Montclair Castle

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Montclair Castle
Neu-Montclair on the Umlaufberg of the Saarschleife

Neu-Montclair on the Umlaufberg of the Saarschleife

Alternative name (s): Munzlar
Castle type : Hilltop castle
Conservation status: ruin
Standing position : Free nobles
Place: Mettlach
Geographical location 49 ° 29 '44 "  N , 6 ° 33' 28"  E Coordinates: 49 ° 29 '44 "  N , 6 ° 33' 28"  E
Height: 290  m above sea level NN
Montclair Castle (Saarland)
Montclair Castle

The castle Montclair ("Munzlar") ( lat. Mons clarus = light mountain) is a medieval castle ruin near Mettlach , a municipality in the Merzig-Wadern district ( Saarland ). The castle was one of the most important fortifications on the lower Saar in the Middle Ages and served to control the river as a traffic artery. With a length of almost 900 meters, the previous complex "Alt-Montclair", which was razed in 1351, was one of the largest castles of the High Middle Ages in Germany.

Location and geographical particularity

Neu-Montclair Castle on the castle hill surrounded by the Saar loop

The ruins of the hilltop castle are located around 290 meters above sea level on the high and elongated ridge surrounded by the Saar loop , the so-called castle hill south of Mettlach. The ridge is about five kilometers long, about 300 meters wide and rises 150 meters above the river bed of the Saar. The castle complex makes full use of the natural geographic conditions. The north-west and south side is secured by inaccessible steep slopes, on the land side it was protected by a ditch.

The narrowing of the Saar loop between Besseringen and Dreisbach is due to the fact that the Saar , which comes from the red sandstone of the Merzig basin, enters a section of hard quartzite rock here . It is not exactly clear why the Saar did not manage to choose the direct route between Besseringen and Mettlach in the past. One possibility would be that the Saar followed fissures of the Devonian quartzite, i.e. a weak zone, on its way . The pursuit of a weak rock over a length of more than two kilometers would be unusual, however. Investigations showed that in the Saar loop and its surroundings, the red sandstone is only unevenly superimposed on the quartzite below. When it was formed, the red sandstone did not cover a previous level, but rather buried an existing relief. The quartzite crevice must have existed earlier and the red sandstone that lay on top of it was cleared away by the waters of the Saar at this point. Together with the great Mettlacher Saarmäander, the Saar loop deepened at a later mountain elevation. The gradual incision of the Saar is clearly recognizable if you look at the terraced sliding slope opposite from the Cloef, i.e. the rock above the turning point of the Saar loop on the Prallhang .

This mountain spur surrounded by the Saar has a length of 5 km and at its highest point is 318 m above sea level, while the level of the Saar water is around 166 m above sea level. The entire area around the Saar loop is largely forest-covered. The forest is largely natural. A red beech forest usually grows on the red sandstone remains of the Saarschleife . Hornbeams and oaks predominate on the quartzite . On the steep slopes, the woods merge into a bush forest of hornbeam and oak. Due to the favorable climate, the evergreen sub-Mediterranean-Atlantic European holly also grows here . Only lichens and mosses settle on the so-called “Rosseln”, the scree slopes created by weathering.

history

Tower platform with the flag of the Merzig-Wadern district

Celts and Romans

The favorable location of the mountain spur around it prompted the Celtic indigenous population to build a protective wall two kilometers east of the medieval castle ruins of Montclair. The mountain spur of the Saar loop was probably used as a Celtic refuge. Traces of the Romans on the steep slope facing the sun are detectable.

Skiva Castle

(Location: 49 ° 29 ′ 44 ″ N, 6 ° 33 ′ 47 ″ E )

Archbishop Poppo von Babenberg (family tree of the Babenbergers , Stiftsgalerie Klosterneuburg , Lower Austria )

After the fall of the Roman Empire in the migration of peoples and the establishment of Frankish rule , an Ardennes noble family built the Skiva castle on the mountain spur, probably in the 9th century (also Skipha or Sissiva, word meaning: rock, slope, mountain, vg. "Skyfe" in the Old English ) as a tower hill castle . There were constant conflicts with the Archbishops of the Archdiocese and Archbishopric of Trier , who were feudal lords . In 1016 the Archbishop of Trier Poppo von Babenberg (term of office: 1016 to 1047) succeeded in conquering and destroying the castle complex of an unidentified lord Adalbert. The area of ​​the castle was subsequently a Trier fiefdom and, since 1052, a Luxembourg fiefdom. The remains of the artificially raised tower hill with the associated moats and ramparts are located about 350 meters east of today's castle ruins "Neu-Montclair".

