Merburg is a ruined small castle near Homburg, Saarland, Germany. Details about the castle's builders and most of their owners are unknown. Parts of the fortification date to the early 12th century, likely at the location of an older refuge castle from the 10th century. In 1179, a Count Dietrich von Merburg is documented. The castle was probably abandoned in the late 12th century.



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Karlsberg Castle (German: Schloss Karlsberg) is a castle ruin on Buchenberg east of Homburg in Saarland, Germany. The castle was constructed from 1778 to 1788 in Baroque and Classical style by Johann Christian von Mannlich, architect and general building director of the dukes of Zweibrücken, by order of Charles II August, Duke of Zweibrücken. The castle was the largest country palace of Europe and served as the residence of the Duke of Zweibrücken. In 1793 the castle was destroyed by French revolutionary troops.

Charles II August was the son of the (titular) Count Palatine and prince of Palatinate-Zweibrücken and Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Bischweiler Frederick Michael. This means, his father was the head of the house Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Bischweiler, a side branch of the house Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, which was a side branch of the ducal house of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, which itself was a side branch of the house of Wittelsbach-Palatinate, which held the title of elector Palatinate of the Rhine and was the Protestant branch of the house of Wittelsbach.

His upbringing as the son of an unimportant poor prince did not give Charles II August the chance to build a castle of European standing. It was the extinction of the three main branches of the house of Wittelsbach, which gave him the opportunity to do so. In 1775 Christian IV, duke of Zweibrücken died without legitimate children. Charles August became his successor. At the same time, neither Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria, Elector Palatine, the head of the Protestant main branch of the house of Wittelsbach, nor Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria, the head of the Catholic main branch of the house of Wittelsbach, had surviving legitimate children. So Charles August was expected to succeed these relatives too.

Charles Theodore was not interested in the Bavarian inheritance (because of their illegitimate birth, his own children would not benefit from the inheritance). Therefore he was willing to sell his hereditary title and, after the death of Maximilian Joseph, his Bavarian property to the Austrian house of Habsburg.

The European powers, especially Prussia, were not interested in seeing the house of Habsburg make further land gains. The only way to prevent this from happening was to make sure that, instead of selling his own hereditary title too, Charles August protested against every attempt to impede his succession to the Bavarian throne. To insure this, Charles August received financial support from European powers such as France and Prussia. Part of the demonstration of his position as the inheritor of the Electorate of the Palatinate and Bavaria was an extensive holding of court.

Architect of the castle was Johann Christian von Mannlich, painter and architect, who held the office general building director of the duke of Zweibrücken.

In 1760 the Baron of Closen built a house, called Luisenhof (Louise grange) after his wife Louise von Closen (born von Esebeck), on the Buchenberg. When he died, the estate was inherited by his widow.

On July 27, 1777, duke Charles II August bought the Luisenhof for the price of 23,000 gulden (a journeyman had to work two days to earn one Gulden) and 60 new Louis d'or (about twice the worth of a gulden). He was influenced by his mistress, Caroline von Esebeck, a cousin of the owner, who was seeking to sell the property she did not use any more, because she lived with her new husband, the count of Strahlenheim-Wasaburg in Forbach.

From 1778 to 1788, a castle was constructed on the area of the Louisenhof. Leading architect was Johann Christian von Mannlich (born 2 October 1741, Strasbourg; died 3 January 1822, Munich), a painter and architect, who became court painter and general building director of the duke of Zweibrücken.

The castle was constructed in the style of classicism. It was one of the first buildings within the Holy Roman Empire constructed in this new style.

The main entrance was located in the valley in front of the castle. There the Karlsberger Hof (Karlsberg grange), a farm building, was constructed. This is the only building of the castle complex that is still intact. From there, a meandering road led to the mansion, a three winged building, arranged around a court of honour.

The main buildings were constructed along the edge of a hill, giving a view over the surrounding countryside.

 In 1778 the construction of the first buildings began. Several buildings were constructed at the same time.

