned in a document as a bailiwick of the Vreden women 's monastery . Its owner at the time, named Mathilde, was able to trace her ancestry back to Duke Widukind . Since 1100, the Ghemene has been documented with Bernhardus , that the Vredener bailiffs named themselves after their ancestral seat.

Since the 12th century, the history of the Lords of Gemen has been characterized by constant disputes with the Prince-Bishops of Münster , who were also secular rulers of this region from that time. In order to preserve their imperial immediacy , the castle owners repeatedly successfully entered into changing alliances, for example with the counts and later dukes of Kleve , the archbishop of Cologne and the imperial city of Dortmund .

As early as the second half of the 13th century, the Gemen rule had expanded considerably through a clever marriage policy and victorious feuds against the neighbors. When Heinrich III. von Gemen became head of the family in 1370, the rapid rise of the Gemener to one of the most important noble families in Westphalia began. Heinrich acquired the castle from his liege lord and made it an allodial for his family. It was also he who had the facility expanded until 1411. An inscription stone still preserved today names him and his wife Katharina von Bronkhorst as the builders.

Heinrich's son Johann II successfully continued his father's policy and was able to expand his dominion in the west to Gelderland . When his son Heinrich IV died in 1492 without a male heir, the castle and rule came to Count Johann IV of Holstein-Schaumburg and Sternberg through the marriage of Cordula von Gemen .

Modern times

His grandson Jobst II, a cousin of William of Orange , introduced the Lutheran Reformation in Gemen from 1560 and thus laid the foundation for one of the oldest Protestant communities in Westphalia. Because Jobst II also supported the Dutch fight for freedom against Catholic Spain, Gemen was besieged and sacked in 1568 by Fernando Álvarez de Toledo , Duke of Alba. However, the rule fared differently in the Thirty Years War . Jobst-Hermann, Jobst II's grandson, managed to keep Gemen almost harmless during the chaos of war.

However, when Jobst-Hermann died unmarried in 1635, inheritance disputes broke out over the rule, in the course of which Jobst-Hermann's aunt, Countess Agnes von Limburg-Styrum , abbess of Vreden, was able to prevail. A short time later she ceded her inheritance to her nephew, Hermann Otto I. von Limburg-Styrum . His son Adolf Ernst von Limburg-Styrum tried unsuccessfully to reintroduce Catholicism in Gemen .

In 1694, Hermann Otto II von Limburg-Styrum succeeded in finally settling the centuries-long dispute with the diocese of Münster over sovereignty for his family through a process before the Reich Chamber of Commerce. On September 15, 1700, there was then a settlement between the two warring parties and the rule became imperial. It was also Hermann-Otto II who had the former fortification converted into a castle.

Lithograph from 1860

In 1772 Damian August Philipp von Limburg-Styrum , Prince-Bishop of Speyer , was enfeoffed with the glory of Gemen. When the latter then renounced the property in favor of Count Ferdinand Menrad von Limburg-Styrum-Illeraichen, Count Simon August von Lippe-Detmold also raised claims to Gemen, as his family had become the legal successor of the Counts of Holstein-Schaumburg. He sent a detachment of soldiers disguised as peasants to the castle and had it occupied in a flash. It was not until January 1776 that the people of Limburg succeeded in recapturing the complex, as a severe winter had frozen the moats and the castle was accessible from all sides.

In 1800 Baron Alois Sebastian von Bömelberg zu Erolzheim inherited Burg and Herrschaft Gemen. On July 12, 1806, the rule was mediatized and incorporated into the Principality of Salm . Thus it lost its imperial immediacy and only eight years later - as a result of the Vienna Congress - Prussia struck.

On May 24, 1822, the palace complex underwent its last change of ownership for the time being. In that year she acquired the imperial baron Johann Ignatz Franz von Landsberg-Velen , who was raised to the rank of count by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia on October 15, 1840 and then called himself Count von Landsberg-Velen and Gemen. His family still owns the castle today.