Old Montclair

Remains of the walls of the Alt-Montclair castle

(Location: 49 ° 29 ′ 50 ″ N, 6 ° 33 ′ 9 ″ E )
At the end of the 12th century, Archbishop Arnold I of Trier subsequently granted permission for a castle that had already been built at that time. Since the corresponding document is clearly visible as a comparison between two disputing parties through a wavy silhouette and a corresponding Latin name as one of two copies, it is a settlement of previous disputes and not a "building permit", as it is today is mostly claimed. Unfortunately, the second copy has not survived. Since the contract is undated, only the term of office of Bishop Arnold, which was between the years 1169 and 1183, can be named as the issue period. In the deed, the archbishop “permits” the bailiff of the archbishop's court in Merzig , Arnulf von Walecourt , “on the town of Schien ” (Skiva) to build a castle near the ruins of the old Franconian hilltop castle as part of a feudal relationship . About the background and the more detailed circumstances of the disputes settled by the document between the diocese of Trier and Arnulf, who also called himself "Arnold de Monclir" since 1195 at the latest and was almost certainly married to a countess from the powerful house of the von Sponheim ( possibly a sister of Count Heinrich von Sponheim), nothing is known. One can conclude from this that Arnulf was subject to the bishop in a previous dispute and now had to submit to him.

The name “Montclair” appears for the first time in the spelling “Munkler” (Latin “mons clarus” = bright, light mountain) in a document from Pope Clement III. in 1190. In this, the pontiff confirms his possessions to Archbishop Johann I of Trier . The designations "Alt-Montclair" and "New Montclair" (see below) are not historical and only serve to differentiate between the two construction phases.

The son of Arnulf von Walecourt, Johann, who died childless in 1205, already called himself "von Moncler". Via his sister Irmgard / Ermengarde, the castle came into the possession of her second husband, Simon von Joinville and Vaucouleurs, in 1218 . With the death of Irmgard von Montclair in 1218 the fiefdom fell back to the Archbishop of Trier . Archbishop Theoderich von Wied gave it to the Lords of Joinville that same year . Since 1218 Simon called himself “Lord of Montclair”, since 1224 also called “ Seneschal of Champagne ”.

Both daughter Isabella († 1268 or later) brought Montclair Castle to the French noble dynasty of Clermont through marriage . Isabella's son Guy von Clermont also bears the name "Montclair". Guy became the actual founder of the knightly family of the "Lords of Montclair". His descendants now consistently called themselves "Lords of Montclair".

The legal relationships to the castle, the fiefs, income and other rights associated with it remained in dispute. In addition to the Archbishopric of Trier, the Duke of Lorraine in particular raised claims, so that in 1344 Guy's grandson Jakob von Montclair had to agree to a division of the rooms in the castle between him and Lorraine.

Baldwin von Luxemburg Baldwinbrunnen , Trier, statue by Ferdinand von Miller

Jakob also made a pact in a conflict with the powerful Archbishop of Trier Baldwin of Luxembourg (term of office: 1307–1354), brother of Henry VIII , uncle of John of Bohemia and great-uncle of Charles VI. , with the Duke of Lorraine, John I and the aspiring Trier citizenry. When the robber barons of Jacob of Montclair, who had allied himself with 49 knights and castle men, did not cease despite several attempts at arbitration, Archbishop Balduin announced the feud to him. From April 1351, Montclair, which Jakob had expanded into a strong fortress, was besieged on the orders of the Archbishop. Due to sufficient food supplies, the castle was able to defy the siege until November 1351 . Only when Baldwin had conquered the castle's water source, Jakob had to give up on December 22, 1351. Archbishop Baldwin then had the castle partially destroyed. Archbishop Balduin of Trier built Saarstein Castle in connection with the siege of Montclair . The castle, which was about 800 m from Montclair Castle above the Wellesbach Gorge, was last mentioned in 1439 in the possession of Arnold von Sierck. Only small remains of the wall have survived.

In 1368 the Trier Archbishopric and the Montclair dynasty reached an agreement and the feudal relationship was renewed. However, the partially destroyed castle was not allowed to be rebuilt. Jacob von Montclair's grandson, Johann von Montclair, died as a Luxembourg burgrave at Freudenburg Castle in 1427 . With him the dynasty of the lords of Montclair of the House of Clermont came to an end. This also ended the not inconsiderable influence of the gender of those from Montclair, who had been able to maintain a considerable position of power in the tension between Kurtrier, Luxembourg and Lorraine, which certainly also contributed to the formation of the Merzig-Saargau condominium of Kurtrier and Lorraine.