The buildings were constructed in a very plain style. The uniform design of the one and two storied buildings includes continuous cornices and architrave blocks and gabled roofs. Only the buildings of the Corps de logis have a mansard roof. The buildings only impress by their size. The right side of the main complex of buildings has a length of 1,250 meters, thus creating the largest country palace of Europe.

With 42 meters, the staircase was one of the biggest of the Baroque period.

In the upper floor, the state rooms could be found.

Main parts of the equipment of the castle were created by purveyors to the French court. Other parts came from older castles of the dukes of Zweibrücken.

Most of the elaborate carved and gilded furnitures and plankings were created by the French court cabinetmaker Georges Jacob gefertigt. Sculptures were produced by the French sculptors Francois-Joseph Duret and Martin-Claude Monot. The silverware was created by Jean-Jacques Kirstein in Strassburg and the drapery came from Lyon. The equipment followed the plans of Johann Christian von Mannlich und Jean-Démosthène Dugourc.

The main piece of the show bedroom was a bed "à la Romaine", which was the archetype of following furniture of the kings of France. Main parts of the furnitures of this room can be found at the Munich residence and Berchtesgaden castle.

The garden has three parts, the park nearby the mansion, Karlslust (Charles' pleasure) and Hirschwürzloch.

The park near the mansion is a baroque style; Karlslust and Hirschwürzlust are English parks. It is not known who created the gardens. It looks like Mannlich worked on the plans but Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell did as well.

The court gardener, Johann Ludwig Petri, who created important parts of the park of Schwetzingen castle, seems to have been involved too. Other court gardeners were Ernst August Bernhard Petri, Bernhard Petri and Matthias Sckell.

After the outbreak of the French revolution and the begin of the first coalition war (1792–1797), the duke held a neutral position in relation to the revolutionary government of France. The dukedom of Zweibrücken had a close relationship to France. There even served a Royal Deux-Ponts Regiment, within the French army, which participated in several battles, especially the siege of Yorktown, where they played a prominent part of taking redoubt 9. As compensation for this policy of neutrality, the duke was granted neutrality by the French government. Because of this guarantee, unlike other princes, the duke stayed within his dukedom, close to the French territory and the French armies. After the execution of Louis XVI, Charles II August was to be put on trial in front of a revolutionary tribunal, which would have meant his death. Before French troops could arrest him, he was warned by a nearby farmer and was able to escape to Mannheim, to live in his castles of Mannheim and Rohrbach near Heidelberg.

Within the next six months, French and Prussian troops alternately gained control of the region around the castle. Protected by the Prussian army, the equipment was transported to Mannheim too.

When the French troops capitulated in Mainz, the relief troops retired back home to France. Leaving the region, they marauded the castle and the residents of the nearby villages were allowed to plunder the buildings. On the eve of July 28, the French soldiers set fire to the main buildings. To be able to do so, about one hundred cartloads of straw had to be transported from Metz.

The fire did not destroy all of the buildings. The mansion was destroyed, but most of the service rooms and farming buildings were unaffected.

In the aftermath, the castle hill was still inhabited. In November 1793, there were still children born and documented in the church register. Until 1797, the court still settled accounts concerning the castle, although there were no real efforts to secure or maintain the buildings. Therefore the buildings decayed even more. Napoleon returned the ruins to the duke's widow, under the condition that she remove all the ruins.

Parts of the furniture and equipment were auctioned off after the death of Charles II August. The rest was spread on several castles and museums of the house of Wittelsbach.

The furniture was used in Nymphenburg castle, Berchtesgaden castle and the residences of Munich Würzburg and Bamberg.
The collection of arms can be seen in the Historic Museum of the Palatinate, the German museum of hunting and fishing in Munich and Berchtesgaden castle.
Parts of the silverware are located in the silver chamber of the Munich Rezidenz.
The paintings formed the core of the Alte Pinakothek art collection.
The graphic collection came to the state graphic collection in Munich.
The coins were included in the state coin collection in Munich.
The books now are part of the Bamberg State Library.

