Nürburg () is a town in the
German district of
Ahrweiler, in the state of
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) 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 sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...
. It is also the name of the local castle,
Nürburg Castle, which was built in the
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...
. The castle is made of
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
which usually has black color. The well-known racing track
Nürburgring
The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...
is nearby.
Location
The Nürburg rises above the village of the same name on the second-highest hill in the
Eifel
The Eifel (; , ) is a low mountain range in western Germany, eastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Com ...
(). The castle and hill are regarded as a characteristic feature of the Eifel. There are almost no written sources relating to the history of the castle's construction in the Middle Ages. The hill is referred to in documentary evidence in 954 by the name ''mone nore'', which means black hill. In descriptions of boundaries which served to clarify which property belonged to whom, it was used as a significant reference marker. The name Nürburg is thought to derive from ''mons nore'', as the color of the volcanic
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
used to build the castle exhibits an unusually dark color.
History
Prehistory to Middle Ages
The history of when the Nürburg was established has not been definitively clarified. There is no evidence to suggest that it was built instead of a
Roman fort, the commonly held view in the local area. Discoveries of
Roman coins do not constitute sufficient evidence. Owing to a similarity between names, one legend even traces the Nürburg back to a fort established by
Emperor Nero. Among other things, archaeological
barrows attest to the fact that the area surrounding the castle was populated in early historical times. However, there are no indications that the castle hill was once home to a refuge or prehistoric walled fortification, as is occasionally thought.
While local historians held the view that the castle had been erected by
Theoderich I, Count of Are, (who died in 1132) as a refuge for the ruling court of
Adenau, nowadays his son
Ulrich von Are, the self-proclaimed Count of Nürburg, is considered to be the person responsible for commissioning the building of the castle, even though there is no source material to back this theory. Castle Are is situated above
Altenahr, and was built by a group of counts, probably the
Ahrgau counts. The group was associated with the
Carolingian nobility and named itself after it.
The Nürburg is situated south of Castle Are, where the Counts of Are belonged to a family circle whose members can be traced back to the 9th century. In the 10th century, they are alleged to have held rights in what would subsequently become the village of Nürburg. The counts were able to build up an independent power base within the High Eifel and at the upper Ahr and this power base was centered between Adenau, Nürburg, and Altenahr. The counts were divided up between several ancestral lines: the Are-Hochstaden line held the property in the village of Nürburg.
Around 1220/30, a different ancestral line built Neuenahr Castle. With the death of
Count Lothar in around 1246, the Counts of Are-Hochstaden died out. Their estate was inherited by the
Archbishop of Cologne (
Konrad von Are-Hochstaden).
Count Ulrich von Nürburg first appears in documents linking him to the Nürburg in 1169. He is considered to be the person responsible for commissioning the building of the castle. There is a document originating from 1166 in which Are and Nürburg Castles are mentioned within the context of rights which the Archbishop of Cologne granted to Count Ulrich and his family. At that time, the castle was an open house of the Archbishop of Cologne: the opening right affording him access to the castle and the option to use it if he needed to. In those days, the counts of Are-Nürburg were supporters of the
Staufian imperial family.
Modern Age
Historians suspected that the officials who were pledged the use of the castle from the 14–16th century were more concerned with exploiting the castle than with preserving it. This was reflected in the large amount of damage that Augustin von Braunsberg noted when he financed its repair in 1534. According to his report, Augustin had the gate to the valley re-erected and had a stable built in the courtyard. A storm had also torn off the roof of the main tower and damaged the vaults within. In order to prevent its total collapse, the tower was reconstructed in 1535. Augustin also financed the construction of a brewery, cowshed, meat house, and bakery within the walls.
In 1587, the castle was plundered by
Dutch soldiers. There are also reports from the early 17th century outlining the damage to, and decline of the castle. An occupation in 1605 by southern European soldiers caused significant damage. The soldiers removed the lead bracing in the main tower leaving it in a perilous state of near collapse. In 1607, funds were raised by the local archiepiscopal commission, and restoration work carried out in 1612, where 77 windows were installed to make the castle more livable. However, that same year, a severe storm tore the chimneys and roofs off some of the buildings leaving the castle in a nearly ruined state. In 1633, during
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
, the castle was occupied by
Swedish troops as a defensible position, and by 1656, the castle fell into a state of near uninhabitability. Despite the crumbling walls, the castle was still seen an important military site due to its high position and relative ease of defense.
In 1752, the main tower of Castle Nürburg was used as a prison until the dungeons fell into a state of total ruin. From this point, the castle was abandoned and left to decay, as farmers in the area continued to remove stones from the site for use as local building material. The Burgstube hotel at the base of the castle evidences some of this pirating of the stone in its foundation that dates to the 17th century. The Franciscan friars from Adenau issued a decree from Adenau to take as much stone as they needed in order to repair their convent.
Drawings from the late 18th century show the castle as a complete ruin. In
1792
Events
January–March
* January 9 – The Treaty of Jassy ends the Russian Empire's war with the Ottoman Empire over Crimea.
* January 25 – The London Corresponding Society is founded.
* February 18 – Thomas Holcrof ...
, the French occupied the left side of the Rhine, and in
1801, the French army destroyed the remaining portions of the outer wall, leaving only the inner wall, and the main tower standing to attest to what was the Nürburg.
Restoration work started in 1846–78 where the main tower was renewed. A stone staircase was built into the tower, with the uppermost vault being reconstructed in order to provide views over the entire High Eifel. In 1871, the inner wall and main gate were completely reconstructed into the form seen today, complete with non-original fairytale style conical tops on the wall towers.
In 1953–71, the castle was transferred to the administration of the
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) 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 sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...
. As money poured into Nürburg for repair and expansion projects to the Nürburgring, extensive work was again carried out on the castle. The walls of the wards were rebuilt, and the shoring up of the towers completed in order to make the castle safe for tourists.
Climate
Nürburg has a semi-continental climate with both
oceanic and
continental tendencies. It does however land in the former category (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Cfb''). With regards to the racetrack, due to the Nordschleife's varied terrain and elevation, weather may be completely different on either end of the track. The elevation shift also makes thermal differences a strong possibility. The modern Grand Prix circuit also has sizeable elevation changes between the start-finish straight and the lowest point on the opposite end of the track, but the geographical distance and actual elevation gain between the two are lower. Annual sunshine is in the 1500s, which is low by European standards, but sunnier than the nearest large city of
Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
. Contrasting that, Nürburg has cooler weather year-round due to the higher elevation of the
Eifel Mountains than the
Rhine Valley.
Gallery
Nürburg 11010026.jpg, Nürburg Castle entry
Nurburgring lap.jpg, The nearby Nürburgring
The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...
race track
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nurburg
Populated places in Ahrweiler (district)
Counties of the Holy Roman Empire