The castle "Alt-Montclair" developed over several construction periods into a large Romanesque hilltop castle of the high Middle Ages . The castle was located behind the current castle ruins of the castle "Neu-Montclair" in the direction of the Cloef . It had a length of approx. 450 meters and consisted of the outer bailey in the east, the main castle or core castle with keep , defense towers, entrance gate, chapel, residential building, stables and barns in the middle and the upstream defense systems in the west. All three sections were separated from each other by neck ditches . Together with the upstream area in the east, this resulted in a total length of approximately 900 meters. Thus Alt-Montclair was one of the largest castles of the High Middle Ages in Germany.

New Montclair

New Montclair Castle from a bird's eye view

The new castle from the early 15th century was a much smaller castle than its predecessor on the Saarschleifenbergsporn. The floor plan of the castle is a large rectangle of about 32 (east, access side) by 19 meters (west) side. The corners of the east side are protected by mighty round towers. The north-east roundabout has an outside diameter of 15 meters. It is flattened towards the steep slope over the Saar and towards the castle courtyard. From the bottom of the trench, the tower is still 22 meters high. The south-east roundabout with a height of 20 meters, which is also flattened towards the courtyard, has an outer diameter of 13 meters. The maximum wall thickness here is 4 meters. The gate in between is flanked by two stair towers. The upstream moat is 12 meters wide and spanned by a drawbridge. To protect the bridge there was a small gatehouse in the east. The corners of the west side are also secured by round towers, which, however, are smaller than the towers on the east side (diameter 5.60 and 4 meters; wall thickness 0.85 meters). In between was the former farm building of the castle. The courtyard has an area of ​​15 by 19 meters. The rear of the castle has a shallow moat. All towers were crowned by conical roofs with a circular tower walkway. The crenellated walls on corbels and arched friezes rested with intervening Fußscharten, ie loopholes with which you bombard enemies could from above through the base of the tower. The defensive walls had battlements.

The Montclair Castle thus shows strong architectural parallels to its larger “sister castle” Meinsberg , which was also built by Arnold VI in the years 1419 to 1436. by Sierck.

Lords of Sierck

Montclair Castle, reconstruction of the current castle ruins, view from the west
Location of the castle on a display board of the castle museum
"Sister castle " Meinsberg Castle (Malbrouck)

When Johann von Montclair had died as the Luxembourg burgrave of Freudenburg before 1428, the castle of Montclair passed through the marriage (around 1370) of his daughter Elisabeth of Montclair with Jacob II of Sierck (1365-1386) to the lords of Sierck about. Both son, Arnold VI. von Sierck (1366-1455), called himself in 1437 "Arnold von Sierck, Herr von Montclair".

In 1428 and 1433, Arnold obtained permission from the Archbishops of Trier Otto von Ziegenhain and Raban von Helmstatt to build a new castle over the Saar loop. The new Montclair Castle, construction of which began in 1428, was completed in 1439 - at the same time as Meinsberg Castle (Malbrouck) . The mortgage ceremony took place on November 25, 1428. However, like all his successors, Arnold did not live in Montclair Castle, but in the larger Meinsberg Castle near Mandern .

Arnold VI. von Sierck was the father of the Archbishop of Trier and Elector Jakob I von Sierck (term of office: 1439–1456) and Imperial Chancellor (term of office: 1441–1456) Emperor Friedrich III. Due to the position of power of Jakob I von Sierck, it can be explained that his father Arnold, although only a vassal of the Archbishopric of Trier and the Duchy of Lorraine, was elevated to the rank of imperial count on September 1, 1442 . This also made the lordship of Montclair an imperial county. Furthermore, the Lords of Sierck were only bailiffs at Montclair Castle and did not have full ownership rights.

Count of Sayn

Arnold VI. von Sierck had four sons. Of these, only Arnold VII (1425–1443) had legitimate children, but only girls (Adelheid, Elisabeth, Hildegard and Margarethe). This meant that the von Sierck family was doomed to extinction in the male line. On February 1, 1453, Elisabeth (1435–1489), the heiress of Meinsberg, Montclair, Freudenburg, Baldringen and the fiefs and cash income from Luxembourg and the Trier region, married Count Gerhard II von Sayn (1417–1493). Gerhard, who was canon in Cologne and prior in Aachen before his marriage , had 16 children with his wife.

