Föhren Castle
The baroque Föhren palace complex in the local community of Föhren in the Trier-Saarburg district in Rhineland-Palatinate has been in the possession of the von Kesselstatt family since the 15th century . It was created in 1663 through the renovation of a former fortified castle from 1340.
history
After Johann Eberhard von Kesselstatt married a sister of Elector Johann Hugo von Orsbeck in Trier, the fortified previous building was converted into a castle. The two existing independent building units, the south and north wings with the associated farm buildings, were joined by connecting parts to form an almost rectangular building unit with an inner courtyard. During the same period, a three-story tower was erected south of the east side of the entire building. Presumably for economic reasons, a counterpart in the northeast corner was not built.
The north building was considerably redesigned in 1713. Above the entrance to the inner courtyard is a well-preserved coat of arms stone of Johann Eberhard von Kesselstatt and Anna Antoinette von Orsbeck with the date 1663. The portal of the west wing is crowned by a coat of arms stone from 1586. Today it forms the entrance to the registry office in Schweich.
Plans from the 18th century indicate an impressive garden to the west of the building complex. The rectangular lawn that still exists today ends in a semicircular end with a two-flight staircase. A semicircular porch protrudes into the adjoining pond. A moat used to be fed from this pond, which surrounded the castle from 1663 to 1947.
Today's main entrance to the palace complex is formed by a building unit with a sweeping arched portal from the early 17th century with column elements. A pedestrian gate, which is now walled up, is connected to the left and right. The gable field is decorated with the coat of arms of the imperial counts of Kesselstatt. On the left, not far from the main entrance, is the " Zehntscheune ", built in 1820 , which today, with its 160 m² in a historical setting, is also made available to the public as a space for festivities.
The lords of the castle
The family of the Reichgraves von Kesselstatt lives in the 23rd generation in an uninterrupted gender sequence at Föhren Castle. Over the centuries it has produced numerous important men in positions of responsibility for church and state.
Origin of the imperial count family von Kesselstatt
The origin of the family lies in the village of Kesselstadt in Hessen , which has been incorporated into the city of Hanau since 1907 . The family name appears for the first time in a document from September 1297. Mülich and Peter von Kesselstatt are named among others as guarantors of Count Ludwig von Rieneck in a settlement matter. These and other first documentary mentions allow the conclusion that the attested members of the Kesselstatt family with knightly origin were in the service of the noblemen and later counts of Hanau. A Rudolf von Kesselstatt is documented in 1340 as Vogt of Hanau.
The rise of the family
The family's “estate ascent” up to the end of the 18th century is integrated into the functional principle of the so-called feudal state. The feudal system ( feudalism ) formed the basis of economic income, especially in the nobility. The king , sovereigns , counts and free lords needed a mounted warlike retinue for their military expeditions. This received land as property or a fiefdom with permanent income to finance its services. The notable rise of the family from knightly servants to the rank of imperial count was also associated with a purposeful family and marriage policy. In the 18th century, family assets and income from the possessions of the von Kesselstatt family under Casimir Friedrich Freiherr von Kesselstatt were estimated at over 100,000 Reichstaler . This corresponded to about half of the expenditures of the state budget of the Electorate of Trier in 1714. According to a list by Franz Xaver Streitberger from 1802, the imperial count's house owned possessions and 1774 subjects in 35 places as well as wineries and wine rents.
List of places - possessions and subjects:
Arenrath , Auw , Bade , Bausendorf , Bekond , Beilingen , Bruch , Dierscheid , Dodenburg , Daufenbach , Erlenbach , Esslingen , Föhren , Gelsdorf, Gladbach , Greverath , Heidweiler , Hosten , Lösnich , Meckel , Metternich, Heckenmünster , Naurath , Niersbach , Orenhofen , Niederolkenbach, Preist , Rivenich , Rodt , Scharfbillig , Speicher , Stolberg, Thörnich , Winterbach, Zemmer .
List of places - wineries or Weinrenten:
Bekond , Graach , Kinheim , Klüsserath , Kröv , Lieser , Longen , Lösnich , Mehring , Niederemmel , Reil , Schweich , Thörnich , Ürzig , Zeltingen on the Moselle , as well as Linz and Wallen on the Rhine .
The end of the feudal state, which began with the penetration of French revolutionary troops in 1794, brought about the abolition of all noble privileges by law in 1798. Coupled with the high French war contributions , this also had a significant impact on the family's wealth. However, the ownership claims could be preserved and recovered due to the preserved family archive.
