Herrenbröl castle ruins

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Herrenbröl castle ruins
Herrenbröl castle ruins - view from the east, in the foreground the access to the vaulted cellar

Herrenbröl castle ruins - view from the east, in the foreground the access to the vaulted cellar

Creation time : around 1200 to 1300
Castle type : Niederungsburg
Conservation status: ruin
Construction: Quarry stone
Place: Ruppichteroth
Geographical location 50 ° 50 '16.5 "  N , 7 ° 27' 2.7"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 50 '16.5 "  N , 7 ° 27' 2.7"  E
Height: 150  m above sea level NHN
Herrenbröl castle ruins (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Herrenbröl castle ruins
Herrenbröl castle ruins - tower stump
Basic map of Herrenbröl Castle in 1828 with the shared ownership of those of Martial. The upper half of the island and the lands on the left belonged to Franz Clemens von Martial, the lower half and the land on the right belonged to Franz Adolph von Martial. The building above the stream is Mayor Heismann's mill.
Herrenbröl castle ruins, aerial view (2015)

The Herrenbröl castle ruins are the ruins of a small castle in North Rhine-Westphalia . It belongs to the municipality of Ruppichteroth and is located in the Rhein-Sieg district in the Bergisches Land . The Niederungsburg lies in the valley of the Waldbrölbach at a height of 150  m above sea level. NHN between the districts of Ruppichteroth and Schönenberg north of the Nutscheid ridge .

history

The history of the castle is largely in the dark. The complex was built as a knight's seat as early as the 13th century . A few remains, such as the castle fountain, date from this time .

The castle was first mentioned on October 8, 1417 in connection with goods and rights in the parish of Eitorf . In the 15th century the tower and other parts of the castle were probably built by the von Scheidt family .

Lords of Martial

In the middle of the 18th century the castle came from the marriage of the imperial free lady Maria Caroline von Neukirchen called Nievenheim to the baron Carl Georg von Martial zu Birlinghoven, the grandson of the field marshal and adjutant general to Count Palatine Johann Wilhelm , Maximilian Carl von Martial zu Veynau . The legacy of Franz Ferdinand Clemens von Martial (born October 6, 1780 Birlinghoven , † May 14, 1831 Herrenbröl) was half of Herrenbröl. Eight weeks after the death of his first wife Anna Catharina, née Stahl, he married Anna Gertrud Happ, with whom he had a daughter, Johanna Magdalena. After his death, both inherited half of his inheritance. When the daughter died at the age of eight, the widow received three parts of the daughter's inheritance, the other 9 parts went to the still living children of the deceased brother-in-law Franz Adolph von Martial. The entire inheritance with the house, outbuildings and 40 acres of land was sold to Carl Hundhausen from Ruppichteroth-Oeleroth for 750 thalers on May 2, 1833 . Of this, 510 thalers went directly to creditors and the notary expressed concerns, as the inheritance shares of two underage children were also sold. The widow received the property of Wilhelm Heimann in Ruppichteroth-Kammerich instead of cash, so that the partial ownership of Herrenbröl Castle was immediately free. She handed this property over to her brother-in-law Anton Hemmerle on November 30th, 1837, who was supposed to take care of her. On November 23, 1833 Hundhausen sold the property to Conrad Becker from Breitscheidt for 1,070 thalers. The children of Conrad Becker sold their inheritance shares, as did the children of Franz Adolph von Martial, who each had inherited only 10 thalers and were inherently in debt. When one of the children, the seamstress Gertrud von Martial, came of age, she obtained legal aid with the help of the Poor Law and persistently sued for compensation for the forced sale, since the buildings would have been worth more and there would have been limestone on the site for 3,000 talers . A comparison was made between Carl Hundhausen and Gertrud von Martial, who sold her recovered share for 30 thalers to her brother Josef von Martial, who was unable to hold the property due to the general decline of the lower nobility.

investment

Sacred

There was once a small chapel on the castle grounds, where the last martial ceremony was celebrated in 1796. In addition, the gentlemen zu Herrenbröl had patronage of the collegiate church of Schönenberg until 1826 .

Communal ownership

In 1994 the municipality of Ruppichteroth acquired parts of the site with the castle ruins and had the house built by Carl Georg von Martial or his sons at the beginning of the 19th century, which stood on the cellar of the castle's former, destroyed manor, demolished.

Monument preservation

The Office for Soil and Monument Preservation of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia then began digging on the castle grounds and measuring the old facility.
It was found that the castle was much larger than expected and that remains would probably also be found on the neighboring properties that are not owned by the city. It is also certain that there was a moat on the south side , which still existed as a pond in the middle of the 19th century.

The castle was never of political or strategic importance and was destroyed by the French at the latest at the time of the occupation of the Rhineland by the French around 1807.

Today the remainder of a castle tower, which towers around seven meters, is the dominant feature of the castle. In addition, only the rather modest ruins of the castle buildings, an approx. 23 meter long surrounding wall and a vaulted cellar made of quarry stone, as well as some wall foundations are preserved. The ruin standing in a valley floor is freely accessible at all times and is a listed building .

literature

  • Günter Benz: The long struggle for inheritance . In: Bürgererverein Ruppichteroth (Ed.): Annual issue 2002 . Much-Bruchhausen 2002.
  • District Administrator of the Rhein-Sieg District (Ed.): Yearbook of the Rhein-Sieg District 2007 . Edition Blattwelt, Niederhofen 2006, ISBN 3-936256-24-1 .

Web links