The Prümerburg is a

ruined 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 ...

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 a roughly 30-metre-high lias-sandstone rock on the upper edge of the valley of the

Prüm Prüm () is a town in the Westeifel (Rhineland-Palatinate), Germany. Formerly a district capital, today it is the administrative seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Prüm. Geography Prüm lies on the river Prüm (a tri ...

in the municipality of

Prümzurlay Prümzurlay is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany. In 1960, the first bungalow holiday village in Germany was built near the ruins of the Prümerburg and is now named after the castle. Si ...

in the county of

Bitburg-Prüm The Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm ( lb, Äifelkrees Béibreg-Prüm) is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) Luxembourg, Belgium and the districts of Euskirchen, Vulkaneifel, Bernkastel-Wittlich and ...

in the German state 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 ...

History

The Prümerburg, a fief of the counts and dukes of Luxembourg, is first recorded in 1337, but was probably built in the 12th century. In the immediate vicinity there was an earlier prehistorical

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 ...

(''Wallburgen''). The castle's features include the remains of a pentagonal ''

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 ...

''. The Prümerburg is believed to have burned down in 1658. In 1337, Walter of Meysenburg is the first recorded vassal. In 1351, Godfrey of Meysenburg and his wife, Catharina of Homburg, were the enfeofees, later Prümzurlay, like Clerf, went to the lords of Brandenburg (a side line of the

counts of Vianden The Counts of Vianden, ancestors of the House of Orange-Nassau, were associated with the castle of Vianden (Vianden Castle) in Luxembourg. In the 12th to 15th centuries the counts of Vianden were the mightiest lords of the area between the rive ...

). Subsequently there is evidence that the von Vinstingen and von Haracourt families (both by marriage) were vassals. A line of the von der Heyden family bought the Lordship of Prümerburg in the Early Modern Period, along with

Niederweis Niederweis is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country i ...

and Stolzemburg.Eiflia illustrata, Bd. 3, S. 17
(online)
/ref> To the northwest in the valley, the

castle chapel Castle chapels (german: Burgkapellen) in European architecture are chapels that were built within a castle. They fulfilled the religious requirements of the castle lord and his retinue, while also sometimes serving as a burial site. Because the ...

, the Late Gothic former Chapel of St. Nicholas, has survived.

References

Literature

* Bernd Altmann, Hans Caspary: ''Kulturdenkmäler in Rheinland-Pfalz. Denkmaltopographie Bundesrepublik Deutschland'', Band 9.2: Kreis Bitburg-Prüm. Stadt Bitburg, Verbandsgemeinden Bitburg-Land und Irrel. Werner, Worms, 1997, p. 500–501. * Johann Friedrich Schannat, Georg Baersch: '' Eiflia illustrata oder geographische und historische Beschreibung der Eifel. Die Städte und Ortschaften der Eifel und deren Umgegend. Topographisch und historisch beschrieben'', Vol. 3, Aachen, 1852. {{DEFAULTSORT:Prumerburg Castles in Rhineland-Palatinate Heritage sites in Rhineland-Palatinate Castles in the Eifel Buildings and structures in Bitburg-Prüm