Pyrmont Castle (German: Burg Pyrmont) stands west of Münstermaifeld near Roes and Pillig on a slate rock outcrop above a waterfall on the Elzbach in the southern Eifel mountains in Germany
Pyrmont Castle (German: Burg Pyrmont) stands west of Münstermaifeld near Roes and Pillig on a slate rock outcrop above a waterfall on the Elzbach in the southern Eifel mountains in Germany. It is on the parish of Roes in the county of Cochem-Zell.
History
The rock castle was built at the end of the 12th century on count palatine territory by Cuno of Schönburg, whose son Cuno II called himself "Lord of Pyrmont", the first member of his family to use the title. The castle is first recorded in 1225.
In 1441, Cuno VI of Pyrmont laid down by his will and testament how his inheritance (and thus also Pyrmont Castle) should be divided between his three quarrelsome sons, Henry VI, John and Frederick, in order to protect the ancestral seat of the dynasty from division by inheritance. But this did not prevent the squabblers from fighting over the castle after their father's death. Henry VI of Pyrmont had the Reichsacht imposed on him as a result of the inheritance dispute and the administration of his share of the castle was transferred to his brother Frederick.
The castle did not witness more peaceful times until the second half of the 15th century, when Emperor Maximilian I elevated Henry IV, Lord of Pyrmont, to the status of a Freiherr. Although his marriages were blessed with two sons, his daughter, Elisabeth, was eventually to inherit the Pyrmont estate. Since she married Philip of Eltz, the castle fell to this important comital dynasty.
But even the Eltz family did not always agree on the distribution of their inheritance. In 1652, one of the Eltz heiresses sold her share to members of the family of Waldbott of Bassenheim because of the ongoing disputes who, two years later, were appointed imperial Freiherren thanks to their ownership of this estate.
In 1695, another Eltz share in Pyrmont Castle went to the Electorate of Trier and was also acquired by the Waldbott of Bassenheim family in 1710.
In 1712, the Waldbotts began to convert the medieval castle into a prestigious schloss. For example, the palas was increased in height to three storeys and fitted with large windows. The present perron, on the south side of the castle, dates to this period.
In 1789, during the French Revolution, the owners fled from French troops to their estates on the right bank of the Rhine, and just five years later the castle was seized as French national property. She suffered the fate of many castle estates west of the Rhine: in 1810, she was auctioned off by the French, with seven hectares of land, for 4,550 francs. Its new owner, Franz Georg Severus Weckbecker from Münstermaifeld, sold everything of any value. The remains of the buildings then gradually deteriorated.
In 1818, Count Friedrich Waldbott von Bassenheim bought back the castle. Under his son, Count Hugo Waldbott, it was forcibly auctioned in 1862. Many owners were to follow him, but none rebuilt the ruins. Only the family of the architect, Franz Krause, who worked as a draughtsman for The Art Monuments of the Rhine Province, made part of the dilapidated castle complex habitable again from 1912 onwards. However, there was a lack of money for further major restoration.
In 1963, two Düsseldorf architects, Helmut Hentrich and Hubert Petschnigg, bought the remnants of Pyrmont Castle. After its purchase, they began with safety work and a gradual reconstruction, especially of the inner bailey. In 1990, the castle grounds were opened to visitors. In the interior rooms, old furniture and furnishings can nowadays be seen, which fill the rooms with history and partly recall the former owners of the castle. In the rebuilt outer bailey is a souvenir shop.
Gratis
6.00 EUR
4 - 17 Jahre: 4.50 EUR
Familie: 19.00 EUR
ab 20 Personen:5.50 EUR
Wanderwege
info@burg-pyrmont.de
- Besuch nur an Sonn- und Feiertagen möglich
- Individuelle Führung: +50.00 EUR
- Räume zu vermieten