Gymnich Castle

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Gymnich Castle
The castle from the southeast

The castle from the southeast

Creation time : 1354
Castle type : Moated castle
Conservation status: Received or received substantial parts
Place: Gymnich
Geographical location 50 ° 50 '30 "  N , 6 ° 44' 30"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 50 '30 "  N , 6 ° 44' 30"  E
Height: 85  m above sea level NHN
Gymnich Castle (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Gymnich Castle
Lithograph by Gymnich Castle around 1860 from the Duncker Collection
entrance
Gymnich Castle

Gymnich Castle is a moated castle of the Erftaue in Gymnich , a district of Erftstadt , in North Rhine-Westphalia . For centuries it was the seat of the von Gymnich family of knights from the Rhineland . The castle, which is surrounded by a large park, has a total land area of ​​21 hectares and is located on the Rheinischer Sagenweg .

history

A first castle was built in 1354 on the western edge of the village by Heinrich I von Gymnich. He gave it to Archbishop Wilhelm von Gennep as an open house of the Cologne church and received it back from him as a fief . After Heinrich II attacked and damaged other feudal men of the archbishop, the castle was demolished in 1399 on the orders of Archbishop Friedrich von Saar Werden. Heinrich undertook - even for his descendants - never to build a fortified house in Gymnich without the permission of the archbishop. The successor building was erected elsewhere, east of the first castle. In 1419 Johann von Gymnich, son of Heinrich II, was enfeoffed with Gymnich. His son Arnold inherited the Gymnich house in 1467, which remained in the family until the von und zu Gymnich line was extinguished in 1824 with the death of Freiin Johanna von Gymnich, canon lady zu Neuss , daughter of Karl Otto Ludwig Theodat von und zu Gymnich . Then the castle was donated to her great-nephew Max Felix Reichsgraf Wolff Metternich and his heirs. Vilma Countess Wolff Metternich, who was the last member of the family and thus heiress, brought her to this line through her marriage to Franz Vicomte de Maistre. In the further succession, after the death of the childless deceased son Rudolf Vicomte de Maistre, the castle fell to the successor heir determined by Vilma in will, the grandson of the countess and son of her daughter, Jörg Freiherr von Holzschuher . Miranda de Maistre (1912–2009), Rudolf's wife, who was unable to inherit according to house rules, moved into the chaplaincy next to the church after her husband's death (1968). After a modest life, she died there on July 22, 2009. Gymnich was a protector of the Sebastianus Brotherhood until shortly before her death .

The Gymnicher mill was connected to the castle and the later palace as a ban mill .

Description of the plant

A side street that branches off from the main street leads to the entrance gate of the castle, from which an avenue leads to the castle. The north wing of the former farmyard, the outer bailey, was torn down. The outer bailey is connected by a bridge to the main castle, which lies on a rectangular island surrounded by moats. The two-wing complex consists of a west wing with two towers and a north wing connected at right angles. The entrance is located in a porch at the corner of the two wings and can be reached by stairs.

The two wings were made at different times. After the castle was burned down in the Hessian War in 1642, the west wing with the southern chapel tower, built in 1547, was rebuilt in the Baroque style from 1655 to 1659 by Sofia Margarethe Wolff called Metternich, the widow of Adolf von Gymnich, and the altar in the castle tower was reconciled . Remains of an earlier castle can still be seen in the base of the chapel tower.

The north wing was built in 1722. In 1738, Karl Otto Ludwig Theodat von und zu Gymnich had the rooms furnished in the Rococo style . The splendid interiors with splendid stucco decorations are mainly characterized by the portraits of the then electors in the “Kurfürstensaal”, a portrait of Empress Maria Theresa in the “Marble Cabinet” and paintings of personalities from the von Gymnich family, as well as the unique ones Supraports with depictions of some of the castles of Elector Clemens August . During the alterations and fundamental renovations carried out between 1903 and 1930, the main entrance was relocated in 1907 and today's entrance was built as a small porch in the neo-baroque style.

According to Henriette Meynen, the importance of the baroque palace lies not only in its ornate interior design, but also in its large park with an abundance of native woody species, but also botanically striking exotic species. Today the building is a listed building . The property, including the park, covers an area of ​​212,667 square meters.

