Koerich Castle

Koerich Castle
	Gréiweschlass in Koerich
Alternative name (s):	Gréiweschlass
Creation time :	around 1180
Castle type :	Hilltop castle
Conservation status:	ruin
Standing position :	High nobility of Luxembourg
Place:	Koerich
Geographical location	49 ° 40 '10 " N , 5 ° 57' 0.8" E Coordinates: 49 ° 40 '10 " N , 5 ° 57' 0.8" E
Height:	294 m

The Koerich Castle (Luxembourgish Gréiweschlass ) is a medieval valley castle in the middle of the village Koerich in the west of Luxembourg . The castle extends along the Goeblinger Bach (a tributary of the Eisch ) and is one of the castles from the Valley of the Seven Castles.

history

Wirich der Erste, Herr von Koerich and steward of Luxembourg , had this castle complex built in Koerich at the end of the 12th and beginning of the 13th century. A partial conversion from a Romanesque to a Gothic style took place around 1300.

Maria von Koerich married Gilles I d'Autel in 1356, whose family seat was in Autel (Autelbas) near Arlon . Between 1380 and 1385, the then owner Gilles d'Autel-Koerich undertook significant changes: he had a Gothic residential building built in the castle ring and two right-angled towers in the south facade. Today only the south-west tower remains.

The chapel consecrated to Saint Michel is located on the ground floor , which is why the south-west tower was popularly known as the “chapel tower”. The guards' room was on the first floor.

In 1466, Gilles II d'Autel took possession of the Koerich Castle. Another renaissance reconstruction of the castle took place in 1580–1585 under Jacques II. De Raville-Bassompierre (Raville = Rollingen ). Under his guidance, the Niederungsburg, surrounded by moats, was transformed into a feudal mansion .

Today only the stately chimney on the first floor in the already mentioned south-west tower and the large windows testify to the former splendor. Various elements of the military architecture have also been preserved.

From 1714 to 1720 the castle was owned by Lothaire-Frédéric de Raville . In 1728 the southern wing of the castle was rebuilt in the Baroque style. In 1739, the Koerich castle and manor were bought into the possession of Lambert-Joseph de Marchant et d'Ansembourg, who received the title of Imperial Count in 1750. The name Gréiweschlass (Count's Castle) can be traced back to this. After 1755 the "Gréiweschlass" was no longer inhabited and left to decay until it finally became uninhabitable.

The last private owner, Pierre Flammang, then mayor of Koerich, initiated some security work on the Gréiweschlass in 1950.

The castle is now owned by the Luxembourg state.

In 1993 the "Käercher Schlassfrenn" association was founded in Koerich, whose aim and first goal was to save the castle in Koerich from final ruin.

The first maintenance work on the Gréiweschlass began in 1995 and ended in autumn 2019. Visiting the ruins is possible thanks to a barrier-free entrance. Admission is free.

investment

The striking defense tower of the castle, called " Hexenturm ", is built like the outer walls in the late Romanesque style. With a floor plan of 12 × 11.6 m and a wall thickness of 3 to 3.5 m, this “witch's tower” - whose height was once estimated at 25 to 30 m, but is now only 11 m high - is one of the mightiest castle towers of the region. A stone-walled circular staircase connects the individual floors.