When Gerhard died in 1493, his two sons Gerhard III inherited. (1454–1506) and Sebastian I. (1464–1498) the Sierckschen estates. Sebastian I. von Sayn received the castles Meinsberg and Montclair. However, the Duchy of Lorraine had taken back the Lorraine part of the lordship of Montclair at this time. When Sebastian I died in 1498, his brother Gerhard III took over. the guardianship of his children. When he came of age in 1515, Sebastian's son Johann IV von Sayn (1491–1529) received the castles of Montclair and Meinsberg.

Johann IV turned out to be a poor steward and when he died in 1529 he left his sons Johann V. von Sayn (1518–1560) and Sebastian II. Von Sayn (1520–1573) with considerable debts. Sebastian II received the castles of Montclair and Meinsberg after the death of his mother. When Sebastian died unmarried and childless in 1573, both castles fell to the children of his brother Johann V. The eldest son of Johann V, Adolf (1538–1568) married Maria von Mansfeld immediately after the death of his father and, on the occasion of this event, converted to the Protestant teachings of Martin Luther . His brother Heinrich IV von Sayn (1539–1606) received Montclair and Meinsberg in the inheritance, but remained childless in his marriage to a former nun .

Heinrich IV had Montclair Castle repaired and expanded by Peter Eschenbrenner from Mettlach between 1581 and 1583. Already during his lifetime he had handed over the castle to his niece Katharina Dorothea (1562–1609), the daughter of his brother Adolf, in 1601. The Trier elector and archbishop Lothar von Metternich protested against this and had Montclair Castle occupied by his Saarburg bailiff. Thereupon Katharina Dorothea appeared with a mounted entourage on August 19, 1603 in front of the castle and forcefully forced the castle occupants to pay homage to her as the owner.

At the urging of the Trier Archbishopric, Heinrich IV von Sayn had to cancel the donation to his niece. After the death of her uncle Heinrich in 1606, Katharina Dorothea tried again to assert her claims to Montclair with the archbishopric, but was unsuccessful. In 1604, the Duke of Lorraine, Charles III. , the donation to Katharina Dorothea and enfeoffed her with Montclair and Meinsberg.

Count of Sulz

Katharina Dorothea had married Karl Ludwig, Count zu Sulz , in 1585 and officially brought Montclair and Meinsberg into the marriage as a dowry , which would then have passed to the family of Sulz.

Both son Alwig (1586-1632) was enfeoffed after the death of his mother in Nancy by the Duke of Lorraine, Henry II , on April 2, 1609 with the castles of Montclair (Lorraine part) and Meinsberg. Alwig von Sulz was married to Katharina Ludmilla Popel von Lobkowitz . Both sons died in infancy. Alwig fell on February 18, 1632 near Bamberg in the fighting of the Thirty Years War as Colonel of Johann T'Serclaes von Tilly , the highest general of the Catholic League .

With the death of Heinrich IV von Sayn in 1606, the Trier elector and archbishop Lothar von Metternich had the Trier part of the Montclair lordship as a settled fiefdom. In the following period after 1620 the castle fell into ruin. Only the farm building (courtyard house) and the castle chapel were still usable. Therefore, in 1641, the Lorraine General Procurator Jean Sellier occupied the castle with some soldiers to protest against the sloppiness of the Archbishopric regarding the lack of maintenance of the castle complex, but remained unsuccessful.

Agreement of 1661

Louis XIV

The French King Louis XIV , who was then occupying Lorraine, agreed in 1661 with Archbishop Karl Kaspar von der Leyen of Trier that the Montclair castle ruins should not be rebuilt, as they would have been usable in the event of war against the Kingdom of France . Thus the ruin of the castle progressed. Only the courtyard house (economic building) between the western flank towers was used for agricultural purposes.

When Stanislaus I. Leszczyński , former King of Poland and Duke of Lorraine from 1737, died on February 23, 1766, the Duchy of Lorraine fell to the Kingdom of France. With the division agreement for the Merzig-Saargau condominium, Montclair Castle was transferred in full to the Archbishopric of Trier under Elector Clemens Wenzeslaus of Saxony on July 1, 1778 . The ban on the reconstruction of Montclair Castle, which had been agreed in the contract of 1661 with Louis XIV, was expressly confirmed. The castle's economic building continued to be operated by the Mettlacher Vogtmeier. In 1786, the last building in use was also destroyed by fire and has not been restored. The castle hill was leased to Mettlach Abbey in 1788 by the Archbishopric of Trier . When the abbey perished in the turmoil of the French Revolution , Montclair became a French national property. The state sold associated lands to private individuals. With the transition of the state on the Saar to the state of Prussia after the collapse of Napoleonic rule , the castle ruins and the surrounding forest passed into the possession of Prussia in 1815.