Today, only one building remains. The Karlsberger Hof, a former farmhouse near the main entrance of the castle territory. After serving for different purposes as a sugar factory or a forester's house, the Karsberger Hof is owned by the Karlsberg brewery.

Of the other buildings nothing remains, except parts of the foundations. Soon after the destruction, the hill was forested. Within this forest, there are some ponds, especially the Karlsberg weiher (Karlsberg pond), which are remains of water basins of the castle park.

Karlsberg Castle

Die Burg Kirkel ist eine Burgruine im Saarland, die etwa in der Mitte zwischen den Städten St. Ingbert, Homburg, Neunkirchen und Zweibrücken liegt. Sie steht auf dem Schlossberg, einem freistehenden Buntsandsteinfelsen. Heute ist die Burgruine das Wahrzeichen des Ortsteils Kirkel-Neuhäusel der Gemeinde Kirkel und ein beliebtes Ausflugsziel.

Geschichte

1075 erfolgte die erste Erwähnung eines Grafen Gottfried von Kirkel. Anfang des 12. Jahrhunderts gelangte die Burg in den Besitz der Grafen von Saarwerden. Bei der Teilung von 1212/14 kam die Burg an die Linie Saarwerden-Kirkel. 1242 verstarb Graf Heinrich I. von Saarwerden-Kirkel kinderlos. Dessen Besitz teilten sich seine Neffen, darunter Arnold und Johann von Siersberg. Die Burg Kirkel kam an Johann von Siersberg, der sich 1250 „von Kirkel“ nannte. Er und seine Nachkommen, die Herren von Kirkel, erlangten die Reichsunmittelbarkeit und besaßen bis zum Aussterben der Linie 1386 die Burg als Reichslehen. Im 13. Jahrhundert erfolgte der Bau des kleinen und des runden Turmes und im 15. Jahrhundert entstand im Schutz der Burg das Dorf Kirkel.

Zwischen 1410 und 1689 war die Burg im Besitz der Herzöge von Pfalz-Zweibrücken. Von 1580 bis 1596 erfolgte der Umbau der Burg zum Wohnschloss durch Herzog Johann I. Als man ihm davon abriet, da ein Feind von dem die Burg überhöhenden Berg sehr hineinschießen könne, antwortete er: „So werde ich noch sehrer von inwendig hinauß schiessen“. 1635 wurde die Burg durch einen Brand stark zerstört und wieder aufgebaut, 1677 wurde die Burg im Französisch-Niederländischen Krieg erneut zerstört. 1689 kam es zur nächsten Zerstörung im Pfälzischen Erbfolgekrieg.

Ab ca. 1740 wurde die Ruine als Steinbruch genutzt. 1955 erfolgte der Wiederaufbau des Rundturms; er wurde mit einer Turmhaube versehen. Archäologische Ausgrabungen seit 1994 brachten genauere Erkenntnisse zur Baugeschichte, zum ehemaligen Aussehen und zur Ausstattung der Burg.

Heutige Nutzung

Die Ruine dient heute als Ausflugsziel, der 32 m hohe Bergfried als Aussichtsturm. In einem ehemaligen Tagelöhnerhaus unmittelbar unterhalb der Burg befindet sind ein kleines Burg- und Heimatmuseum. Seit 1994 besteht eine archäologisches Forschungsprojekt. Auf der Unterburgebene findet in den Sommermonaten der sog. Kirkeler Burgsommer statt. Dafür wurden unter anderem eine Steinbildhauerei, eine Holzwerkstatt, eine Schmiede, eine Bäckerei, eine Nähstube und ein Bogenschießstand eingerichtet.



Burg Kirkel

Die Burgruine Steinenschloss, auch Atzenstein, Biebermühler Schloss, Steiner Schloss genannt, liegt in der Gemarkung Thaleischweiler-Fröschen in der Südwestpfalz, oberhalb des Zusammenflusses des Schwarzbachs und der Rodalb.

