The Syberg is a hill in the

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...

in the southern part of

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

, 240 m above sea level (NN), which is part of the

Ardey Hills The Ardey Hills (german: Ardeygebirge or ''Ardey'') are a range of wooded hills, up to , in the territory of the city of Dortmund and the districts of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis and Unna in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The hills form par ...

. The Syberg is home to the

Sigiburg The Sigiburg was a Saxon hillfort in Western Germany, overlooking the River Ruhr near its confluence with the River Lenne. The ruins of the later Hohensyburg castle now stand on the site, which is in Syburg, a neighbourhood in the Hörde district ...

, the Vincke Tower, a monument to Emperor William I and other points of interest. The family name of the House of Syberg is derived from the Syberg.

Geology, mining, nature reserve

The Syberg is part of the

, and was formed of sandstone and slate of the

Namurian The Namurian is a stage in the regional stratigraphy of northwest Europe with an age between roughly 326 and 313 Ma (million years ago). It is a subdivision of the Carboniferous system or period and the regional Silesian series. The Namurian is ...

, a

stratigraphic unit A stratigraphic unit is a volume of rock of identifiable origin and relative age range that is defined by the distinctive and dominant, easily mapped and recognizable petrographic, lithologic or paleontologic features (facies) that characterize it ...

of the

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...

. The

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

(''Ruhrsandstein'') is of high resistance, and was widely used as building material in the region; some

quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their environ ...

are yet visible in the area. The slopes of the

and its tributaries were the first locations of coal mining in the

Ruhr region The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...

. The first documents of coal mining in the Syberg date from 1580. Regular mining ended at the end of the 19th century, but during the

Occupation of the Ruhr The Occupation of the Ruhr (german: link=no, Ruhrbesetzung) was a period of military occupation of the Ruhr region of Germany by France and Belgium between 11 January 1923 and 25 August 1925. France and Belgium occupied the heavily industria ...

in 1923 and in the crisis after World War II illegal mining took place.

Adit An adit (from Latin ''aditus'', entrance) is an entrance to an underground mine which is horizontal or nearly horizontal, by which the mine can be entered, drained of water, ventilated, and minerals extracted at the lowest convenient level. Adits ...

s and

pinge A ''Pinge'' (pronounced "pinger", plural: ''Pingen'') or ''Binge'' ("binger") is the name given in German-speaking Europe to a wedge-, ditch- or funnel-shaped depression in the terrain caused by mining activity. This depression or sink-hole is fr ...

s are yet visible, and a mining path (''Syburger Bergbauweg'') is established. The steep slopes to the Ruhr on the southern face of the Syberg are a valuable nature conservation area with its forests of

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

es and

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hornbeam' ...

. The area is one of two refugia of the

common wall lizard ''Podarcis muralis'' (common wall lizard) is a species of lizard with a large distribution in Europe and well-established introduced populations in North America, where it is also called the European wall lizard. It can grow to about in total ...

in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Historical sites

Prehistory

The oldest relicts of human presence on the Syberg are of neolithic and bronze age. Some mints of Roman occupation time were found.

Sigiburg

Syberg became a historical location during the

Saxon Wars The Saxon Wars were the campaigns and insurrections of the thirty-three years from 772, when Charlemagne first entered Saxony with the intent to conquer, to 804, when the last rebellion of tribesmen was defeated. In all, 18 campaigns were fought ...

, when

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

captured a

hillfort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

on top of the hill named "

" in 775 AD; two years later the Saxons failed with a reconquest of Sigiburg. In historical tradition the Sigiburg is marked as of Saxon origin, but there are no real proofs for this opinion.

Hohensyburg

In the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended ...

this region got under control of the

Archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne is an archbishop governing the Archdiocese of Cologne of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and is also a historical state in the Rhine holding the birthplace of Beethoven and northern Rhineland-Palati ...

, who established a

hill castle A hill castle or mountain castle is a castle built on a natural feature that stands above the surrounding terrain. It is a term derived from the German ''Höhenburg'' used in categorising castle sites by their topographical location. Hill castles ...

on the Syberg since 1150. The Lords of Syberg (''Herren von Syberg'') were the first ministerials mentioned. Since about 1300 the

County of Mark The County of Mark (german: Grafschaft Mark, links=no, french: Comté de La Marck, links=no colloquially known as ) was a county and state of the Holy Roman Empire in the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle. It lay on both sides of the Ruhr River ...

got the loan power. The castle was finally destroyed in the 16th and 17th century.

Church

A church of romanesque origin from 1169 became spiritual centre of the small settlement Syburg. The church was destroyed by bomb raid in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and rebuilt in former style. During post-war excavations relicts of a previous

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

church came to light. It is very doubtful, whether this church had been sacrificed by

Pope Leo III Pope Leo III (died 12 June 816) was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 26 December 795 to his death. Protected by Charlemagne from the supporters of his predecessor, Adrian I, Leo subsequently strengthened Charlemagne's position b ...

in 799, as a medieval legend told.

Peter's source

The Pope Leo

legend A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...

also refers to the Peter's font (''Petersbrunnen''), first mentioned in 1427. The speculation of an origin as prehistorical

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

is extremely doubtful.