Conservation in the 19th century

King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia , initiator of securing Montclair Castle in the 19th century

It was not until the 19th century that the preserved remains began to be secured and archaeological excavations were carried out in 1855 . The initiator of the conservation measures was the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm IV , who stayed in Mettlach for the first time in 1835. With his affection for an ideologically transfigured image of the European Middle Ages, Friedrich Wilhelm IV. Was part of an overall social enthusiasm for the Middle Ages in the 19th century. In addition, his architectural interest was not only part of a romantically idealized dream image, but should lead to realized diagrams. The evidence of the Middle Ages, restored or newly created for ideological and propaganda reasons, was intended to be the visual basis of his monarchical project and contribute to the stabilization of his anti-revolutionary policy. The promotion of the medieval heritage, such as the Montclair ruins, was meant to be highly political. Friedrich Wilhelm IV strived for a German Prussia that would form a bulwark against the, in his opinion, pernicious influence of parliamentarism , bourgeois individualism and emerging liberalism . The Prussian king drew up an idealized, mythologized image of the German Middle Ages, which was supposedly driven by the impulses of an estate-monarchical social order. That is why it was important to visually reconstruct the spirit of this “ideal” order of the old empire . In this context, Friedrich Wilhelm IV, who saw his dynastic roots (cf. Karoline von Nassau-Saarbrücken ) also in the state on the Saar, wanted to leave traces of power politics in the southern province of Prussia (cf. also the burial place of the Kastel hermitage that he arranged for for Johann von Böhmen by Karl Friedrich Schinkel in the years 1834 to 1835 near Kastel-Staadt on a rock high above the Saar valley not far from Montclair Castle).

At the instigation of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV, the Montclair castle ruins were restored from 1855 under the direction of the Prussian state curator Ferdinand von Quast at state expense. In the following year, 1856, the area around the ruins of Montclair was cleared in order to find remains of the "Alt-Montclair" castle complex, which was destroyed in 1351. The excavations were carried out by the Saarburg doctor and local researcher Johann Jacob Hewer.

In 1870, Montclair Castle became the property of Eugen von Boch . Restoration work on the castle was continued under the direction of August von Cohausen . Iron walkways, railings and a spiral staircase were built in to inspect the facility.

20th century

Plan of a NS-Ordensburg

During the time of National Socialism , Adolf Hitler's plan existed to build a “Reichsschulungsburg” on the wooded Montclair ridge, which would have taken up 170 hectares. A Thingstätte for 4000 people, a tower, a “Hall of Honor for the Victims on the Saar” and an 800-meter-long training building for 600 people were to be built. The designs for the large-scale facility were provided by the Cologne-based architect Clemens Klotz , who also built the Kraft durch Freude facility in Prora on Rügen and the NS-Ordensburg Vogelsang in the Eifel . Robert Ley , Reichsleiter of the NSDAP , and the German Labor Front were directly responsible for planning the project on the Saarschleife . The planned construction of the “Reichsschulungsburg an der Saarschleife” was announced as a “thank you to the Saar people” in the wake of the referendum in 1935. The NS newspaper "Rhein-NSZ-Front" noted in its July 31, 1935 edition, however, "that there were still some difficulties in acquiring the site. (...) The current owner of the property can - and we do not want to put any doubts into his reasons - to part with this piece of his property with a heavy heart for ideal reasons. ”This meant the von Boch family who did not own the property wanted to sell. Due to the military-technical activities for the fortification of the western border ( Westwall ) from 1936 the realization of the Ordensburg on the Saarschleife had to be postponed. Instead, as a so-called “thank you from Hitler” to the Saar people, the “Gautheater Saarbrücken”, today's Saarland State Theater, was built in Saarbrücken .

War damage

At the end of the Second World War , men of the Mettlacher Volkssturm took up posts on the towers of the castle. They were discovered by the reconnaissance of the US Army and shot at by artillery from the direction of Nohn . As a result of this bombardment, the connecting piece between the towers and parts of the wall of the south-east roundabout was destroyed. In the post-war period the damage was repaired to some extent at the instigation of the von Boch family. However, the ruin of the castle complex continued and so the castle had to be closed to visitors due to the danger of collapse.