Modernization of the plant

Jörg Freiherr von Holzschuher, who, according to media reports, unexpectedly inherited the castle from his grandmother Vilma Countess Wolff-Metternich, found a complex that had been vacant for years and was in need of renovation.

It was used for military purposes in World War II . The air force had set up its switchboard there for the air force squadron stationed at the Gymnich field airport. The Vicomte de Maistre couple had given up their apartment in the castle and demolished buildings in the north-west part of the outer bailey and had a new house built for them in 1956.

Jörg von Holzschuher modernized and renovated the castle to meet the increased needs of living comfort by installing central heating, renewing the power lines, installing bathrooms and toilets and fundamentally restoring the representative rooms.

Use by the federal government

In 1971 he rented it for 750,000 DM per year to the federal government , which used the castle as a guest house until July 1990. It was the predecessor and successor of the federal guest house on the Petersberg . Gymnich Castle accommodated 262 state guests, including Erich Honecker during his visit to the FRG in 1987 . Most of the state guests landed at the Nörvenich air base, which was within sight, and were then driven to the nearby guest house by car.

The term Gymnich meeting goes back to a meeting within the framework of European political cooperation in April 1974 in the guest house Schloss Gymnich of the German federal government, which was organized by Hans-Dietrich Genscher . Since this meeting, so-called Gymnich meetings have taken place once per Council Presidency, i.e. once every six months.

On August 25, 1989 there was a secret meeting between the Hungarian Prime Minister Nemeth and Federal Chancellor Kohl in the castle, which then resulted in the opening of the Hungarian-Austrian border for the embassy refugees from Hungary on the night of September 10th, 1989 .

New owners

When the end of the Gymnich guest house was in sight after the federal government's guest house had been relocated to Petersberg , Freiherr von Holzschuher looked for a buyer. In June 1987 the Japanese entrepreneur Masao Nangaku acquired the castle for 28 million DM. He intended to convert Gymnich Castle into a luxury hotel with an attached golf course, which should extend towards the Gymnich mill . But his plans were not implemented due to financial difficulties. After the purchase negotiations were completed, however, he could no longer withdraw from the purchase without presenting a new buyer. He found him in 1993 in Joachim (Joe) Wander (Wander group). The new owner also wanted to build a golf course on the property, but found that the building permit had been withdrawn in 1992. Wander therefore set up an upscale hotel there, which turned out to be not worthwhile, as the expected guests stayed away because of the lack of a golf course. Due to great financial difficulties, he too had to give up.

In July 1998, Dan Kelly, father of the Kelly Family music group , bought the castle as part of a foreclosure auction for DM 13.1 million. The Kelly Family lived there until their father's death in 2002. Because of the busloads of fans that were partly in the When the residents camped in the front gardens, a separate security service was required. In time the children had moved out and father Dan was often alone in the castle. Since 2000, several attempts have been made to sell the castle, but they have failed. With the death of father Dan in August 2002, his eight children from the second and four children from the first marriage - one of them in the USA with a guardian - inherited the castle jointly. For a long time, the many co-owners could not agree on re-use or sale.

That is why the castle has been leased in the meantime. In 2005 the entrepreneurs Wilfried Vogt and Manfred Diel founded “Schloss Gymnich GmbH” together with Joey Kelly, which operated the castle as a restaurant and event location. After Manfred Diel's arrest during the bankruptcy of the Heros group of companies , the GmbH filed for bankruptcy in spring 2006. As of May 1, 2006, the rescue company "Schloss Gymnich Experience and Enjoyment GmbH" took over, whose managing director Wilfried Vogt remained; Joey Kelly was still involved as a partner. Until 2009 it was run as an upscale hotel and restaurant and served as an event location. From September 2010 to June 2011, the castle served as an outside backdrop for the ZDF telenovela Lena - Love of my Life .

Because of the disagreement of the many co-owners, Joey Kelly ran the foreclosure auction , with the market value being set at 5.3 million euros. Due to this market value, the minimum bid was officially set at 2.65 million euros. Bids had to be submitted to the responsible local court in Brühl by January 31, 2012. At this time, however, there was only one bid from Joey Kelly himself in the amount of 1.7 million euros. Since it fell short of the set minimum bid, it was not sold for the time being.

