Laurenburg is a municipality in the

Rhein-Lahn Rhein-Lahn-Kreis is a district (''Kreis'') in the east of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Westerwaldkreis, Limburg-Weilburg, Rheingau-Taunus, Mainz-Bingen, Rhein-Hunsrück, Mayen-Koblenz, and the di ...

district of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

, in western

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The town, a health resort situated in the lower

Lahn The Lahn is a , right (or eastern) tributary of the Rhine in Germany. Its course passes through the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia (23.0 km), Hesse (165.6 km), and Rhineland-Palatinate (57.0 km). It has its source in t ...

River valley, belongs to the Diez Municipal Association.

History

Laurenburg

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

is first mentioned in 1093 in the purported founding charter of the

Maria Laach Abbey Maria Laach Abbey (in German: ''Abtei Maria Laach'', in Latin: ''Abbatia Maria Lacensis'' or ''Abbatia Maria ad Lacum'') is a Benedictine abbey situated on the southwestern shore of the Laacher See (Lake Laach), near Andernach, in the Eifel re ...

(a document some historians consider fabricated). A " Comes Dudo de Lurenburch", believed to be

Dudo of Laurenburg Dudo of Laurenburg (german: Dudo von Laurenburg; la, Tuto de Lurinburg; died before 1124)Hesselfelt (1965).Van de Venne & Stols (1937). was probably Count of Laurenburg and is considered the founder of the House of Nassau. The House of Nassau wo ...

(ca. 1060 - ca. 1123), is listed fifth on the witness list. Dudo, considered the founder of the aristocratic House of Nassau, is thought to be the builder of the castle (perhaps with his father Rupert, the Archbishop of Mainz’s

Vogt During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

in Siegerland). The seat of the House of Nassau was moved, under Dudo's sons Rupert I and

Arnold I Arnold I may refer to: Clergy * Arnold I of Cologne (c. 1100–1151), Archbishop of Cologne 1137–1151 * Arnold I of Vaucourt (c. 1120–1183), Archbishop of Trier 1169–1183 * Arnold I van Isenburg (died c. 1197), Bishop of Utrecht 1196–1197 * ...

, to

Nassau Castle Nassau Castle, located in Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, was the original seat of the House of Nassau. The ruins of the castle are situated on a rock outcropping about above the Lahn River. The House of Nassau was an aristocratic dyna ...

around 1124. The original castle in

Laurenburg Laurenburg is a municipality in the Rhein-Lahn district of Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany. The town, a health resort situated in the lower Lahn River valley, belongs to the Diez Municipal Association. History Laurenburg Castle is fir ...

was destroyed in 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 ...

(1618–1648) and remains a ruin. The

donjon A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in ...

of the castle today houses a military museum. After the removal of the ruling House of Nassau from Laurenburg, the castle was administered by a ''

Burgmann From the 12th century in central Europe, a ''Burgmann'' (plural: ''Burgmannen'' or modern term ''Burgmänner'', Latin: ''oppidanus'', ''castrensus'') was a knight ministeriales or member of the nobility who was obliged to guard and defend castles. ...

'' of Nassau, whose descendants are still named "''von Laurenburg''" today. Among them, the families of the Loeners and the Buchers are well-known today. In 1643 '' Reichsgraf'' Peter Melander of Holzappel, an imperial field marshal during the Thirty Years' War, acquired Laurenburg, along with the greater area known as the ''Esterau''. ''Schloss Laurenburg'' ("Laurenburg palace") was first mentioned in documents in 1343. It has been occupied by, among others, ''Reichsgraf'' Peter Melander of Holzappel, Prince Adolph of Nassau-Dillenburg, Prince Leberecht of

Anhalt-Bernburg Anhalt-Bernburg was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire and a duchy of the German Confederation ruled by the House of Ascania with its residence at Bernburg in present-day Saxony-Anhalt. It emerged as a subdivision from the Principality of ...

, and the Archdukes Joseph and Stephen of Austria. At the beginning of the 18th century, it became the summer residence of the Prince of

Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym (originally Anhalt-Zeitz-Hoym) was a German principality and member of the Holy Roman Empire. The death of Prince Victor Amadeus of Anhalt-Bernburg in 1718 resulted in the partition of his land, with his second so ...

. In 1859, it came into the possession of the Holzappel Silver and Lead Mining Society. In 1795, Laurenburg was temporarily occupied by the French. In 1806, it became part of the

Duchy of Nassau The Duchy of Nassau (German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what is now the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a member of the Confederation of the Rhine and later of the G ...

, which was itself annexed by

Prussia 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 em ...

in 1866. Since 1947, it has been part of the federal state of Rheinland-Palatinate.

Viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

in Laurenburg was first documented in 1445, with the establishment of a vineyard at the Taubenhaus of Count Philip the Elder of Katzenelnbogen under the castle. 06RK-Laurenburg-Wohnturm

Religious life

Laurenburg is part of the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

parish of St. Boniface in Holzappel. The parish belongs to the Diez Pastoral Area of the

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

in the

Diocese of Limburg The Diocese of Limburg (Latin: ''Dioecesis Limburgensis'') is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. It belongs to the ecclesiastical province of Cologne, with metropolitan see being the Archdiocese of Cologne. Its territory encompasses ...

. The

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

community is part of Holzappel parish, which belongs to the Diez Deanery of the South Nassau Provostship of the

Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau The Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau (german: Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau, EKHN) is a United Protestant church body in the German states of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate. There is no bishop and therefore no cathedral. One of i ...

(EKHN).

References

External links

Verbandsgemeinde Diez - Ortsgemeinde Laurenburg

Laurenburg Heritage Association
{{Authority control Municipalities in Rhineland-Palatinate Rhein-Lahn-Kreis