Excavations and restoration

Another archaeological dig took place in 1964. It was aimed at researching the prehistoric complex. After the Merzig-Wadern district received Montclair Castle on June 21, 1991 from the von Boch family in a completely ruinous condition at a symbolic price, it was restored in 1992/1993, partially rebuilt and supplemented with modern fittings. The measure was financed by the Saarland with the aid of structural aid from the Federal Republic of Germany to promote tourism. The total cost of the restoration was five million German marks . The Merzig-Wadern district contributed 500,000 DM. A castle museum was set up in the northeast tower. Catering rooms and sanitary facilities were also installed. A reconstruction of the gate and the north-east roundabout - as suggested by local researchers - did not come about. The "sister castle" Meinsberg was completely rebuilt at the same time between 1991 and 1998.

Castle sagas

The pioneer and essential collector of Saarland legends in the first half of the 20th century was the Saarbrücken art historian and folklorist Karl Lohmeyer , who published his first thematic work on Saarland legends in 1924. In 1935 a first overview followed, based on Lohmeyer's own field research . In 1954/55 his extensive two-volume overall presentation of the Saarland saga treasure was published, which to this day represents the most extensive collection of sources and thus the standard work on the subject.

Karl Lohmeyer narrates the following legends in connection with Montclair Castle:

  • The bees save Montclair
  • The horseshoe and the wagon furrow on the Breitenstein
  • The giant toad under the Breitenstein
  • The last burgrave of the Cloef
  • The penitent knight at the Johannisbrunnen
  • The Klausner at the Johannisbrunnen
  • The Mettlacher Klosterhannes and the Count of Montclair
  • The Herrgottstein

literature

  • Magnus Backes: Castles and Palaces on the Moselle and Saar, a castles and travel guide from Koblenz to Saarbrücken (Die Burgenreihe, 2), Neuwied 1960.
  • W. Baden: The ruins of Montclair Castle, in: Annual report of the Society for Useful Research, Trier 1859/1860, pp. 27-30.
  • Constantin von Briesen: Documented history of the Merzig district in the Trier administrative district, Saarlouis 1863 (reprint 1980).
  • K. Conrath: The castles of Montclair, in: History and Landscape - Heimatblätter der Saarbrücker Zeitung, 4, 1952, No. 15 and 17.
  • K. Conrath: A chapel of the 13th century, in: History and Landscape - Heimatblätter der Saarbrücker Zeitung, 5, 1953, No. 20.
  • K. Conrath: Montclair - again up to date, in: Geschichte und Landschaft - Heimatblätter der Saarbrücker Zeitung, 183, 1980.
  • Joachim Conrad, Stefan Flesch: Castles and palaces on the Saar, Saarbrücken 1988.
  • Georg Dehio: Handbook of German Art Monuments - Rhineland-Palatinate / Saarland, 2nd edition, Munich / Berlin 1984, pp. 671–675.
  • Joachim Dollwet: The castle chapels of Montclair, in: Twelfth Yearbook of the Association for Local Studies in the Merzig-Wadern District, Merzig 1983, pp. 41–47.
  • Joachim Dollwet: Contributions to the Genealogy of the Lords of Montclair, in: Saarländische Familienkunde, Bd. 5/1985, S. 122-134.
  • Matthias Enzweiler: Legends and stories of the Merzig-Wadern district . 1955, new edition 1998 and 2001.
  • Johann Jacob Hewer: History of Montclair Castle, in: Annual Report of the Society for Useful Research, Trier 1859/1860, pp. 7-27.
  • Reinhold Junge: On the history of Montclair, in: Gemeindeverwaltung Mettlach (Ed.): 1300 years Mettlach, Merzig 1976, pp. 59–66.
  • Reinhold Junge: Die Brunnen von Alt-Montclair, in: Tenth year book of the Association for Local Studies in the Merzig-Wadern district, Merzig 1975, pp. 59–64.
  • Reinhold Junge: Montclair through the ages, chronicle and local history excursion, Mettlach 2005.
  • Johann Heinrich Kell: History of the Merzig District, Saarbrücken 1925.
  • Josef Koenen: Montclair - a castle construction study, in: Unser Saar, 2, 1927/1928, pp. 86–88.
  • Josef Koenen: Burg-Montclair Guide, ed. from the Association for Local Lore in the Merzig-Wadern District, Merzig 1929.
  • District of Merzig-Wadern / Association for local history in the district of Merzig-Wadern (ed.): Castle Montclair, renovation - history - guided tour, guide through the castle complex, ed. on the occasion (sic!) of the opening on July 16, 1993, Merzig 1994.
  • Simon Matzerath, Guido von Büren: Stone power - castles, fortresses, palaces in Lorraine, Luxembourg and Saarland, Regensburg 2019.
  • Heinrich Niessen: History of the Merzig District, Merzig 1898.
  • Theo Raach: History of the district in the Middle Ages, Die Burg Montclair, in: Der Kreis Merzig-Wadern, Stuttgart / Aalen 1972, pp. 90–92.
  • R. Seyler: The Burgberg near Mettlach in the course of history, in: Saarheimat 7, 1958, pp. 17-19.
  • P. Steiner: Montclair, his history and his castles, Trier magazine, 1, 1926, pp. 169–172.