Todays use

back

On the initiative of the then Bishop of Münster Clemens August Graf von Galen , the castle was leased to the Diocese of Münster in 1946 and has been used as its youth education center ever since. The so-called " Jugendburg Gemen" is known far beyond the borders of North Rhine-Westphalia and with over 200 beds and more than 20 seminar rooms is one of the five largest facilities of its kind in Germany. She is looked after by the chaplain of the castle on behalf of the church. In addition to many courses from a wide variety of providers, there are mainly "days of religious orientation" under the supervision of a pedagogical team. In addition, the Eucharist is celebrated on Saturday evenings in the Michaelskapelle and on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the mornings (7.45 a.m.) in the von Galen Chapel.

A major focus of the work on the castle are the musical and cultural offers. These were encouraged at the beginning of the work of the Jugendburg by committed music teachers who then set up the “Werkgemeinschaft Musik im Bistum Münster e. V. ”. The main annual activity is the choir and instrumental week, which takes place in the first week of the autumn break in North Rhine-Westphalia. Since 1951, an average of 120 people have met to make music together across generations in various workshops.

Gemen Castle is also a stop on the 100 Castles Route today . The cycle path connects the castles in the Münsterland on 4 circuits .

Building history

It can be assumed that Gemen Castle was built as a motte in the 9th or 10th century . However, it was first mentioned in a document in 1274. Today's palace complex is a successor to this first castle, whose building history is essentially divided into five sections.

13th century - expansion to a ring castle

The chapel or battery tower

In the middle of the 13th century, the castle was expanded into a ring castle under Goswin von Gemen . The built round keep , the foundation of which is still preserved today, had two meter thick walls and was integrated into an almost circular curtain wall . There was probably a residential building inside the wall, but this can no longer be determined with certainty. Archaeologists assume that this complex was the successor to a tower hill castle or moth . At that time, the freedom of the castle - consisting of the houses of castle men, craftsmen and servants - had already grown to the size of today's town center.

14th Century

Presumably in the 14th century, the extension of the main castle was almost doubled by the construction of a new curtain wall, giving it a polygonal floor plan. A small two-storey palace with a floor area of 8 by 17.5 meters was as much for development as probably a rectangular residential tower in the north. The shape of the possible buildings in the west of the core castle can no longer be determined today.

15th century

Under Henry III. Gemen Castle got its current size. By 1411 he had a three-storey hall with a large hall and vaulted cellar built in the west and increased the ball tower (the former keep) to four storeys. The building of the so-called battery or chapel tower from bricks goes back to him. A Bermuda wall in the south, west and north gave the curtain wall additional stability.

16./17. century

The portal

After some minor construction work in the 16th century, such as the construction of a clock tower in the courtyard (probably 1571), the complex was essentially given its present-day appearance as a castle around 1700 under Hermann-Otto II of Limburg-Styrum. Small architectural changes to the Gothic exterior gave Gemen a slightly baroque nuance. The portal on the north wing was completely redesigned in the classic Roman style. A specialty in Westphalia are the two lion statues flanking the portal, which walk down the stairs. In addition, the castle was covered with a yellowish colored plaster in 1692 and divided by white paint lines as a joint division. Inside, in the course of this construction work, the large rooms were divided into smaller cabinets and equipped with chimneys and stuccoed . As a result, there is now only the so-called knight's hall in Gemen Castle, a larger hall in the northern part of the western hall.

19./20. century

Construction activities in the 19th and 20th centuries were mainly limited to minor remodeling and modernization work, as the facility did not suffer any significant damage during the Second World War . Only the outer bailey was given a completely new shape. The old buildings were destroyed by a fire in 1865, so that they were rebuilt from 1882 in the neo- renaissance style. At the same time, today's representative castle entrance was created.

The last noteworthy building project took place in 1950 on the ground floor of the East Palace with the establishment of the Michael's Chapel.

