Moth Gripekoven

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Moth Gripekoven
Alternative name (s): Motte Alt-Gripekoven
Creation time : Old Gripekoven around 1200, Neu-Gripekoven at the beginning of the 14th century.
Castle type : Niederungsburg, moth
Place: Wegberg - Beeck
Geographical location 51 ° 8 '35.5 "  N , 6 ° 19' 40.2"  E Coordinates: 51 ° 8 '35.5 "  N , 6 ° 19' 40.2"  E
Motte Gripekoven (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Moth Gripekoven

The Motte Gripekoven is as Motte Alt-Gripekoven the remnant of a fortified wood-earth castle of the knightly lords of Gripekoven / Gripinghoven in the Wegberg district of Beeck in the district of Heinsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia in the swamp of the Alsbach or " Mühlenbach " .

Ceramic finds and the documentary mention suggest that the (two-part) Motte (tower hill castle) - like others in this region - was created around the year 1200. Since the moth and its entrance are located directly behind the courtyard belonging to it “In Gripekoven 9”, it can only be viewed with the owner's permission.

New Gripekoven

At the beginning of the 14th century, the influential knight Gerhard von Engelsdorf tried to establish a rule here with the construction of an extensive stone moated castle ("Neu-Gripekoven") and jurisdiction over the nearby Dalen , which ultimately served the territorial interests of the margrave of Jülich ran counter to this. After Neu-Gripekoven was briefly occupied by an alliance under the knight Goswin von Zievel and from here "unjustified feuds " or predatory extortions against passing merchants took place - whereby it is assumed that this was an agreed plot of the margrave against the location of the castle von Engelsdorf was - the complex was besieged for weeks in June 1354 with the mobilization of 1500 to 2500 men (knights, Schanzer, servants) and after the besieged was abandoned it was completely removed down to the remains of the foundation wall, while the alleged "robber barons" were not judged, but with were allowed to move their belongings free - and Emond von Engelsdorf , Gerhard's son, was compensated for the destruction of Gripekoven with Castle Nothberg near Eschweiler, as well as with the Wildenburg in the Eifel.

In the past few decades, around 30 impressively heavy blideballs with which the besieged defended themselves have been found on the fields within a radius of 500 meters . Up until the early 1950s, the foundations of the towers that were previously in place were around 100 centimeters thick. The "Neu-Gripekoven" complex is now largely overgrown or in agricultural use, but the dimensions of its ditches and dam systems are still impressive.

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