Web links

Commons : Montclair Castle  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Wolfgang Orth: Building description and building history (of Montclair Castle), in: District of Merzig-Wadern / Association for local history in the district of Merzig-Wadern (ed.): Burg Montclair, renovation - history - guided tour, guide through the castle complex ed . on the occasion (sic!) of the opening on July 16, 1993, Merzig 1994, p. 39.
  2. ^ Georg Dehio: Handbook of German Art Monuments - Rhineland-Palatinate / Saarland, 2nd edition, Munich / Berlin 1984, pp. 671–675.
  3. ↑ Herbert Liedtke, Karl-Heinz-Hepp, Christoph Jentsch: The Saarland in map and aerial photo, A contribution to regional studies, ed. from the Land Survey Office of the Saarland, Neumünster 1974, pp. 80–81.
  4. ↑ Wolfgang Orth: History of Neu-Montclair Castle, in: District of Merzig-Wadern / Association for local history in the district of Merzig-Wadern (ed.): Castle of Montclair, renovation - history - guided tour, guide through the castle complex ed. on the occasion (sic!) of the opening on July 16, 1993, Merzig 1994, pp. 31-37, here p. 31.
  5. ↑ Wolfgang Orth: History of Neu-Montclair Castle, in: District of Merzig-Wadern / Association for local history in the district of Merzig-Wadern (ed.): Castle of Montclair, renovation - history - guided tour, guide through the castle complex ed. on the occasion (sic!) of the opening on July 16, 1993, Merzig 1994, pp. 31–37, here pp. 31–34.
  6. ↑ Wolfgang Orth: Building description and building history (of the Montclair castle), in: District Merzig-Wadern / Association for local history in the district of Merzig-Wadern (ed.): Castle Montclair, renovation - history - guided tour, guide through the castle complex ed. on the occasion (sic!) of the opening on July 16, 1993, Merzig 1994, pp. 39-47.
  7. ↑ Eric Necker: Malbrouck Castle, Architectural journey of discovery through a mansion from the late Middle Ages, ed. by the General Council of the Department of Moselle / Mosel, Thionville / Diedenhofen 2001.
  8. ↑ Eric Necker: Malbrouck Castle, Architectural journey of discovery through a mansion from the late Middle Ages, ed. by the General Council of the Department of Moselle / Mosel, Thionville / Diedenhofen 2001.
  9. ↑ Eric Necker: Malbrouck, The Lords of Meinsberg, Malbrouck Castle and its history, ed. from the General Council of the Department of Moselle / Mosel, Thionville / Diedenhofen 2001, p. 18.
  10. ↑ Wolfgang Orth: Building description and building history (of the Montclair castle), in: District Merzig-Wadern / Association for local history in the district of Merzig-Wadern (ed.): Castle Montclair, renovation - history - guided tour, guide through the castle complex ed. on the occasion of (sic!) the opening on July 16, 1993, Merzig 1994, p. 35.
  11. ↑ Eric Necker: Malbrouck, The Lords of Meinsberg, Malbrouck Castle and its history, ed. from the General Council of the Department of Moselle / Mosel, Thionville / Diedenhofen 2001, pp. 26–58.
  12. ↑ Eric Necker: Malbrouck, The Lords of Meinsberg, Malbrouck Castle and its history, ed. from the General Council of the Department of Moselle / Mosel, Thionville / Diedenhofen 2001, p. 58.
  13. ↑ Wolfgang Orth: Building description and building history (of the Montclair castle), in: District Merzig-Wadern / Association for local history in the district of Merzig-Wadern (ed.): Castle Montclair, renovation - history - guided tour, guide through the castle complex ed. on the occasion (sic!) of the opening on July 16, 1993, Merzig 1994, pp. 35-36.
  14. ↑ Herbert Liedtke, Karl-Heinz-Hepp, Christoph Jentsch: The Saarland in map and aerial photo, A contribution to regional studies, ed. from the Land Survey Office of the Saarland, Neumünster 1974, pp. 80–81.
