Niederurff Castle

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Niederurff Castle
Palas of Niederurff Castle

Palas of Niederurff Castle

Alternative name (s): from Urffsche Burg, Urff Castle
Creation time : around 1000 to 1100
Castle type : Niederungsburg, location
Conservation status: Complete inner wall ring, mostly complete outer wall ring, well-preserved hall, remains of the castle keep, tower ruins, complete battlements, complete dry moat,
Standing position : Free nobles
Place: Bad Zwesten - Niederurff
Geographical location 51 ° 2 '2.4 "  N , 9 ° 11' 26.2"  E Coordinates: 51 ° 2 '2.4 "  N , 9 ° 11' 26.2"  E
Height: 212  m above sea level NN
Niederurff Castle (Hesse)
Niederurff Castle

The castle Niederurff located in the district Niederurff the town of Bad Zwesten in Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse .

location

The castle ruin is located on the southwestern edge of Niederurff on a small spur of a minimal elevation that extends from the southwest to the place, north through the west-east flowing Urff , which flows behind the place into the Schwalm coming from the south , and is limited to the southwest by a ravine . As a result, the castle was about 5 to 10 meters above the village. A dry moat also secured the castle and was connected to the place with a bridge in the east towards Kirchgarten. In the south, a semi-circular park surrounded the castle, to the south-east behind the bridge lay the Urff'sche forester's house and other gardens of the castle owners, which is clear in Ernst Wenzel's site plan from 1913 based on the cadastral map from 1785.

history

Palas of the castle, east side
The Palas, south side

The castle , whose date of construction is not known, was the seat of the Lords von Urff , who are first mentioned in a deed of donation from 1160. Since the fortified church of Niederurff is documented as early as 1085, the oldest parts of the castle may date from the 11th and 12th centuries. Certainly, the castle was first documented as " castrum " in 1272 : those of Bischhausen own the castle, those of Löwenstein have a share.

In 1309 Heinrich von Urff, his brother Conrad and his two sons gave the castle to Count Heinrich IV von Waldeck as a fief , but with the proviso that it would not be open to the Waldeckers in any disputes with the Landgraves of Hesse . In 1332 this security was strengthened when Landgrave Heinrich the Iron was assured that the castle would be opened in the event of war. It is not known whether the landgraves made use of it in their numerous conflicts with the Archdiocese of Mainz . There is also no documentary evidence as to whether the castle was ever besieged or destroyed. The right to open was renewed in 1375. In 1408 the right to open was renewed with the Landgraves, again in 1471. In 1451 the von Urff, the Löwensteiner ( Burg Löwenstein ) and the Lords of Jesberg signed a contract to open their castles to one another. In 1490 the castle became a Ganerbeburg , in which the Löwenstein lines of Westerburg and Schweinsberg Ganerbe were; two years later one of the Löwenstein lines had died out again.

The main building ( Palas ), the "Long Building", dates back to around 1500. The year 1672 in the weather vane on the castle may indicate that the second floor of the "Long Building" was completed in this year. Presumably after the manor house was built in front of the entrance to the castle in 1739, the old buildings were no longer inhabited and fell into disrepair. By 1780 at the latest, the buildings in the south of the castle grounds had fallen into disrepair.

description

Today the "long building", which stands as a cross bar in the north, and the defensive wall with the rampart in the north and west are still preserved; From the west wing, an adjoining tower and the keep are only remnants of the wall. At the southeast end of the long building there are still remains of the inner wall with a round arched gate and a walled-in coat of arms stone . The long building, with a bricked sandstone base and ground floor and half-timbered upper floor, has a half- hipped roof . Sandstone portal, twin windows and a castle well integrated into the wall characterize the south front. There are loopholes-like openings to the east and north . The moat, laid out as a dry moat, is still well preserved. A park joins the facility.

In the entrance area in front of the actual castle complex is the manor house from 1739, which is still used today as a residential building.

Todays use

The castle and park are privately owned and are not open to the public.

literature

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ernst Wenzel: Niederurff Castle in Hessen. In: Der Burgwart , No. 14, p. 95