The way to the Moselle
Through offices and marriages, the path of the Kesselstatt family led early on in the direction of the Moselle and the Kurtrierische areas:
- In 1384 Johann Moir von Kesselstatt was given court office as a marshal of the Electorate of Trier and was given high school in Koblenz
- In 1385 Friedrich von Kesselstatt, who had already held offices for Elector Kuno II. Von Falkenstein , was named a. a. with a wine interest from the electoral tax to Karden / Mosel and the Klotten Castle
- In 1404 Friedrich's brother Dietrich von Kesselstatt received the post of bailiff in Daun in the Eifel from Trier Elector Werner von Falkenstein
- In 1423 Dietrich von Kesselstatt was enfeoffed with the castle house in Kröv / Mosel and appointed as administrator of the Electoral Trier rights in the Kröver Empire . With a few interruptions, the von Kesselstatt family remained connected to the office of Obervogte in the Kröver Reich until the end of the feudal position in 1794.
- Friedrich II, son of the lord of the castle Friedrich I († 1473) von Klotten, married von Geza von Daun a third of the Kondelwald.
- Frederick I and his son Frederick II acquired the Föhren estate and castle, which had already been pledged in 1428, from the brothers Alf and Kuno von Bassenheim. Kuno von Bassenheim was married to Katharina von Kesselstatt, Friedrich II's sister, which means that there were already family ties between buyer and seller.
- In 1690 Casimir Friedrich Freiherr von Kesselstatt married Clara Freiin von Metternich- Burscheid and inherited his lordships, houses and fiefs, etc. after the death of his father-in-law Wolfgang Heinrich von Metternich-Burscheid in 1790. a. House and rule Lösnich , house and rule Bruch , the rule Scharfbillig- Dodenburg , the rule Bitburg , the Kriechinger Hof zu Kröv and the von Metternich-Burscheider house in Koblenz.
- With Peter von Kesselstatt as abbot of the Augustinian monastery in Springiersbach from 1432 to 1468, the family had achieved an important ecclesiastical position for the first time. Peter was a brother of Friedrich II von Kesselstatt.
- In the 17th and 18th centuries the family managed to achieve leading positions in the cathedral chapter in Trier. Karl Kaspar von Kesselstatt (1686–1723), Hugo Wolfgang von Kesselstatt (1743–1750) and Franz Ludwig von Kesselstatt (1774–1777) held the highest office of the Trier church as cathedral provost after the archbishop .
- From 1795 to 1828 Johann Philipp Franz von Kesselstatt Trier was cathedral dean
- The office of archdeacon ( vicar general ) was held by Georg Wolfgang von Kesselstatt from 1624 to 1626 and Lothar Adolf von Kesselstatt from 1699 to 1712.
- 1725–1730 Johann Hugo von Kesselstatt was cathedral scholaster in Trier
- Female members of the family also served in spiritual offices. These include three abbesses in the Marienberg / Boppard monastery , St. Thomas / Kyll and a prioress of the Oberwerth monastery near Koblenz
- In 1822, Count Edmund von Kesselstatt (1765–1840) rejected the office of Archbishop of Trier despite being appointed
In the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, the family also gained political importance with over 24 family members as statesmen and diplomats.
Ranks
The association of coats of arms of the Lords of Kesselstatt with the baronial von Orsbeck family is also to be seen as an indication of the growing importance. As Archbishop and Elector of Trier (1676–1711), Johann Hugo von Orsbeck , the last of the family, had decreed in his will that the coat of arms of his house should be combined with that of the house of Kesselstatt. The families were already connected through the marriage of his sister Antonetta to Johann Eberhard von Kesselstatt. The elector gave the family u. a. also the reign of Bekond (1709).
The von Kesselstatt family rose to the rank of barons in 1718 when they were raised to the rank of imperial barons and in 1776 to the rank of count by Emperor Josef II.
Hugo Kasimir Edmund von Kesselstatt (1727–1796), commissioned by Trier Elector Klemens Wenzeslaus to be the court master , was able to increase the prosperity of his house. His father Carl Friedrich Melchior Freiherr von Kesselstatt built the stately palace opposite the Church of Our Lady in Trier from 1740–1746 . He was married to Isabella Maria Theresia Freiin Raitz von Frentz. The alliance coat of arms of the two adorns the sweeping portal of the palace.