  15. ^ Georg Dehio: Handbook of German Art Monuments - Rhineland-Palatinate / Saarland, 2nd edition, Munich / Berlin 1984, pp. 671–675.
  16. ^ District of Merzig-Wadern / Association for local history in the district of Merzig-Wadern (ed.): Castle Montclair, renovation - history - guided tour, guide through the castle complex, ed. on the occasion (sic!) of the opening on July 16, 1993, Merzig 1994, p. 44.
  17. ↑ Reinhold Junge: On the history of Montclair, in: Gemeindeverwaltung Mettlach (Ed.): 1300 Years Mettlach, Merzig 1976, pp. 59–66, here p. 65.
  18. ↑ Catharina Hasenclever and Jörg Meiner in conversation with David E. Barclay Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia: Politics and Architecture.
  19. ↑ a b Wolfgang Orth: History of Neu-Montclair Castle, in: Merzig-Wadern district / Association for local history in the Merzig-Wadern district (ed.): Montclair Castle, renovation - history - guided tour, guide through the castle complex ed. on the occasion (sic!) of the opening on July 16, 1993, Merzig 1994, pp. 31-37, here p. 36.
  20. ↑ Reinhold Junge: On the history of Montclair, in: Gemeindeverwaltung Mettlach (Ed.): 1300 Years Mettlach, Merzig 1976, pp. 59–66, here p. 65.
  21. ^ Johann Jacob Hewer: History of Montclair Castle, in: Annual report of the Society for Useful Research, Trier 1859/1860, pp. 7–27.
  22. ^ Gisela Tascher: The Fuehrer's First Gift - Even before the Gautheater in Saarbrücken, the Nazis were planning an Ordensburg on the Saarschleife, in: Saargeschichten issue 1, 2012, pp. 4-9.
  23. ↑ Dietmar Klostermann: Hitler's crazy Saarschleife plan, Saarbrücker Zeitung, March 14, 2012.
  24. ↑ a b Wolfgang Orth: History of Neu-Montclair Castle, in: Merzig-Wadern district / Association for local history in the Merzig-Wadern district (ed.): Montclair Castle, renovation - history - guided tour, guide through the castle complex ed. on the occasion (sic!) of the opening on July 16, 1993, Merzig 1994, pp. 31-37, here p. 37.
  25. ↑ Herbert Liedtke, Karl-Heinz-Hepp, Christoph Jentsch: The Saarland in map and aerial photo, A contribution to regional studies, ed. from the Land Survey Office of the Saarland, Neumünster 1974, pp. 80–81.
  26. ^ Georg Dehio: Handbook of German Art Monuments - Rhineland-Palatinate / Saarland, 2nd edition, Munich / Berlin 1984, pp. 671–675.
  27. ^ District of Merzig-Wadern / Association for local history in the district of Merzig-Wadern (ed.): Castle Montclair, renovation - history - guided tour, guide through the castle complex, ed. on the occasion (sic!) of the opening on July 16, 1993, Merzig 1994, p. 11, p. 25.
  28. ↑ Eric Necker: Malbrouck Castle, Architectural journey of discovery through a mansion from the late Middle Ages, ed. from the General Council of the Department of Moselle / Mosel, Thionville / Diedenhofen 2001, p. 84.
  29. ^ Karl Lohmeyer: The sagas of the Saar, Blies, Nahe, from the Hunsrück, Soon- and Hochwald, Hofer-Verlag, Saarbrücken 1935.
  30. ^ Karl Lohmeyer: Die Sagen der Saar, complete edition, 3rd edition, Saarbrücken 2012, No. 996, pp. 564-565.
  31. ^ Karl Lohmeyer: Die Sagen der Saar, complete edition, 3rd edition, Saarbrücken 2012, No. 997, p. 565.
  32. ^ Karl Lohmeyer: Die Sagen der Saar, complete edition, 3rd edition, Saarbrücken 2012, No. 998, pp. 566-567.
  33. ^ Karl Lohmeyer: Die Sagen der Saar, Complete Edition, 3rd Edition, Saarbrücken 2012, No. 999, pp. 567-568.
  34. ^ Karl Lohmeyer: Die Sagen der Saar, Complete Edition, 3rd Edition, Saarbrücken 2012, No. 1000, p. 568.
  35. ^ Karl Lohmeyer: Die Sagen der Saar, Complete Edition, 3rd Edition, Saarbrücken 2012, No. 1001, pp. 568-569.
  36. ^ Karl Lohmeyer: Die Sagen der Saar, Complete Edition, 3rd Edition, Saarbrücken 2012, No. 1015, pp. 576-578.
  37. ^ Karl Lohmeyer: Die Sagen der Saar, Complete Edition, 3rd Edition, Saarbrücken 2012, No. 1026, pp. 586-587.