Vincke tower

Close to the ruins of the Hohensyburg the Vincke tower (''Vincketurm'') in

neogothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style was erected (total height: ) in 1857 and renewed in 1882 in honour of

Ludwig von Vincke Friedrich Ludwig Wilhelm Philip Freiherr von Vincke (23 December 1774 – 2 December 1844) was a Prussian statesman. Born as a member of an old Westphalian noble family and educated at three universities in a broad variety of subjects, he e ...

, the first Supreme president of the

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

Province of Westphalia The Province of Westphalia () was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946. In turn, Prussia was the largest component state of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918, of the Weimar Republic and from 1918 ...

. Vincke had a special relation to this place, for his first wife Eleonore von Syberg was a descendant of the Lords of Syberg and owner of the castle ruins. In 1945, the Vincke tower was an observation point of the German artillery, and was hit by

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard ou ...

s of the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

Emperor William monument

The monument for

German Emperor The German Emperor (german: Deutscher Kaiser, ) was the official title of the head of state and hereditary ruler of the German Empire. A specifically chosen term, it was introduced with the 1 January 1871 constitution and lasted until the offi ...

Wilhelm I William I or Wilhelm I (german: Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 2 January 1861 and German Emperor from 18 January 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the f ...

(1797–1888) (''Kaiser-Wilhelm-Denkmal'') by Hubert Oswald Stier is one of a great amount of similar

national monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...

s, that were built in the quarter century from his death to the beginning of World War I. In 1889 the Province of Westphalia decided to built such a monument and discussed several proposals for location. A

place Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own Municipality, municipal government * "Place", a type of street or road ...

above the

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports of Bre ...

river at the

Porta Westfalica Porta Westfalica () is a town in the district of Minden-Lübbecke, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The name "''Porta Westfalica''" is Latin and means "gate to Westphalia". Coming from the north, the gorge is the entry to the region of West ...

gorge won the race against the Syberg with a small majority. Despite of this great disappointment, the monument on the Syberg was built nevertheless, completely financed by private efforts and inaugurated in 1902. The eclecticistic monument was decorated with an

equestrian statue An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning 'knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is a d ...

of Emperor William I and two

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

s of Chancellor

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of J ...

and Supreme Commander Helmuth von Moltke by

Adolf von Donndorf Adolf von Donndorf (16 February 1835 – 20 December 1916) was a German sculptor. Life Adolf Donndorf was born in Weimar, the son of a cabinet-maker. Starting in 1853 he was a student of Ernst Rietschel in Dresden. After Rietschel's death in ...

. His son Karl Donndorf created the two statues of the successful army leaders Prince Frederic William and Prince Friedrich Karl in the German Wars of Unification; both of them were removed in 1935, when the construction was substantially changed following the ideals of

Nazi architecture Nazi architecture is the architecture promoted by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime from 1933 until its fall in 1945, connected with urban planning in Nazi Germany. It is characterized by three forms: a stripped neoclassicism, typified by the ...

by architect Friedrich Bagdons.

War memorial

War memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

in form of a lying soldier guided by an eagle of 1930 by Friedrich Bagdons, too, is placed directly into the ruins of the Hohensyburg. After World War II the memorial got a

Commemorative plaque A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...

with the name of killed soldiers from Syburg as supplement.

Funicular

funicular A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...

was installed for the touristic development of the hill on the eastern slope in 1903, that worked until World War I and was dismantled in the 1920s. Its basis station was neighboured by a tramway terminus. Remnants of the funicular are yet visible in the area.

Husen

The building's ensemble Husen, consisting of Husen Castle, a

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...

of medieval origin, and a manor house in classicistic style, lies at the bottom of the Syburg east slope near to the Ruhr and the Lake Hengstey in the neighbourhood of a

campsite A campsite, also known as a campground or camping pitch, is a place used for overnight stay in an outdoor area. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight using te ...

(''Campingplatz Hohensyburg'').

Other points of interest

Open-air stage

Near to the basis station of the former funicular an open-air stage has been run since 1952 with theater performances in the warm seasons.

Casino

The

Casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

Hohensyburg (''Spielbank Hohensyburg'') is one of the four casinos of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has got a new building by architect

Harald Deilmann Harald Deilmann (30 August 1920 – 1 January 2008) was a German architect. Born in Gladbeck, Westphalia, Deilmann was best known for his work on public spaces, such as opera houses and museums, throughout Germany and worldwide. He was a m ...

, and started working with an opening concert with

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

in June 1985 on the Syberg.

Property and protection

The Hohensyburg ruins with war memorial, the Vincketower, and the national monument are now property of the supracommunal authority ''Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe'' (LWL). The Sigiburg, the Hohensyburg, the Emperor William monument, the Vincke tower, the St Peter's church, the Peter's font, the Husen castle, the funicular, and the mining relicts are classified as

historical monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

s by

regulations Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. For ...

of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Town quarter

On the gently inclined northern slope of the Syberg the settlement ''Syburg'' developed near to the church. The self-governed rural community became a quarter of the town of

in 1928 in the frame of an extensive local government reorganization, and is now part of its town district

Hörde Hörde is a ''Stadtbezirk'' ("City District") and also a ''Stadtteil'' ('' Quarter'') in the south of the city of Dortmund, in Germany. Hörde is situated at 51°29' North, 7°30' West, and is at an elevation of 112 metres above mean sea level. ...