Münchweiler Castle
| Münchweiler Castle | ||
|---|---|---|
| Creation time : | from 1749 | |
| Castle type : | Country castle | |
| Conservation status: | Original condition and renovated | |
| Standing position : | Gentry | |
| Place: | Münchweiler | |
| Geographical location | 49 ° 29 '48.5 " N , 6 ° 49' 11.8" E | |
| Height: | 277 m above sea level NN | |
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The Münchweiler Castle is a historic building in the district of Münchweiler Waderner district Nunkirchen . The castle is the only recognizable preserved example of an elaborate and generous baroque country castle planning in Saarland . It is a listed building .
history
1749 until the French Revolution
Baron Franz Georg Zandt von Merl had a stately seat built in three construction phases from 1749. The most important architect in the Merzig region in the 18th century, Christian Kretschmar, was commissioned with the construction. The Kretschmarsche handwriting in the Corps-de-logis can only be seen in the two wings today, however, only vaguely.
Originally planned as a hunting lodge, Münchweiler Palace took on the shape and dimensions of a man's palace in the course of construction. Basically, a building is being built that is committed to the high baroque. It was extended by two gable fronts by 1773. Münchweiler Castle survived the years of the French Revolution quite unscathed, also because French troops take up quarters in the building while the owners can get to safety on the other side of the Rhine. In 1801 the von Zandt family was able to buy back buildings and lands. However, the castle's furniture was irretrievably lost during the turmoil of the revolution.
1840 to 1997
Around 1840 Gut Münchweiler was heavily in debt. The creditor, who at that time owned 50 percent of the property, was called Johann Baptist Schaack. He is a wealthy businessman from Trier . His daughter Catharina Schaack marries René von Zandt. The heirs of René and Catharina von Zandt divide the castle between themselves. Between 1860 and 1886, the north and south wings of the building underwent significant changes. Originally, both side wings were the same. There was a chapel in the right wing. In 1886 two more wings were added. The chapel was moved to the wing facing the garden. The portal is taken from the Nepomuk chapel of the former Münchweiler ironworks. Unusually, the courtyard of Münchweiler Castle is bordered by farm buildings and ancillary buildings, some of which have only been preserved in ruins today. The moving portal, the outside staircase and the double internal staircase - are designed in high quality in the forms of the high baroque.
The end of the First World War , reparations and the global economic crisis force land sales in 1932, which lead to the emergence of Münchweiler. The loss of substance and land leads to the permanent decline of the castle and the associated complex.
After the Second World War , the castle houses a restaurant. The building is meanwhile experiencing rapid decline. At the end of the 1990s, little reminds of the former splendor that distinguished the castle in the past. In 1997, Brigitte von Zandt's adopted son - she is the last owner of the von Zandt family - Dietrich-Bernhard von Hagke, took over the fortunes of Münchweiler Castle.
The renovation from 1997
In 1997 the first restoration and security work began. With support from the public sector and the German Foundation for Monument Protection , the building is almost completely renovated. The various roof areas are gradually being secured and re-covered. Today the castle has a complete slate roof again. In 2001/2002 the securing of the walls, ceilings and the stairwell in the main house was tackled. The extensive renovation work, which will restore large parts of the building to its historical state, will take around ten years to complete.
Todays use
From 1999 to 2000, parallel to the renovation of the palace, a hotel was built in place of the southern commercial wing. In 2007 a café opens in a wing of Münchweiler Castle. The city administration of Wadern maintains a wedding room in the building. Individual parts of the building are now open to the public again.
literature
- Fritz Glutting, Heimatbuch Nunkirchen , self-published, 1992.
- Jochen Kuttler, Like year and day ago: a trip into the past of Nunkirchen and Münchweiler , 2004.
- Matthias Müller, Nunkirchen / Münchweiler - a home book , Nunkirchen-Münchweiler tourist tourist office, 1957.
