Weisweiler Castle

Weisweiler Castle
Castle wall with main gate seen from the west
Creation time :	1176
Castle type :	Niederungsburg
Conservation status:	ruin
Construction:	Quarry stone, brick
Place:	Weisweiler
Geographical location	50 ° 49 '48 "  N , 6 ° 19' 18"  E Coordinates: 50 ° 49 '48 "  N , 6 ° 19' 18"  E

The Burg Weisweiler is a former, dating from the 12th century moated castle in Eschweiler district Weisweiler , of which only a few remnants remain today. Its builders were the lords of Weisweiler, of whom Winricus von Wizwilre was first mentioned in 1176 in a document from the Archbishop of Cologne , Philipp von Heinsberg .

Building description

The still visible remains of the core Gothic castle date back to 15-16. Century.

Evangelical Resurrection Church

Castle Portal (2006)

A seven meter high ring wall made of local quarry stone delimits an almost square area. Integrated into it are four semicircular towers, the basement of which has been preserved and - like parts of the wall - have been repaired with brick . The only entrance to the facility is on the east side. It consists of a round arched gate bordered with ashlars, which is flanked by two sloping pillars .

Wall approaches from earlier castle buildings on the inside of the outer walls have also been preserved. The only surviving structure is a former quarry stone barn on the south side, which owes its preservation to the fact that it was converted into a church in the 18th century.

In addition to the remains of the castle complex, the Resurrection Church of the Protestant parish, a community center and the Weisweiler cemetery of honor are located on the area.

history

Residents and owners

It is assumed that Winricus, the first known lord of Weisweiler, was also the first lord of the castle. In 1237 his descendant Werner von Weisweiler was also mentioned in a document. However, the family of these knights seems to have died out towards the end of the 13th century. Historians assume that the later lords of Weisweiler were probably illegitimate children of the Jülich counts .

In 1436, Rheinhard von Weisweiler sold the castle and dominion of Weisweiler to Werner von Palant and Breitenbend , whose property since 1393 included the Palant house , located just 500 meters northeast . This meant that both Weisweiler castles were in one hand.

As a result of the so-called Palant inheritance division , the property came to Werner's son Johann in 1456. His heirs ceded the property to Adam von Palant, whose daughter brought the castle to the von Harff family by marriage. Adam's granddaughter, Johanna von Harff, married Count Johann von Hatzfeld -Wildenburg in 1509 and brought the system into their marriage. Johann's descendant Alexander von Hatzfeld-Wildenburg acquired the Palant house in 1682, so that the two castle complexes in Weisweiler were again owned by a family.

The Counts of Hatzfeld remained in their possession until 1769. In that year they sold the houses to the Jülich Duke and Elector Karl Theodor von der Pfalz , who acquired the property for his illegitimate son Karl August, the Prince of Heideck and Bretzenheim. His heirs sold the castle to the Counts of Hompesch-Bollheim at the beginning of the 19th century. When they emigrated to Moravia only a little later , the plant came into the possession of the Aachen industrialist family Cockerill in 1840 .

So far the last owner of the castle is the evangelical parish of Weisweiler, who received the area as a gift from the Hans Leyers family in 1952 . Today it is inhabited by the family of the pastor of the parish Weisweiler- Dürwiß .

Building history

Nothing is left of the original castle from the 12th century. Most of the ruins that can be seen today come from the 16th century. At that time, the well- fortified complex , which was almost square in plan, was surrounded by a high wall with several semicircular towers and additionally protected by a six-meter-wide moat. The only access on the eastern front could probably only be reached via a drawbridge .

The outer walls were initially windowless and had only a few loopholes . Only when the fortification had become useless due to modern weapon technology, some windows were broken out.

After Alexander von Hatzfeld-Wildenburg acquired the nearby Palant house as a residence, the old castle lost more and more of its importance compared to the modern palace complex . Only the bare minimum was used for their maintenance. It may even have been used as a quarry at the end of the 17th century.

In an earthquake in 1755, the main building of the complex was irreversibly damaged and had to be laid down. What led to the other castle buildings being demolished has not been clarified, but it is certain that their stones were used, among other things, to build today's Church of the Resurrection. In this is a small showcase with some exhibits that were found in the castle complex.

literature

• Ulrich Coenen: Architectural treasures in the Aachen district . G. Mainz, Aachen 1987, ISBN 3-925714-11-1 , pp. 157-159.
• Holger A. Dux , Dirk Holtermann: The Aachen Castle Tour - Cycling between Wurm and Inde . Walter Rau, Düsseldorf 2000, ISBN 3-7919-0749-2 , p. 107.
• Herbert Limpens: City of Eschweiler 1st edition. Neusser Druckerei und Verl., Neuss 1983, ISBN 3-88094-439-3 ( Rheinische Kunststätten . Issue 271), p. 24.

Web links

Commons : Burg Weisweiler  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ^ War cemetery Burg Weisweiler
2. ^ U. Coenen: Architectural Treasures in the Aachen District , p. 158.