Volmarstein Castle

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Volmarstein Castle
Volmarstein castle ruins in Wetter (Ruhr)

Volmarstein castle ruins in Wetter (Ruhr)

Creation time : 1100
Castle type : Hilltop castle
Conservation status: Remains of three towers
Standing position : Clericals, nobles, ministerials
Place: Wetter (Ruhr) - Volmarstein
Geographical location 51 ° 22 '27.5 "  N , 7 ° 22' 57.5"  E Coordinates: 51 ° 22 '27.5 "  N , 7 ° 22' 57.5"  E
Volmarstein Castle (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Volmarstein Castle

The castle Volmarstein is the ruins of a hilltop castle in the district Volmarstein the city Wetter (Ruhr) in Ennepe-Ruhr district in North Rhine-Westphalia . It is located in the landscape protection area In der Bach / Am Vorberg and is registered as architectural monument no. 51 in the monument list of Wetter .

history

Origins

It was built in 1100 by the Archbishop of Cologne , Friedrich I. von Schwarzenburg , who wanted to underpin his claims to power in Westphalia , and transferred to the noble lords of Volmestein (Volmudestede) as a fief.

The castle protected the "Archbishop's Guard Road" from Ennepetal to Soest . It lies on a ridge above the Ruhr . Until the 14th century, the castle was the administrative center for the Volmarstein rulership, to which Hagen also belongs. In 1134 a representative of the "Lords of Volmestein" was first mentioned in a document, Heinrich I. They were ministerials to the Archbishops of Cologne.

Around the Volmarstein Castle of the Electorate of Cologne, a rural settlement was initially established, which was identified with the term "city" as early as 1307.

The remains of one of the three former towers of the ruin

After the Battle of Worringen in 1288

Following the Battle of Worringen in 1288, the castle of Count Eberhard I was besieged by the Mark and partially destroyed. After a reconciliation, it was restored in 1289.

In 1289, Eberhard I received full fortification rights from Cologne Archbishop Siegfried von Westerburg and recognition as imperial prince, which had already been awarded to his father, which marked the decisive turning point in the relationship between the two powers. He benefited most from all Westphalian princes, winning among others Gummersbach , Lünen with all episcopal rights, Westhofen , Brackel , Werl , Menden , Isenberg , Volmarstein and Raffenberg , plus the bailiwick of Essen .

At the beginning of the 14th century there were long-term power struggles with Münster over some of the Brandenburg county rights. In 1314 Gottfried von Sayn becomes the lord of Burg Volmarstein. Since the fief "Volmarstein" (Volmestein) was on the border of the bishopric and the county of Mark , the property changed back to Kurköln due to the political power struggles .

Due to a feud between the two opponents, the Volmarstein Castle with the free county of the same name was taken from the Archdiocese of Cologne and destroyed in 1324 after a two-month siege . The castle team is said to have surrendered due to lack of water. The bishop near Methler was captured by Engelbert II von der Mark . After the reconciliation, however, the castle was rebuilt.

Beginning of disintegration

In the 14th and 15th centuries, the counts appear on the Mark - later Earl of Cleves and from 1417 Dukes of Cleves - the castle Volmarstein to have used at times, most recently around 1525 by the Duke John of Cleves-Mark before the 15 The century slowly declined. Johann von Volmestein was the last male representative of the Lords of Volmestein entitled to inheritance. After his death (after 1430) the Rinkeroder and Volmarsteiner property and the Volmarsteinsche Lehnskammer fell to the von der Recke family through the marriage of his sister Agnes (Neyse) to Goddert von der Recke .

Fire and destruction

Footpath to the castle ruins of Volmarstein in Wetter (Ruhr)

The village of Volmarstein and the castle were destroyed by a major fire in 1754. Only rubble remained of the castle. The residents used the stones of the castle to rebuild their houses.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the ruin was evidently known nationwide, so that the Prussian poet Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué - known for his "knighthood" - dedicated a longer poem to it.

