Veldenz Castle
| Veldenz Castle | ||
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| Creation time : | 12th Century | |
| Castle type : | Spurburg | |
| Conservation status: | Ruin, partially rebuilt |
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| Geographical location | 49 ° 53 '1 " N , 7 ° 2' 22" E | |
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Veldenz Castle near the Moselle valley is a ruined castle about one and a half kilometers southeast of Veldenz , so the word castle is a bit misleading. The castle was the ancestral seat of the Counts of Veldenz.
location
The plant is located in Rhineland-Palatinate in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district . It is located on a mountain spur about 320 meters above sea level and 180 above the level of the Moselle.
It is located on the slopes of the Hunsrück in a side valley of the Moselle through which the Veldenzer Bach flows. The town of Bernkastel-Kues is located four kilometers to the northeast, the district town of Wittlich about 15 kilometers northwest and the nearest city Trier 31 kilometers southwest (all information as the crow flies ).
history
The castle was first mentioned in a document in 1156 (possibly a few years earlier). Frederick I (Barbarossa) confirms the ownership of the castle and surrounding lands to a bishop Albert I of Verdun .
Since the 12th century, the Counts of Veldenz were feudal lords of the lands and the castle that formed the center of the County of Veldenz . In 1286 the village of Veldenz received town and market rights.
In 1444, after the Veldenz line had died out, the castle was inherited by the Pfalz-Zweibrücken line . He was succeeded from 1543 by the Counts of Pfalz-Veldenz, who remained in the possession of the castle and the county until they died out in 1694, even if the castle was occupied by Swedish, Spanish and French troops during the Thirty Years' War and the War of the Palatinate Succession . At the end of 1681 the French laid the castle to rubble and two years later it was called a razed fortress.
After the withdrawal of the French troops, Elector Johann Wilhelm of the Palatinate seized the principality. Although there were protracted disputes with the Pfalz-Zweibrücken line , which also asserted inheritance claims, in 1733 the two upper offices of Lauterecken and Veldenz and with it the remains of the castle finally fell to the Electoral Palatinate .
After the French troops marched in again in 1807, the ruins were sold to private individuals as part of the French national property auction and initially served as a quarry.
Later, however, the owners tried to preserve the castle and rebuilt some parts. Today the castle is owned by the Haufs-Brusberg family.
today
The complex was the largest castle on the Middle Moselle in the 15th century . This fact apparently explains the term “lock”, which is still used. At the same time, this name also serves as a distinguishing feature compared to Veldenz Castle in Nohfelden .
The extensive ruin of the Spornburg , which was structurally secured and partially rebuilt in the 19th century , lies on a high mountain spur that slopes steeply on three sides. It is almost 100 meters long and up to 30 meters wide.
There is a mighty bastion on the main attack side in the north as well as on the southern flank . The dungeon in the East was in contrast to the palace with its striking stepped gable , not rebuilt, which is used today within the managed castle as a restaurant.
The castle is privately owned and not freely accessible. The knight's hall was renovated and historically furnished. Castle festivals are celebrated here and historical tours are organized.
literature
- Alexander Thon, Stefan Ulrich: "Blown by the showers of the past ...". Castles and palaces on the Moselle. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-7954-1926-4 , pp. 148-153.
