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Burg Castle (german: Schloss Burg), located in Burg an der
Wupper The Wupper is a right tributary of the Rhine in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Rising near Marienheide in western Sauerland it runs through the mountainous region of the Bergisches Land in Berg County and enters the Rhine at Lever ...
(
Solingen Solingen (; li, Solich) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located some 25 km east of Düsseldorf along the northern edge of the region called Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr area, and, with a 2009 population of 161,366, ...
), is the largest reconstructed castle in
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...
, Germany and a popular tourist attraction. Its early history is closely connected to the rise of the
Duchy of Berg Berg was a state—originally a county, later a duchy—in the Rhineland of Germany. Its capital was Düsseldorf. It existed as a distinct political entity from the early 12th to the 19th centuries. The name of the county lives on in the modern ...
.


Early history

At the beginning of the 12th century (after 1133), Count
Adolf III of Berg Adolf III of Berg (1080 – 12 October 1152) was count of Berg from 1093 until 1132, and count of Hövel from 1090 until 1106, and Vogt of Werden. He was the son of Adolf II of Berg-Hövel, count of Berg, and Adelaide of Lauffen. He married Adel ...
built Schloss Burg on a mountain overlooking the river Wupper. The old castle of the counts, Castle Berge in Odenthal near Altenberg, was abandoned. The original name of the new castle was Castle Neuenberge (Newmountain), or in Latin, novus mons, novum castrum, or novi montis castrum. Not until the 15th century, after significant reconstruction as a hunting castle, did it receive its current name reflecting its palatial extension. His great-grandson, Count
Adolf VI of Berg Count Adolf VI of Berg (born before 1176 – died 7 August 1218 at Damiette during the Hungarian crusade against Egypt) ruled the County of Berg from 1197 until 1218. Life He was the son of Engelbert I of Berg and Margaret of Geldern, and the ...
took part in the
Fifth Crusade The Fifth Crusade (1217–1221) was a campaign in a series of Crusades by Western Europeans to reacquire Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first conquering Egypt, ruled by the powerful Ayyubid sultanate, led by al-Adil, brother of Sala ...
and died during the siege of
Damietta Damietta ( arz, دمياط ' ; cop, ⲧⲁⲙⲓⲁϯ, Tamiati) is a port city and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt, a former bishopric and present multiple Catholic titular see. It is located at the Damietta branch, an easter ...
in
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
in 1218. Since the late count had no male descendants his younger brother, Archbishop
Engelbert I of Cologne Count Engelbert II of Berg, also known as Saint Engelbert, Engelbert of Cologne, Engelbert I, Archbishop of Cologne or Engelbert I of Berg, Archbishop of Cologne (1185 or 1186, Schloss Burg – 7 November 1225, Gevelsberg) was archbishop of ...
, took over the reign of the county needing two
feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...
s to win the inheritance dispute with Duke Waleran III of Limburg. As count Engelbert II of Berg he built the
palas A ''palas'' () is a German term for the imposing or prestigious building of a medieval ''Pfalz'' or castle that contained the great hall. Such buildings appeared during the Romanesque period (11th to 13th century) and, according to Thompson, ...
of Burg castle 1218–1225. Engelbert was a very powerful man, not only archbishop and count, but also advisor and chief administrator to the
Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II Frederick II (German: ''Friedrich''; Italian: ''Federico''; Latin: ''Federicus''; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jerusal ...
, and
guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...
and tutor of the later king
Henry (VII) of Germany Henry (VII) (1211 – 12? February 1242), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was King of Sicily from 1212 until 1217 and King of Germany (formally '' Rex Romanorum'') from 1220 until 1235, as son and co-ruler of Emperor Frederick II. He was t ...
. But he also made enemies and on November 7, 1225, he was murdered by his nephew
Friedrich von Isenberg Count Frederick of Isenberg (Friedrich von Isenberg) (1193 – 15 November 1226) was a German noble, the younger son of Arnold of Altena (died 1209). Before the split between Arnold of Altena-Isenberg the eldest and his brother Friedrich Altena- ...
. The War of succession for the Duchy of Limburg influenced the history of the castle. Count
Adolf VIII of Berg Adolf VIII of Berg (also referred to as Adolf V) (c. 1240 – 28 September 1296) was the eldest son of Count Adolf VII of Berg and Margaret of Hochstaden.Walther Möller, ''Stammtafeln westdeutscher Adelsgeschlechter im Mittelalter'' (Darmstadt, 19 ...
participated successfully in the decisive
battle of Worringen The Battle of Worringen was fought on 5 June 1288 near the town of Worringen (also spelled Woeringen), which is now the northernmost borough of Cologne. It was the decisive battle of the War of the Limburg Succession, fought for the possession o ...
on 5 June 1288. After the battle, the opposing archbishop of
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
,
Siegfried II of Westerburg Siegfried (or Sigfrid) II of Westerburg (before 1260 – 7 April 1297, in Bonn) was Archbishop of Cologne from 1275 to 1297. Siegfried was the second son of Siegfried IV, Count of Runkel in Westerburg (died 1266). His older brother was Henry (''He ...
, was kept prisoner in the castle. Adolf VIII now was able to proceed to elevate his town,
Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...
, to a city and was able to control traffic on the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...
river. In the 13th and 14th centuries Schloss Burg remained the main residence of the counts of Berg. Five years after King
Wenzel Wenzel is a male given name (long version Wenzeslaus) as the German and Old English form of the Czech given name Václav or Venceslav, meaning "praised with glory". Variations are Вячеслав (Ukrainian and Russian), Vencel (Hungarian), Wacła ...
elevated Count William to the position of a duke in 1380, Düsseldorf became the capital of the
Duchy of Berg Berg was a state—originally a county, later a duchy—in the Rhineland of Germany. Its capital was Düsseldorf. It existed as a distinct political entity from the early 12th to the 19th centuries. The name of the county lives on in the modern ...
. Schloss Burg continued to serve as a hunting castle and was used for ceremonial events, hence it became a "
Schloss ''Schloss'' (; pl. ''Schlösser''), formerly written ''Schloß'', is the German term for a building similar to a château, palace, or manor house. Related terms appear in several Germanic languages. In the Scandinavian languages, the cognate ...
" (representative castle). Thus in 1496, Maria of Jülich-Berg was engaged as a child to John of
Cleves Kleve (; traditional en, Cleves ; nl, Kleef; french: Clèves; es, Cléveris; la, Clivia; Low Rhenish: ''Kleff'') is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century ...
-Mark (later
John III, Duke of Cleves John III, Duke of Cleves and Count of Mark (German: ''Johann III der Friedfertige''; 10 November 1490 – 6 February 1539), known as John the Peaceful, was the Lord of Ravensberg, Count of Marck, and founder of the United Duchies of Jülich-Cle ...
). Their wedding took place 14 years later at Burg and led to the unification of the duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg. The second daughter of this couple was
Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (german: Anna von Kleve; 1515 – 16 July 1557) was Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII. Not much is known about Anne before 1527, when she became betrothed to Francis, Duke of ...
, briefly married with
Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
.