Lords of the castle

Lords of Gemen

  • up to approx. 1092 Werembold I. (* approx. 1035; † after 1092)
  • approx. 1092 to approx. 1118 Bernhard, son of Werembold I (* approx. 1065; † after 1118)
  • approx. 1118 to approx. 1151 Werembold II, son of Bernhard (* approx. 1097; † after 1151)
  • approx. 1151 to approx. 1163 Lambert, son of Werembold II. (* approx. 1122; † after 1163)
  • approx. 1163 to approx. 1203 Israel, brother Lamberts (* approx. 1125; † after 1203)
  • approx. 1203 to approx. 1234 Heinrich I, son of Israel (* approx. 1165; † after 1234)
  • approx. 1234 to approx. 1250 Goswin II, son of Heinrich I (* approx. 1197; † after 1250)
  • approx. 1250 to approx. 1280 Gottfried III., son of Goswin II. (* approx. 1220; † after 1287)
  • approx. 1280 to approx. 1317 Goswin III., son of Gottfried III. (* approx. 1245; † after 1316)
  • approx. 1317 to approx. 1319 Hermann I, son of Goswin III.
  • approx. 1319 to approx. 1345 Heinrich II. son of Hermann I.
  • approx. 1345–1368 Johann I, son of Heinrich II. († before 1369)
  • 1368–1424 Heinrich III., Son of John I († March 26, 1424)
  • 1424–1455 Johann II, son of Heinrich III. (* 1391/1401; † after March 8, 1458)
  • 1455 to approx. 1458 Johann II. And Heinrich IV., Son of Johann II. (* After 1417; † 1492)
  • approx. 1458–1492 Heinrich IV. With the death of Heinrich IV. the line of noblemen and dynasts of Gemen in the male line expires.

Heinrich IV bequeaths the rule of Gemen to his daughter Cordula, who brings it to her husband Johann IV von Holstein-Schaumburg.

Count of Holstein-Schaumburg

Jobst Hermann dies celibate, Gemen falls through his relative, Countess Agnes von Limburg-Styrum , Abbess von Vreden, to her nephew Hermann Otto.

Count of Limburg

After Ferdinand August's death, Gemen fell to her husband Baron Ignaz von Bömelberg through his aunt Isabella Charlotte.

Barons of Bömelberg

  • 1800–1822 Baron Alois Sebastian von Bömelberg zu Erolzheim

In 1806, through the provisions of the Rhine Confederation Act, Gemen fell to Prince Friedrich IV. Zu Salm-Kyrburg , and in 1815 to Prussia through the Congress of Vienna.

In 1822, Alois Sebastian von Bömelberg sold the estate of Gemen to Johann Ignatz Franz von Landsberg-Velen.

Counts of Landsberg-Velen and Gemen

Stamp series castles and palaces

In 1977 the Deutsche Bundespost dedicated a definitive series to the subject of castles and palaces . The stamp added in January 1979 with a value of 25 Pfennig depicts the Gemen Castle. The motif was also adopted by the Deutsche Bundespost Berlin .

The brands are listed under the Michel numbers 996 (FRG) and 587 (Berlin) and were designed by Heinz Schillinger .

literature

  • Ursula Brebaum, Ulrich Reinke: Gemen (= Westfälische Kunststätten . Issue No. 69). 2nd Edition. Westfälischer Heimatbund, Münster 2005, ISSN  0930-3952 ( extract as Word document ).
  • Alexander Duncker : The rural residences, castles and residences of the knightly landowners in the Prussian monarchy together with the royal family, house, Fideicommiss and Schattull goods. Volume 5. Duncker, Berlin 1857-1859, o. S. ( digitized ).
  • Hans Leenen: The rule of Gemen in pictures and documents. Aschendorff, Münster 1981, ISBN 3-402-05188-5 .
  • Eberhard Gustav Neumann: Castle Gemen (= large architectural monuments . Issue no. 270). 5th edition. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich 1995.
  • Bernhard Wormland: Jugendburg Gemen - youth education center of the diocese of Münster. 2nd Edition. Heimatverein Gemen, Borken 1996.

Web links

Commons : Burg Gemen  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bernd Fischer: Moated castles in the Münsterland. DuMont, Cologne 1980, ISBN 3-7701-1195-8 , p. 42.
  2. ↑ a b c d Ursula Brebaum, Ulrich Reinke: Gemen . 2005.

Coordinates: 51 ° 51 ′ 47 "  N , 6 ° 51 ′ 59.6"  E