Eyneburg

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Eyneburg
The Eyneburg in Hergenrath

The Eyneburg in Hergenrath

Alternative name (s): Emmaburg
Creation time : 1260
Castle type : Hilltop castle
Conservation status: Received or received substantial parts
Place: Hergenrath
Geographical location 50 ° 42 '20 "  N , 6 ° 0' 57"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 42 '20 "  N , 6 ° 0' 57"  E
Eyneburg (Liège)
Eyneburg

The castle Eyneburg in Hergenrath in Kelmis is one of the most significant historical buildings in eastern Belgium.

The name Eyneburg refers to the owner "von Eyneberghe" in the 13th century. The name Emmaburg , which is based on a legend from the 19th century, according to which Emma, ​​a daughter of Charlemagne , is said to have met her lover Einhard here, is popular.

location

The Eyneburg is one of the few hilltop castles in the old Duchy of Limburg that were built on a hill, while most of the castles were built on the plain and surrounded by moats . The castle dominates the left bank of the river Göhl .

legend

A legend from the 19th century connects Hergenrath Castle with Emma, ​​a daughter of Charlemagne. Emma is said to have been Einhard's secret lover, who resided at the farm as a friend and biographer of Charlemagne. To keep the love a secret, the two met in the dark. According to legend, Emma once carried her Einhard home on her back because it had snowed and they didn't want to betray themselves by his footsteps. However, this scene was observed by Karl, who confronted the two of them the next morning.

The Emma saga was edited several times, for example by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué in the novel "Eginhard und Emma" (1811), in an epic poem and more recently as an epic and as the subject of an opera. In these adaptations, however, the reference to Eyneburg is not made, since Seligenstadt am Main is commonly given as the setting for the love episode .

The legend of Einhard (Eginhard) and Emma (Imma) possibly goes back to the liaison between the daughter of Charlemagne, Bertha (* 779/780, † after January 14, 828, 814 expelled from court), and the chaplain Angilbert , from which the children Nithard (* around 790; † 844/45) and Hartnid († 813) emerged. Einhard, Charlemagne's court biographer, was married to Emma, ​​but not to a daughter of Charlemagne, but to the sister of Bernharius, Bishop of Worms .

A bronze relief in the courtyard, the work of a Cologne artist from 1906, shows Karl's daughter who, under the incredulous looks of her father, carries her lover back to his apartments.

history

The Eyneburg is mentioned for the first time in 1260. At that time, the castle was a former fiefdom of the Aachen Marienstift in the possession of the knight family von Eyneberghe. Theodoric "de Eyneberghe", canon in St. Servatius at Maastricht around 1260, and Hermann von Eyneberg in 1285, 1333 and 1339, as well as his son Gerhard in 1333/35 and later in 1368 Wilhelm and Daniel von Eyneberghe are mentioned by name.

In 1371 the castle passed to the granddaughter of Gerhard von Eyneburg, who married Daem von den Bongaert. Their daughter, Bela van den Bongaert, married Arnold von Tzevel, whereby in 1430 the knightly seat passed into the Tzevel family. Due to the marriage between Bela's daughter Johanna von Tzevel and Johann Dobbelstein zu Donrath, the castle passed into the possession of the Dobbelstein family for the next three centuries.

Eyneburg around 1860, Alexander Duncker collection

In 1640 the castle burned down, whereupon Johann von Dobbelstein, married to Helwige von Horion, rebuilt the castle complex and enlarged it (1648). The Baron Karl August Dobbelstein of Donrath, 1778 Burgherr was sold "la noble seigniory d'Eyneburg" 1786 Rainer Josef Turbet from Aachen. In the 19th century the owners changed several times. In 1809 the heirs sold the old knight's seat to the Liège banker Gérard Nagelmackers. Baron Florent von Thiriart zu Mützhagen, who now called himself "zu Mützhagen and Eyneburg" , bought it from him in 1836 . After that, the number of hectares went full ownership of its great-nephew, the Baron de la Rousselière-Clouard over, bought to 1897 the Aachen cloth manufacturer Theodor Nellessen (1842-1926), the castle and to 1900/1901 by the Strasbourg cathedral architect Ludwig Arntz was rebuilt . The current chapel was also added at the beginning of the 20th century. A heraldic tower not far from the casino pond in Kelmis reminds of the time of the Nellessen family at the castle

Heraldic tower of the Nellessen family

In 1958 the Nellessen family separated from the castle and the surrounding lands. The interior of the castle housed an unusually rich array of old art objects of various kinds: furniture, sculptures, paintings, goldsmiths and porcelain. It belongs to the collection of the widow Theodor Nellessen in Aachen. However, some of this precious interior was auctioned at the Lempertz auction house in Cologne. The castle then became the property of Hergenrather Kalkwerke AG.

On July 18, 1966, the Eyneburg was placed under monument protection.

In 2001 the castle was bought by Eyne GmbH and a project entitled "The Eyneburg should live" started. Their aim is to build a European center for experiencing the Middle Ages.

Todays use

The extensive complex today consists of the castle area with keep and chapel and an agricultural courtyard. The castle is a closed complex that is partially surrounded by protective masonry. Outside the inner castle grounds there is a park area also enclosed by walls.

The castle has been closed since 2011 and is no longer accessible to the public.

  • Ascent to the Emmaburg

  • Emmaburg, meadow side

  • Emmaburg, gate entrance

  • Emmaburg, side view

  • Emmaburg, wayside shrine

investment

Neo-Gothic stained glass window from the chapel
Neo-Gothic stained glass window from the chapel

From the first plant of the castle of the large, round is keep obtain in the core and is built of layers moderate dry stone on three floors. The second floor has a modern bay window to the northwest and a narrow loopholes to the west. Otherwise the tower is closed. Formerly he was wearing a conical dome in the restoration he was raised by a small half-timbered floor and again with a conical roof crowned.

In the 15th century, the last lords of Eyneburg added a stately new hall to the keep , which was destroyed again by the fire of 1640. In the new building, the hall was raised by one floor. The second floor shows several stone consoles at the height of the windows as a sign of the completion of the first building from the 15th century. The irregularly offset masonry makes the structure from the 17th century clearly visible. The roof, on wooden sanding consoles, was renewed during the restoration. Towards the courtyard, the hall is partially covered by modern porches. Individual round-arched entrances and old, partly walled-up cross and transom windows give an idea of ​​the original appearance.

In the course of the 19th century the castle was in serious disrepair. Therefore, Theodor Nellessen had it restored and partially expanded by the cathedral builder Arntz after his purchase in 1897. The neo-Gothic chapel, which is still preserved today, was built according to the plans of the Aachen architect Johannes Richter and fits harmoniously into the overall complex.

The outer bailey has seen fewer changes. The two-storey north wing dates from the 17th century, but has been renewed on the courtyard side. The south half of the west wing was built in the 15th century, the north half with the transom windows in the 17th century.

The outer walls of the elongated south wing belong to the construction phases in the 15th to 16th centuries, while the inside in its western half dates back to the 17th century. Here you can find the coat of arms of Baron Johann Karl von Donrath zu Dobbelstein and his wife Catharina Freiin von Westerholt-Lembeck with the year 1722 above a gate.

literature

Web links

Commons : Eyneburg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files