In 1819 the ruins became the property of Count Philipp von der Recke-Volmarstein , who had considerable renovation work carried out at his own expense between 1822 and 1854. This is how the wall support on the split tower, the symbol of today's Schlossberg, was created. On June 24, 1830, half of the east tower was destroyed by a violent hurricane.

The lords von der Recke-Volmarstein claimed and kept their property in Volmarstein and the associated feudal chamber , which was one of the richest in Westphalia, until the 19th century and only sold their Volmarsteiner property in the 20th century. The castle ruins of Volmarstein are still owned by the Count von der Recke von Volmerstein.

present

Information board on the tower of the castle with two historical facts

The ruin is now easily accessible. All paths are developed and secured accordingly. From the castle you have a wonderful panoramic view of the city of Wetter and the town of Volmarstein .

The Burghotel Volmarstein is located below the castle, but its parking space is reserved for hotel guests only. It is therefore advisable to look for a parking space in the village below, the footpath up to the castle is not very far. The “Nettmanscher Hof” car park is opposite the church.

A stone notice board on the only half-preserved tower of the ruin points to two important dates in the castle's history. It bears the inscription: This castle, built in 1100 by the Archbishop of Cologne and inhabited by the Lord of Volmarstein, was conquered and destroyed by the Count of the Mark in 1324. Another notice board attached to the tower contains the inscription: Burg Volmarstein. Built in 1100 by Archbishop Friedrich v. Cologne and as a fief to the Lords v. Volmerstein awarded. 1324 after a two-month siege by the Counts v. the marrow conquered and destroyed. Burgberg 1817 by King Friedrich Wilhelm III. the count v. the warrior v. Volmerstein returned, to whom it still belongs today.

A third plaque commemorates the descendants of the Volmarstein family who died in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. The inscription reads: Count Siegfried von der Recke-Volmarstein fell gloriously from the descendants of the family that once flourished in this castle on August 18, 1870 near St. Privat. Pr. Lieutnant in the 3rd Guard-Gren.-Reg. Queen Elisabeth.

The castle ruin is the landmark of the formerly independent community of Volmarstein and of the Burg-Wächter company .

Every year in summer there are some events such as the “Irish Folk Festival” and “Rock at the Castle”.

literature

  • Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué : Castle Volmarstein. In: Justinus Kerner , Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué (ed.): Deutscher Dichterwald , Tübingen 1813, pp. 203-211 (250 verse long poetry, digitized at Wikisource ).
  • Heinrich Manz: History of Volmarstein , Dortmund 1834.
  • Edmund Fröhlich: Volmarstein: his history and legends , Witten 1890.
  • Otto Weddigen: The Volmarsteiner. In: Otto Weddigen: Von der rote Erde , Bochum 1898, pp. 1–39.
  • Otto Schnettler: Volmestein. From the history of the castle and the family . In: Karl Siepmann (Hrsg.): Uralte Freiheit Volmarstein: Memorial book on the occasion of the six hundred years that the rule Volmarstein belonged to the Grafschaft Mark on July 25, 1924 , Volmarstein 1924, pp. 5-45.
  • Kai Olaf Arzinger: ramparts, castles, mansions, a historical hiking guide in the Hagener Volme, Ruhr, Lenneraum. Hagen-Hohenlimburg 1991, DNB 992050448 .
  • Stephanie Marra : Volmarstein Castle. In: Ministry for Building and Transport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia / Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (Hrsg.): Burgen AufRuhr. On the way to 100 castles, palaces and mansions in the Ruhr region . Klartext Verlag, Essen 2010, ISBN 978-3-8375-0234-3 , pp. 142-145.

location

  • Address: Kramerweg, Wetter-Volmarstein
  • Public transport: Wetter, bus stop "Hauptstraße" or "Volmarstein Dorfplatz"

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ^ E. Brandstäter: Volmarstein . In: Yearbook of the Association for Local and Local History in the County of Mark 1897–1898 . tape 12 . Witten ad Ruhr 1897.
  2. ↑ Heinrich Heine : The romantic school . Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1836, p. 283 , urn : nbn: de: hbz: 061: 1-495237 .