Decay

In 1632 Swedish soldiers laid siege to the castle. After the
Thirty years war The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an es ...
, in 1648, Imperial troops destroyed the fortifications of the castle including the keep, walls, and gates. In 1700, the main building was partially reconstructed and subsequently used for administrative purposes. 1849, the castle was sold to be scrapped, decayed, and became a ruin.


Restoration

The architect Gerhard August Fischer from
Barmen Barmen is a former industrial metropolis of the region of Bergisches Land, Germany, which merged with four other towns in 1929 to form the city of Wuppertal. Barmen, together with the neighbouring town of Elberfeld founded the first electric ...
proposed in 1882 the reconstruction and submitted drawings and plans based on old documents, primarily using the castle's appearance in the 16th century. Since 1890 the castle reconstruction committee led the restoration of the castle during the next 24 years. Painters from the
Kunstakademie Düsseldorf The Kunstakademie Düsseldorf is the academy of fine arts of the state of North Rhine Westphalia at the city of Düsseldorf, Germany. Notable artists who studied or taught at the academy include Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Magdalena Jetelová, ...
participated. With the erection of the
Battery Tower A battery tower was a defensive tower built into the outermost defences of many castles, usually in the 16th century or later, after the advent of firearms. Its name is derived from the word battery, a group of several cannon. These, usually r ...
in 1914 the work seemed completed. On the night of November 26, 1920 a large fire destroyed much of the castle. Subsequently, visitors had to pay entry fees and the money was used to restore and rebuild the castle again. Reconstruction lasted from 1922 to 1925. In 1929 the Engelbert monument by the sculptor Paul Wynand was dedicated to honor the builder and archbishop. Today's appearance does not exactly match the condition documented by
Erich Philipp Ploennies The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...
at about 1715. The reconstructed castle of today is a major public attraction. It also contains the Museum of the Bergische Land. The castle church is popular for weddings. The castle also is home to the Memorial for Deportation and the Memorial of the German Eastern Provinces with church bells from
Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...
and Breslau. In addition, commercial shops for souvenirs are located on the grounds. The surroundings offer hiking trails to the forests and to Unterburg, that is where the village is located, at the foot of the mountain. There you can buy the ''Burger Brezel'', a local
pretzel A pretzel (), from German pronunciation, standard german: Breze(l) ( and French / Alsatian: ''Bretzel'') is a type of baked bread made from dough that is commonly shaped into a knot. The traditional pretzel shape is a distinctive symmetrical ...
specialty; the pretzel bakers even have a monument. A
chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. They ...
(Seilbahn) connects Unterburg and the castle. Burg used to be an independent township until it became part of
Solingen Solingen (; li, Solich) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located some 25 km east of Düsseldorf along the northern edge of the region called Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr area, and, with a 2009 population of 161,366, ...
in 1975.


Trivia

Linguistically, "Schloss Burg" would be translated as "palace castle" - a tautology, yet in German "Schloss" refers to a representative building and "Burg" to a fortification - an
oxymoron An oxymoron (usual plural oxymorons, more rarely oxymora) is a figure of speech that juxtaposes concepts with opposing meanings within a word or phrase that creates an ostensible self-contradiction. An oxymoron can be used as a rhetorical devi ...
.


Literature

* Dirk Söchting: ''Schloss Burg an der Wupper''. Sutton Verlag 2004, 96 Seiten, 124 Abbildungen, . * Dirk Soechting: ''Schloss Burg als Postkarte'', Verlag Ute Kierdorf, Remscheid 1980, . * Elke Lutterbach: ''Schloss Burg an der Wupper'' (Ritterburgen Band 1). J.P. Bachem Verlag 2003, 144 Seiten, 250 Abbildungen,


References


External links

*
Schloss Burg an der Wupper
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burg, Schloss Castles in North Rhine-Westphalia Museums in North Rhine-Westphalia Buildings and structures in Solingen House of Berg Historic house museums in Germany Hunting lodges in Germany