Landesburg

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Linn Castle in the Electorate of Cologne was directed against Kleve , Moers and Berg .
The Landesburg Brüggen secured the Jülich territory to the north.
The northernmost bastion of the Counts of Berg: the Angermund castle

As a country castle or sovereign Burg those are castles referred to a ruler such as a bishop , duke or prince , to secure and expand its sovereign rights took advantage. They were thus the central and most important castles of the great sovereigns. Most of the country castles were the property of the sovereign, but sometimes castles that were available to him as open houses are also referred to. The large castles of the 8th to 10th centuries in the mostly urban-free area east of the Rhine are sometimes referred to as state castles because they fulfilled important functions in the development of the country.

The emergence of state castles began in the late Middle Ages and was favored by the decline of the royal central power at that time and the associated relocation of powers "from former large areas to regional areas". Early in development, regional rulers used allodial castles as a means of forming and maintaining contiguous territories. In this context, such fortifications assumed the function of a territorial castle. One example of this is Zülpich Castle , which was built by the Archbishops of Cologne to secure their possessions against attacks by the Counts of Jülich . State castles were also often built as counter-castles to the corresponding facilities of neighboring and rival territorial lords.

State castles were thus a base for dynastic territorial politics and a center of political and military rule. The latter was ensured by sovereign castles a permanent crew of mostly Burgmannen could show and as a garrison served. In addition to their importance as an instrument of territorial policy, the state castles also played a central role as a place of administrative business and the administration of justice, as a law firm and a finance department were located there. If the sovereign had commissioned a representative such as a burgrave or bailiff to exercise regional sovereignty, he used the regional castle as a residence and mansion. In such cases one speaks of an administrative castle , which represented the administrative center of the administrative districts that emerged in the late Middle Ages. Was the sovereign power, however, in the hands of a bailiff , who was resident in a country castle that designation is for the castle Bailiwick Castle familiar. If the sovereign used the castle himself as a residence, albeit only temporarily, such a complex is also called a residential castle. Then they had appropriate buildings such as a Saalgeschossbau or Palas to the ruler and his entourage for a limited time to accommodate adequately. Illustrative examples of such residential castles are Lechenich Castle in the Electorate of Cologne , Brüggen Castle in Jülich and the Angermund castles in the Düsseldorf district of the same name and Windeck , which belonged to the Counts of Berg .

Some state castles also performed other functions: They also served as a mint, toll castle , storage depot or port and therefore had great financial and economic importance, not only for the surrounding castle towns, settlements and cities, but for the entire state territory. After the territories of the great sovereigns had developed, many state castles primarily served to secure their borders. The Archbishops of Cologne, for example, surrounded their entire area with strong border festivals. So that was Burg Linn in today Krefeld against greed of Klever Dukes , the Count of Moers addressed and the Count of Berg. The Kempen Castle secured the Electoral Cologne area to the north-west, while Lechenich and Zülpich were directed against Kurköln's strongest rivals, the Jülich Counts. The Andernach , however, took defense and security responsibilities to Kurtrier true.

State castles were often built in the 14th century on the foundations of destroyed or dilapidated predecessors. However, these successors were usually much larger than the original system. They were continuously expanded and modernized in order to be armed against the respective weapon technology and to meet the needs of the time. Land castles were often integrated into the fortifications of a city, thus making use of already existing defenses and strengthening them at the same time. This was clearly visible in the castles of Andernach, Kempen and Rheinbach, among others.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ S. Frankewitz: Geldrische Landesburgen from the 13th to the end of the 15th century .
  2. ↑ HW Böhme et al .: Dictionary of Castles, Palaces and Fortresses , 2004, p. 11.
  3. ^ H. Ott: Rheinische Wasserburgen , 1984, p. 126.
  4. ↑ a b c Brigitte and Walter Janssen: Castles, palaces and court festivals in the Neuss district . District administration Neuss, Neuss 1980, ISBN 3-9800327-0-1 , p. 75.
  5. ^ Friedrich-Wilhelm Krahe: Castles of the German Middle Ages. Floor plan dictionary . Flechsig, Würzburg 2000, ISBN 3-88189-360-1 , p. 15.