Establishment of the Familienfideikommiss
In 1823 Imperial Count Edmund von Kesselstatt set up a so-called entails commission and majorate to secure the family's assets. The entire property should remain united in one hand and the eldest son from the male line (Majorat) should inherit the entire property. The real estate portfolio in 1846 amounted to approx. 5,400 hectares of land with a cadastral income of 18,541 thalers and income from wine rents of 1,209 thalers on an annual average.
The repeal of this regulation in 1919 by the Weimar Constitution also affected the von Kesselstatt family. In the case of the imperial counts, however, it took more than 30 years before the repeal was actually implemented.
Development of the imperial estate
In the middle of the 19th century, as a result of the economic crisis, the imperial count's administration sold its fragmented winery property and acquired larger, more profitable wineries in return. These included the former cloister courtyard of the Oeren Abbey in Trier , the Josephshof in Graach , the former monastery courtyard of the Eberhardsklausen canyon in Piesport and the former monastery courtyard of the Reichsabbey of St. Maximin Trier in Oberemmel . With these wineries, the von Kesselstatt family became one of the great quality wine producers on the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer . For many years, the headquarters of the winery was in the Kesselstatt-Palais in Trier, until the winery was sold to Günther Reh in 1978. After extensive renovations and new buildings, he relocated the winery to Schloss Marienlay in the Ruwertal , where the winery has also been located since 1999.
Lineage of the family
Brief overview of the direct line of the imperial count's family in Schloss Föhren:
| Male trunk line | Married to | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Rudolf Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt (1956-) | Alexandra Schneider | Manager Schloss Föhren |
| Franz Eugen Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt (1926–2013) | Louisette by Laveran Stieber from Jinzberg | |
| Franz de Paul Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt (1894–1938) | Gabriele Anna Olga Princess from and to Liechtenstein | |
| Eugen Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt (1870–1933) | Margaret Countess Szechenyi | Completion of the reconstruction of Dodenburg Castle in 1894 |
| Franz Josef Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt (1826-?) | Ida Capello, Countess von Wickenberg | |
| Clemens Count of Kesselstatt (1792–1823) | Franziska von Fünfkirchen | |
| Karl Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt (1756–1829) | Theresia Franziska Phillipia Walpurgis from Stadion | |
| Johann Hugo Casimir Edmund Count of Kesselstatt (1727–1796) | Katharina Freiin von Katzenelnbogen | |
| Karl Friedrich Melchior Baron von Kesselstatt (1692–1751) | Isabella Freiin Raitz von Frentz | |
| Casimir Friedrich Freiherr von Kesselstatt (1664–1729) | Clara Freiin von Metternich-Burscheid | Among other things, inheritance from the lordship of Lösnich and Dodenburg |
| Johann Eberhard von Kesselstatt (1621-?) | Anna Antonetta Freiin von Orsbeck | Coats of arms merging Kesselstatt-Orsbeck |
literature
- Trouet Dorothe, noble castles in Kurtrier , buildings and building policy of the Kesselstatt family in the 17th and 18th centuries, Kliomedia, Trier 2007, ISBN 978-3-89890-105-5
- Alexander Thon, Stefan Ulrich: Castles and palaces on the Moselle. Schnell and Steiner, Regensburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-7954-1926-4
- Cristian v. Stramberg, The Moselle valley between Zell and Konz, printed in Koblenz in 1837 by Dubois and Werle, published by J. Hölscher
- Dr. Richard Laufner, Die Reichsgrafen von Kesselstatt , Historical portrait of an old family in the Trier region, Trier district 1969, A yearbook, published by the Trier district administration, printed by Paulinus Druckerei Trier
Web links
- Föhren Castle website , accessed on May 23, 2015
- The Imperial Counts of Kesselstatt , accessed on May 23, 2015
- Winery Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt , accessed on May 30, 2015
- Thepeerage website , accessed May 30, 2015
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Dr. Richard Laufner, Die Reichsgrafen von Kesselstatt, Yearbook District Trier 1969, pp. 137–147
- ^ KE Demandt, Regesten der Grafen von Katzenelnbogen, Wiesbaden 1953, No. 390
- ^ Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt Weingut Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt
- ^ Eugen Graf von Kesselstatt website Thepeerage
Coordinates: 49 ° 51 ′ 36.6 " N , 6 ° 45 ′ 45.4" E