Schönau Palace (Aachen)

Front of the Schönau Palace

Schönau Palace around 1860, Alexander Duncker collection

The Schoenau Castle is a small moated castle in Aachen suburb Richterich .

History and architecture

The area around Schönau was transferred as property to Heinrich von Aachen in 1244 by Emperor Friedrich II . Heinrich von Aachen, previously treasurer of Aachen, founded the von Schönau family , which, after being enfeoffed with the Schönforst rule and the construction of the castle of the same name in the first half of the 14th century, also called themselves von Schönforst .

In 1396 Schönau Palace and the surrounding area became a fiefdom of the Duchy of Jülich . As a subordinate rule, it remained in the possession of a branch of the von Schönau family and was passed on to the von Millendonk family , to whom it belonged from around 1450 to 1695. By marriage, subordinate rule came to the von Blanche family . The attempt by Johann Gottfried of the Holy Roman Empire, immediate baron von Blanche, Schönau, Fronenbroch, Hörstgen etc., dynast in Hüls etc. to regain the imperial immediacy for the area around Schönau Castle failed, and Gottfried von Blanche ended up in the dungeon of the castle in 1759 from Jülich.

Arnold Carl Maria von Broich (1797–1873) acquired Schönau Palace through family connections to the von Blanche family. His son Eduard von Broich (1834–1907) was the last owner of Schönau Castle from the von Broich family .

The present buildings date mainly from the year 1732. The castle was built on the foundations of a once wasserumwehrten late medieval three-wing building with a two-winged front castle built. It was built in brick on a stone plinth. The builder was Laurenz Mefferdatis , commissioner Johann Gottfried von Blanche . The windows and door openings were decorated with interlocking bluestone frames . The entrance is in a central, gabled risalit . In the 19th century, two wing structures of the same style were added to the park side. Today the castle belongs to the city of Aachen and is used as a restaurant and for cultural events by associations.

literature

• Georg Dehio ; Edited by Magnus Backes: Hessen . In: Handbook of German Art Monuments . First volume. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich, Berlin 1966.

Web links

Commons : Schönau Castle  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Material on Schönau Palace in the Duncker Collection of the Central and State Library Berlin (PDF; 248 kB)
• The gentlemen of Schönau
• An adaptation of the font: JH Gross. Schönau. (PDF) Accessed January 31, 2016 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Georg Dehio ; Edited by Magnus Backes : Hessen . In: Handbook of German Art Monuments . First volume. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich, Berlin 1966, p. 71 .

Coordinates: 50 ° 48 ′ 40.4 "  N , 6 ° 3 ′ 51.1"  E