On July 3, 2012, the former Cologne industrial insurance broker Gerd Overlack auctioned the moated castle in the district court of Brühl for 3.05 million euros. He wants to move into the castle himself and to accommodate a hotel and a restaurant there. Overlack has been the owner of Eberstein Castle in the Rastatt district (Baden-Württemberg) since 2000 .

Extensive renovation work began in May 2015 with the aim of reopening the castle as a hotel. Radio Erft reported in May 2019 that the work should be completed in 2020.

Saga and coat of arms

Coat of arms of those of Gymnich

The legend of the Gymnicher Ritt is connected with the castle and the family , which is still celebrated today on Ascension Day by the Sebastianus Brotherhood and the St. Kunibertus Schützengesellschaft as a horseman procession. The legend was also included in the Gymnich coat of arms as a design element .

literature

Web links

Commons : Schloss Gymnich  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d worth 5.3 million euros: Who will buy Gymnich Castle? in Kölnische Rundschau on November 29, 2011
  2. ^ Wilhelm Janssen :: The Regests of the Archbishops in the Middle Ages, Vol. VI. Cologne 1977. No. 482
  3. ↑ Norbert Andernach: The Regest of the Archbishops in the Middle Ages, Vol. X, Düsseldorf 1987. No. 1789
  4. ^ Karl Stommel : The Electoral Cologne Office Lechenich, its emergence and organization , Euskirchen 1961. Page 48
  5. ^ Archive Schloss Gymnich, certificate no. 258, published in Karl and Hanna Stommel: Sources for the history of the city of Erftstadt , Vol. II, Erftstadt 1992. No. 1206
  6. ↑ a b Matthias Weber, Erftstadt-Gymnich, Heimatbuch S. 282-283, 288-300
  7. ↑ Aristocracy in Gymnich: Where the Countess once lived  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger , Rhein-Erft, from January 30, 2012, p. 38@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.rhein-erft-online.ksta.de  
  8. ↑ Obituary of the Brotherhood  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Accessed Jan. 2012)@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.bruderschaftgymnich.de  
  9. ^ Henriette Meynen: moated castles, palaces and country houses in the Erftkreis . Cologne 1992. pp. 122-128
  10. ↑ Minutes: Meeting at Theodat in Der Spiegel , issue 5/1972 of January 24, 1972
  11. ↑ a b A lord of the castle from Japan in Der Spiegel , issue 26/1987 of June 22, 1987
  12. ^ Secret headquarters at Gymnich Castle in Kölner Stadtanzeiger , Rhein-Erft from January 17, 2012
  13. ^ Rolf Breithaupt, Gymnich Castle - 19 years guest house of the federal government. In: Yearbook of the city of Erftstadt 1993/94. Pp. 47-62
  14. ↑ a b Fans: A Touch of Woodstock in Der Spiegel , issue 43/1999 from October 25, 1999
  15. ↑ Online at binkyskellypage.de Kellys want to buy Schloss Gymnich , Berliner Zeitung from June 18, 1998
  16. ^ Castle for Sale - The Kellys Move Out , RP Online August 30, 2000
  17. ↑ The unresolved question about the guilty party in the Kölner Stadtanzeiger of December 7, 2007
  18. ↑ Castle of the Kelly Family is foreclosed  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , oe3.orf.at, January 28, 2012@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / oe3.orf.at  
  19. ↑ Foreclosure auction: Expert estimates the value of Gymnich Castle in Kölnische Rundschau from August 11, 2011
  20. ↑ The Kelly Family property is foreclosed on auction: lock out and over in Süddeutsche Zeitung from January 31, 2012
  21. ↑ The Kellys' family home sold: A castle for a pensioner in Die Tageszeitung from July 3, 2012
  22. ↑ Background to the foreclosure auction: The Kelly Family Castle in the air in Stern from July 3, 2012
  23. ↑ Former Kelly Family property is to become a hotel in Rhein-Erft-Rundschau on May 12, 2015
  24. ↑ Radio Erft: Gymnich Castle should be finished soon. Retrieved May 12, 2020 .