Saffenburg

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Saffenburg
Saffenburg ruins, left Mayschoss (2016)

Saffenburg ruins, left Mayschoss (2016)

Alternative name (s): Saffenberg
Creation time : before 1074
Castle type : Hilltop castle
Conservation status: ruin
Standing position : Count
Place: Mayschoss
Geographical location 50 ° 31 '12.6 "  N , 7 ° 1' 24.8"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 31 '12.6 "  N , 7 ° 1' 24.8"  E
Height: 253  m above sea level NN
Saffenburg (Rhineland-Palatinate)
Saffenburg
Saffenburg, aerial photo (2015)

The Saffenburg , also called Saffenberg , is the ruin of a high medieval hilltop castle at 253  m above sea level. NN in the local community Mayschoss in the Rhineland-Palatinate district of Ahrweiler . It is the oldest castle ruin in the Ahr Valley and stands above the Ahr Valley .

description

The castle ruins are located on an elongated rock massif that is washed by the Ahr on three sides and pierced by two tunnel tubes of the Ahr Valley Railway , with the disused tube of the former second northern track now serving as a route for the Ahr cycle path .

The castle complex has a length of approx. 260 and a width of 80 meters. The castle consisted of two outer castles and the main castle , which were separated from each other by deep ditches . The excavated material from the neck trenches was used as building material.

Nowadays, only the foundation walls , which seem to merge seamlessly into the rock, have been preserved from the castle. In some places embankments still show where a wall once ran. In 2004 a fundamental renovation of the more and more dilapidated foundation walls began. The castle ruin has been open to the public again since 2007.

Lordship of Saffenburg

The rule of Saffenburg consisted of the Saffenburg and the four villages Mayschoss , Laach , Rech , Dernau and the Marienthal monastery in today's Ahrweiler district . The rule had its own court, consisting of the lay judges elected in the villages. The court was headed by a bailiff, and it was held in the Mayschoss rent office. No stranger was allowed to settle in the rulership without special permission, but had to pay twelve Reichstaler. If he had a wife, he had to pay eight Reichstaler for her.

Ownership

The Saffenburg was built in the 11th century by Counts Adolf von Nörvenich and Adalbert von Saffenburg , also called von Saffenberg, (Adelbertus de Saffenberch). It was first mentioned in a document in 1074. Here Adelbertus de Saffenberch appears as a witness to a document, in which Archbishop Anno II. That of Count Eberhard von Cleve the h. Quirinus and his church in Neuss distributed goods to the said church and the cathedral in Cologne on September 27, 1074. In 1104 Adalbert was the founder of the Klosterrath Abbey, the later famous Augustinian Abbey of Rolduc near today's Herzogenrath and Kerkrade , which he simultaneously with his wife Mechtildis and his son Adolf transferred goods in Ahrweiler and Lantershoven. According to the chronicle of his monastery, Adalbert died on December 16, 1110 and was buried in front of the large altar of the church there.

Adalbert was followed by his son Adolf I. von Saffenberg . By marrying Margarete von Schwarzenburg, a niece of Cologne's Archbishop Friedrich I von Schwarzenburg , he received the title of Count through him . Around 1147 he was appointed bailiff of the Cologne church, for which he probably ceded the Saffenburg to Cologne and received it back as a fief, because from this point on the rule appears as a Cologne fief. Adolf's son Herman II succeeded him, with his death in 1172 this family died out.

Family coat of arms of the noble lords of Saffenburg

Around 1173 the Saffenburg came to the Counts of Sayn through the marriage of the daughter of Hermann II Agnes, with Count Heinrich II. Von Sayn . This family died with their son Heinrich III. who remains childless, from 1246. His widow Countess Mathilde inherited the Saffenburg in 1247 to her husband's sister sons, the Counts of Sponheim . Count Heinrich von Sponheim reached an agreement with his brothers and became the sole owner of the Saffenburg, which he ceded to his son-in-law Diedrich VII von Cleve in 1255. Since Diedrich VII's only son became a priest, the Saffenburg was an opened fiefdom. In 1184 the Archbishop of Cologne, Philipp I von Heinsberg, bought half of the castle. In addition to the Counts of Saffenberg, another noble family was enfeoffed, the noble lords of Saffenburg, who without the title of count did not belong to the high nobility .

