Lower Castle (Siegen)

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Panoramic view of the Lower Castle from the 18th century, view from the southeast
Floor plan of the castle by Albert Ludorff , 1903
East view of the Marstall on Kölner Strasse, 1880. In the background Ballhaus and "Dicker Turm"

The Lower Castle , formerly known as the Nassauischer Hof , is located in downtown Siegen . Originally a Franciscan monastery , the building became the residence of the Protestant line of the Nassau-Siegen family in the 17th century . The Lower Castle is currently developing into another campus of the University of Siegen.

history

A Franciscan monastery has existed on the site of today's castle since 1489. After the dissolution of the monastery in 1534 in the course of the Reformation , the high school located in Herborn was temporarily housed there from 1594 to 1599/1601 and from 1606 to 1609 . After the Siegen-Nassau house was split into a Catholic and a Protestant line after 1623, the complex became the residence of the Protestant line. It was therefore also called the Nassauischer Hof.

Already at the time of Johann Moritz von Nassau-Siegen , who was among other things Governor General of Dutch Brazil, negotiations were being held with the city about an extension of the building. During his lifetime, the Dutch builder Maurits Post created the princely crypt around 1668. A gallery wing was also built during this time. Parts of it can be found in what is now the north wing. Construction work also continued under the following princes. A gatehouse was built in 1690. Its portal was moved to the north wall of the chapel wing in the Upper Castle before it was demolished in the 19th century .

A large part of the Lower Castle complex was destroyed in the great city fire of 1695, except for the gate and the royal crypt. The builder Peter Remboldt then built the north wing (Kurländer wing) and a number of outbuildings between 1698 and 1711 . A new middle wing (Corps de Logis) included the princely crypt. The facade of this part is characterized by an arcade made up of 21 pillars. The location of the princely crypt was subsequently visually highlighted in 1884 by the addition of a central riser . Remboldt laid out the baroque palace garden (Herrengarten) outside the city walls of that time . In 1701 there was an orangery . Construction of a south wing began in 1717. The builder was now Philipp Ploennies. In 1721, the thick tower was built as an archive tower in place of a medieval tower of the Siegen city fortifications . It was not until 1802 that it was connected to the Kurländer wing by an intermediate building. The royal stables and a ballroom were located on the northeast side of the palace square . Both were not rebuilt after the air raids on Siegen in World War II .

After the end of the Protestant line between Nassau and Siegen in 1722, the palace was still a widow's seat until 1782, and from 1742 it also served as an administrative building. After the Siegerland came to Prussia in 1815 , the castle was, among other things, the seat of the district administrator. 1816 castle was the the Lower Mining Authority victories established in 1818 was in a room on Kurländer wing the Royal Mountain Siegen opened. In 1822 the Siegens post office was housed in the Wittgenstein wing of the castle. Between 1864 and 1976 the administrative and regional court was located in the castle.

Thick tower, intermediate building as a connection and Kurländer wing

Todays use

From 1936 to 2011 a branch of the Attendorn prison was housed there. In addition, it was the state authority building. The labor court of Siegen , the construction and property company of North Rhine-Westphalia, the branch office of the Arnsberg district government and the office for occupational safety were located there. After renovation and renovation, the Faculty of Economics, Business Informatics and Business Law and the University Library of the University of Siegen have been using the building since 2016 .

The palace square is now also used for major events, including the Siegener Open Air Cinema and, since 2006, for public viewing during the World and European Football Championships. From 2007 to 2012, the Siegen Christmas market was also housed there in December. This has been taking place at the same location every year since 2018.

In the Thick Tower carillon sounds daily at 12, 14, 16 and 18 o'clock.

literature

  • Ferdinand GB Fischer : 100 castles between the 1000 mountains. The big castles and palaces book for South Westphalia. Photos by Toni Anneser. Gronenberg, Wiehl 1996, ISBN 3-88265-198-9 .
  • Jens Friedhoff : Sauerland and Siegerland. 70 castles and palaces. Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-8062-1706-8 , pp. 140 f.
  • Wilhelm Güthling (ed.): History of the city of Siegen in demolition. Vorländer, Siegen 1955.
  • Gerhard Scholl: About castles and palaces in Siegerland. In: Siegerland between yesterday and tomorrow. Vorländer, Siegen 1965, pp. 25–41.

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Lower Castle Campus . Article from 2008 on the website of Bau- und Liegenschaftsbetriebs NRW on blb.nrw.de (accessed on October 6, 2016)
  2. ^ Siegerländer Heimatkalender 1990, p. 18, 65th edition, publisher: Siegerländer Heimat- und Geschichtsverein e. V., publishing house for local literature
  3. ↑ Information brochure: Law enforcement in North Rhine-Westphalia, publisher: Justizministerium NRW, 2006, p. 54f
  4. ↑ Big steps towards the new Siegen campus. derwesten.de, August 25, 2016, accessed on August 25, 2016 .

Coordinates: 50 ° 52 ′ 26 ″  N , 8 ° 1 ′ 17 ″  E