Nassau Castle, located in
Nassau
Nassau may refer to:
Places Bahamas
*Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence
Canada
*Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792
*Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
, was the original seat of the
House of Nassau
The House of Nassau is a diversified aristocratic dynasty in Europe. It is named after the lordship associated with Nassau Castle, located in present-day Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The lords of Nassau were originally titled "Count o ...
. The
ruins
Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...
of the
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 ...
are situated on a rock outcropping about above the
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. The
House of Nassau
The House of Nassau is a diversified aristocratic dynasty in Europe. It is named after the lordship associated with Nassau Castle, located in present-day Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The lords of Nassau were originally titled "Count o ...
was an aristocratic dynasty among whose descendants are the present-day monarchy of the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
.
History
The castle was founded around 1100 by
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 ...
(German: ''Dudo von Laurenburg''), the founder of the
House of Nassau
The House of Nassau is a diversified aristocratic dynasty in Europe. It is named after the lordship associated with Nassau Castle, located in present-day Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The lords of Nassau were originally titled "Count o ...
. In 1120, Dudo's sons and successors, Counts
Rupert I (German: ''Ruprecht'') 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
* ...
, established themselves at Nassau Castle with its tower. They renovated and extended the castle complex in 1124.
Because the castle stood at that time on the territory of the
Bishopric of Worms, a bitter feud developed between the family of the two brothers and the Bishopric of Worms. Even when Rupert I in 1124 inherited the position of the Bishopric of Worms'
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
Weilburg
Weilburg is, with just under 13,000 inhabitants, the third biggest town in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany, after Limburg an der Lahn and Bad Camberg.
Geography
Location
The community lies in the Lahn valley between the Wester ...
, whose territory had included the former ''Königshof'' Nassau since 914, the conflict was not settled. When Rupert I began calling himself the Count of Nassau after the castle, the Worms Bishopric disputed the title.
The dispute was only solved (and the title confirmed) in 1159, about five years after Rupert’s death, under his son
Walram I by the intervention of the
Archbishop of Trier
The Diocese of Trier, in English historically also known as ''Treves'' (IPA "tɾivz") from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.[Hillin of Falmagne
Hillin of Falmagne (german: Hillin von Fallemanien, also spelled ''Falemagne, Fallemanien, Fallenmaigne, etc''.) (''c''. 1100 – 23 October 1169), was the Archbishop of Trier from 1152. He was an imperialist and a partisan of Frederick Bar ...]
. The Laurenburger family gave up their claim to
allodial title
Allodial title constitutes ownership of real property (land, buildings, and fixtures) that is independent of any superior landlord. Allodial title is related to the concept of land held "in allodium", or land ownership by occupancy and defens ...
and in return were given the
fiefdom
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form o ...
over the castle and town of Nassau from the archbishop. Thereafter, the Laurenburger family were titled the Counts of Nassau.
Walram I's son
Henry II the Rich (''Heinrich der Reiche'') constructed the late-
Romanesque main building (''
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 the castle between 1220 and 1230. In 1255, the
Countship of Nassau was divided between Henry II's sons,
Walram II and
Otto I
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Francia, East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the olde ...
, in the so-called "Brothers' Division" (''Bruderteilung''). Nassau Castle, however, remained a common possession of the two brothers (the so-called ''
Ganerbschaft
A ''Ganerbschaft'' (plural: ''Ganerbschaften'' in German), according to old German inheritance law, was a joint family estate, mainly land, over which the co-heirs (''Ganerben'') only had rights in common. In modern German legal parlance it corres ...
'' in ancient Germanic hereditary laws).
In the first half of the 14th century, the still-extant five-sided high
bergfried
''Bergfried'' (plural: ''bergfriede''; English: ''belfry''; French: ''tour-beffroi''; Spanish: ''torre del homenaje'') is a tall tower that is typically found in castles of the Middle Ages in German-speaking countries and in countries under German ...
(similar to a keep) was built. A second castle tower is mentioned in 1346, but it no longer exists. During a family feud in 1372, the housing of the castle keepers was destroyed.
The counts lived in the castle until the end of the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, at which time they gave it up as their residence. An etching by
Matthäus Merian Matthäus is a given name or surname. Notable people with the name include:
;Surname
* Lothar Matthäus, (born 1961), German former football player and manager
;Given name
* Matthäus Aurogallus, Professor of Hebrew at the University of Wittenberg ...
from 17th century shows an intact ''palas'' and bergfried as well as a gate building, but in the final phase of
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 ...
, the remaining ruins were destroyed. When archeological surveys were done in 1970 to uncover the rectangular walls, only ruins were found.
The castle came into the possession of the State Castle Administration of Rhineland-Palatinate (''Staatliche Schlösserverwaltung Rheinland-Pfalz'') in 1965. Starting in 1976 restoration of the bergfried took place. Its hipped roof and
merlon
A merlon is the solid upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 202. Merlons are sometimes ...
, as well as the side towers, were again reconstructed after the etching by Merian and the six to eight metres high arcaded
vault
Vault may refer to:
* Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards
Architecture
* Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space
* Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored
* Burial vault (enclosure ...
in its interiors were restored. Furthermore, the opening to the dungeon of the tower was cleared. The reconstruction of the ''palas'' and its knights hall followed from 1979 to 1980. During the course of the restoration the late-
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
window-arcades were rediscovered.
The main building today accommodates a restaurant, while the bergfried can be visited free of charge.
Sources
* Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Rheinland-Pfalz, Verwaltung der staatlichen Schlösser (Hrsg.): ''Staatliche Burgen, Schlösser und Altertümer in Rheinland-Pfalz''. 6. überarbeitete und erweiterte Auflage. Mainz, 1997.
{{Authority control
Castles in Rhineland-Palatinate