Albert von Saffenburg was named first in 1197, probably a vassal of the von Sayn family. According to this, Wilhelm around 1220 and Hermann around 1225 are mentioned. Wilhelm's son, Gerlach, is mentioned around 1253, his son Konrad and his wife Mechthild appear in contracts in 1284. His successor is Wilhelm and his wife Isbergis around 1299. This was followed by Johann I to Johann IV. Johann I and his wife Sophie were mentioned in documents around 1325. Johann II followed with his wife Gertrudis von Braunshorn , whereby in 1353 the successor Johann III. was married to 14-year-old Katharina von Neuenahr as a boy. this was done with the support of his father Johann II, who was still alive in 1382. The legacy and the taking possession of the county of Neuenahr could only be supported by the Archbishop of Cologne, Friedrich III. from Saar Werden. His military intervention led to the siege and destruction of Neuenahr Castle in 1383. The children of Johann III. were Johann IV., Wilhelm, Kraft, Katharina, Gertrud, Ponzetta, Johannetta and Elisabeth. Since Johann IV remained childless, the siblings continued the dynasty through Katharina as the daughter of brother Wilhelm.

Katharina von der Mark (* 1622 † October 30, 1645)

In 1424 the rule came through the marriage of Countess Katharina, granddaughter of John III. von Saffenburg, with Count Philip I of Virneburg to the Counts of Virneburg . It remained in their possession until the death of the last Count Kuno von Virneburg in 1545. Count Diedrich IV. (The elder) von Manderscheid and Johann IV., Count zu Wied, then fought over the inheritance of the rule of Saffenburg. By paying 3190 thalers to Count Friedrich IV von Wied , the legal successor to John IV, Count Diedrich II became the sole owner. He was enfeoffed in 1572 by Archbishop Salentin von Isenburg with the rule of Saffenburg. So the property came to the Counts of Manderscheid-Schleiden . Dietrich was the last of the male line and so the husband of his sister Katharina, Philipp von der Mark , (* 1548, † 1613), a descendant of Count Wilhelm I von der Mark, "the boar of the Ardennes", came into possession in 1593 the Saffenburg. He was followed by his son Ernst von der Mark (* 1590; † 1654), who married the non-aristocratic Katharina von der Mark in 1641 in his third marriage . The sons Engelbert and Franz-Anton and the daughters Magdalena and Katharina-Franziska emerged from the marriage. Only on April 23, 1649, the marriage of Pope Innocent X was confirmed and the descendants were legitimized. In the same year the declaration of equality came from Emperor Ferdinand .

In the middle of the 17th century, the von der Mark family pledged the Saffenburg to the Freiherr von der Reck. This transferred the pledge to Count Maximilian Carl zu Löwenstein . This was not settled until 1679. During the Palatinate War of Succession, Catharina Charlotte, the widow of Franz-Anton von der Mark, emigrated to France with her three sons. After she refused to be asked to return to Germany, Emperor Leopold confiscated the Saffenburg in 1693 and handed it over to Count Hugo Franz von Königseck . Due to the wars in the country, however, he could not take possession of the rule and so this process had no further consequences. On October 5, 1773, the last Count of the Mark died. The daughter of the Mark – Schleiden house, Louise Margaretha, married Duke Karl Maria Raimund von Arenberg on June 10, 1748 , who died on August 17, 1778. After that, the Saffenburg and Schleiden passed on to his descendants.

Wars and Sieges

Drawing of the castle ruins by Renier Roidkin , 1st half of the 18th century
Access to the castle ruins

At the end of 1632, the Swedes under their General Baudissin undertook a raid and foray into the Ahr valley from their headquarters in Linz. After the attack and capture of the Reichsburg Landskron , the sacking of Ahrweiler, the siege of the Saffenburg took place in December 1632. The commandant of Burckersdorf had reinforced his garrison with able-bodied men from the area. Many wealthy citizens from Ahrweiler had fled from the Swedes to the supposedly protective castle. After a violent cannonade with three, eight and sixteen pound cannon balls, the castle was shot ready for storm. On December 14th the storm took place and the castle was taken. Numerous defenders were killed. Many commoners managed to escape over the outer walls down the steep mountain slope, including the bailiff of the rulership. After the Swedes had stationed a company under Captain Bodinger at the castle, they withdrew towards the Rhine on December 15.

The sovereign Elector Ferdinand of Cologne, militarily overwhelmed in the fight against the Swedes, asked for assistance from the Infanta Isabella . This sent Spanish troops under Count Ernst von Isenburg - Grenzau to the Middle Rhine in January 1633. The siege of the Saffenburg was entrusted to Count de Maria. He carried out the siege with his Spanish and Electoral Cologne troops so intensely and persistently that after a siege of four weeks the Swedes had to surrender on February 15 and withdrew with accord.

An inventory list from 1653 provides information about the poor artillery state of defense of the castle. At that time 17 iron and bronze artillery pieces, some of them medieval chamber artillery, are mentioned, the mountings of which were mostly rotten.

In 1689, during the War of the Palatinate Succession (1688–1697), the Saffenburg was captured on May 12 by troops from the Electorate of Trier under the command of Otto von Wentz by a nightly raid. meanwhile the French devastated and plundered the Ahr valley. The Electoral Cologne city of Ahrweiler was completely cremated except for ten houses.

Wall remains
Bailey area

In the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), Archbishop of Cologne Joseph Clemens of Bavaria changed the fronts and entered into an alliance with France. The French then occupied the residence in Bonn and the Ahr valley, only the electoral Cologne occupation on the Saffenburg remained loyal to the emperor and empire. On October 18, 1702, the French managed to take the Saffenburg during the grape harvest by overpowering the gate guard. The castle was now occupied by the Chevalier de Lacroix, colonel of the infantry, owner of a fusilier and a cavalry company. On January 7, 1703, General Sommerfeld from Hanover appeared from the Allied army with 800 men, four twelve pounder cannons and two mortars to drive the French out. It was set up in the forest on the opposite bank of the Ahr. After a two-day unsuccessful bombardment in which he threw 70 bombs on the castle, he withdrew to the Allied army. Before that he had extorted 700 Reichstaler from the Saffenburger Ländchen. In addition, a diary entry from the besieged castle:

“ If they shot 70 Bommen and that many Fewerkugel in two days , but without any particular damage to the besieged, one Bomm fell into the so-called Bell Garden of the castle and was crouched (choked) there by the vigilance of the soldiers, one fell in Johann Kreps Bungart Backhaus as it shattered the chimney, hearth wall and roof all over. The rest of the Bommen did not touch or damage anything, the spherical pieces slightly damaged the windows, walls and roof structure, us beleaguered (the clerk was with the French in the castle) frightened but not damaged. "

On May 1, 1703, an Allied force under General Bülow came with 700 men and besieged Saffenburg, which was occupied by the French, for three weeks. After the Bonn Fortress fell on May 15, 1703, the situation of the French in the castle became hopeless and relief was out of the question. The French commander, Monsieur le Ballu, surrendered and withdrew to Vianden in Luxembourg in safe conduct.

On February 6, 1704, Monsieur Borkelinge came from the Jülich fortress with an artillery command on behalf of his sovereign, the Duke of Jülich and the then lord of the castle, to razor the castle . It was so ruined by the many sieges and cannonades that rebuilding was out of the question. All the masonry and the great tower were undermined and blown up. On February 16, the castle was completely destroyed. It came into the possession of the Dukes of Arenberg as a ruin in 1773 .

Legends and stories

After the request to surrender to the French commandant Monsieur le Ballu, the honorable surrender, not without firing a shot, is reflected in the following verse:

So only three shots do me. You
never saw your life,
That a castle so solid and strong
Surrender without a shot.

According to tradition, however, there were only two shots.

literature

  • Heinrich Neu , Walther Zimmermann : The work of the painter Renier Roidkin. Views of West German churches, castles, palaces and cities from the first half of the 18th century . L. Schwann, Düsseldorf 1939, p. 137
  • Julius Wegeler : Bad Neuenahr and its surroundings. For spa guests and history lovers, T. Habicht, Bonn 1862, pp. 92–97
  • Joachim Gerhardt, Heinrich Neu: The art monuments of the Ahrweiler district 2nd half volume, Ludwig Schwann, Düsseldorf 1938, pp. 413–419
  • Johann Christian von Stramberg : Memorable and useful Rhenish Antiquarian ... Dept. 3, Vol. 10, Coblenz 1864, pp. 141-164 Rheinischer Antiquarius, Dept. 3, Vol. 10 (1864) in the Google book search
  • Heinrich Stötzel: The legends of the Ahr valley . Ludwig Röhrscheid, Bonn 1938, pp. 54–56
  • Carl Müller: Swedish soldiers on the Middle Rhine and in the Ahr Valley from 1632 to 1635 . In: Kreis Ahrweiler (Ed.): Heimatjahrbuch des Kreis Ahrweiler 1962 ISSN  0342-5827 pp. 131-134 online
  • Peter Graf: The Saffenburg . In: Kreis Ahrweiler (Ed.): Heimatjahrbuch des Kreis Ahrweiler 1957. ISSN  0342-5827 pp. 131-134 online
  • Leo Ries: At the grave of the beautiful Countess Katharina von der Mark in the parish church of Mayschoss . In Kreis Ahrweiler (Hrsg.): Heimatjahrbuch des Kreis Ahrweiler 1969. ISSN  0342-5827 pp. 48–52. On-line
  • Landeshauptarchiv Koblenz , inventory 44: Reichsherrschaft Saffenburg , 41 documents, 31 factual files, archive portal online

Web links

Commons : Saffenburg  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ History of the castle on rotweinwanderweg.de , accessed on 16 October of 2010.
  2. ^ A b Johann Christian von Stramberg: Rheinischer Antiquarius, Department III., Volume 10, Koblenz, 1864, p. 160.
  3. ^ Johann Christian von Stramberg: Rheinischer Antiquarius, Department III., Volume 10, Koblenz 1864, p. 142.
  4. ^ Julius Wegeler: Bad Neuenahr and its surroundings. For spa guests and history lovers, T. Habicht Verlag, Bonn 1862, p. 92.
  5. ^ Johann Christian von Stramberg: Rheinischer Antiquarius, Department III., Volume 10, Koblenz 1864, p. 154
  6. ↑ Jul. Wegeler: Bad Neuenahr and its surroundings. For spa guests and friends of history , Bonn, Verlag von T. Habicht, 1862, pp. 96–97. and Carl Müller: Swedish soldiers on the Middle Rhine and in the Ahr Valley 1632 to 1635 , Ahrweiler district's homeland yearbook, 1962
  7. ↑ Joachim Gerhardt, Heinrich Neu: Art monuments of the Ahrweiler district , 2. Half volume L. Schwann, Düsseldorf, 1938, p. 419.
  8. ↑ Landeshauptarchiv Koblenz: Inventory 44, Reichsherrschaft Saffenburg, factual file No. 76.
  9. ^ Julius Wegeler: Bad Neuenahr and its surroundings. For spa guests and history lovers. , Verlag von T. Habicht, Bonn, 1862, p. 97
  10. ↑ Albert Federle: 250 years ago: The cremation of the city of Ahrweiler by the French in 1689, Yearbook of the Ahrweiler District, 1939, pp. 61–63.
  11. ↑ Peter Graf: The Saffenburg, once a strong fortress on the Mittelahr, Heimatjahrbuch Kreis Ahrweiler, 1957, pp. 20-25
  12. ^ Johann Christian von Stramberg , Rheinischer Antiquarius, Department III., Volume 10, Koblenz, 1864, p. 156 and 157
  13. ^ Christian von Stramberg, Rheinischer Antiquarius, III. Department, Volume 10, p. 159