Von der etwa 295 Meter über dem Meeresspiegel und 48 Meter über der Talsohle gelegenen Höhenburg aus waren die angrenzenden Täler gut überschaubar. Wegen dieser strategisch günstigen Lage diente die Burg möglicherweise als südliche Grenzburg.

Geschichte

Der genaue Gründungszeitpunkt der Burg ist nicht bekannt. Grabungsfunde deuten auf Anzeichen einer Besiedelung schon in der jüngeren Steinzeit und der Hallstattzeit hin.

Nach Datierung des Mauerwerkes der vorhandenen Mauerreste fand die Gründung der Burg um das Jahr 1100 statt. Erbauer waren wohl die Grafen von Leiningen. Eine etwa einen Kilometer entfernte römische Villa diente möglicherweise als Baumaterialquelle für die spät-salische Burganlage.

Etwa zwischen 1125 und 1166, also später als die Burg, entstand der wuchtige Rundturm. Er ist mit seinen salisch-staufischen Bauelementen einer der größten dieser Zeit im rheinland-pfälzischen Raum. Schon wenige Jahre danach zerstörte ein Brand die Burg; sie könnte eine der drei Saarbrücker Burgen sein, die Kaiser Friedrich Barbarossa 1168 neben der Burg Saarbrücken schleifen ließ. In einer Urkunde aus dem Jahre 1237 gilt die Burg als bereits zerstört und wurde nicht wieder aufgebaut.

Vom 13. bis 18. Jahrhundert wechselte die Burgruine mehrfach den Besitzer. Es werden aufgeführt die Grafen Leiningen-Dagsburg, Zweibrücken-Bitsch, Leiningen-Hardenburg, ab 1564 als Wüstung bezeichneter Besitz der Grafen von Leiningen-Hardenburg-Dagsberg und ab 1570 Hanau-Lichtenberg.

Im 19. Jahrhundert wurde die Ruine als Steinbruch verwendet und restlos zerstört. Die abgetragenen Steine wurden sowohl für den Hausbau in den umliegenden Gemeinden verwendet als auch 1875 zum Bau des Bahnhofs Pirmasens-Nord (Biebermühle) und der Bahnlinie. Die Ruine befindet sich derzeit in Staatsbesitz und steht unter der Verwaltung des Landesamtes für Denkmalpflege, Mainz.

Beschreibung

Die Burganlage hat etwa die Form eines Bügeleisens, dessen Spitze nach Süden zeigt; die Länge beträgt 70 Meter, die Breite etwa 46 Meter. Die 1,80 bis 2,50 Meter breite Umfassungsmauer besteht aus behauenen Sandsteinquadern, die teils durch Buckelquader ergänzt werden. Die auf einem Sandsteinfelsen gelegene Oberburg wird von der Unterburg durch einen Felsabsatz getrennt, in dem sich auch die Zisterne befindet.

Eine Vorburg befand sich westlich der Burganlage außerhalb der Ringmauer. Sie erstreckte sich entlang der gesamten Westseite des Grabens, nach Süden sogar noch um einige Meter weiter.

In der Unterburg befand sich neben Wirtschaftsgebäuden und vermutlich als Wachkammern genutzten Räumen auch der Burgzugang. Er bestand aus einem 2,50 Meter breiten und 3,15 Meter hohen Tor, das durch eine Zugbrücke und einen Graben gesichert wurde.

Die Oberburg ist durch einen in den Felsen gehauenen Durchgang erreichbar. Sie beherbergte die Wohngebäude, also den Palas, Küche, Abortanlagen, die Rüstkammer und einen mächtigen Rundturm, der die gesamte Burganlage dominiert. Er bringt es bei einem Innendurchmesser von 8,50 Meter mit seinen 2,50 Meter dicken Wänden auf 13,5 Meter Außendurchmesser. Dieser Turm diente wohl als Bergfried, könnte jedoch aufgrund des großen Durchmessers auch ein Wohnturm gewesen sein. Im Norden ist die Oberburg durch eine geknickte Schildmauer geschützt, die wohl in der Zeit des 12. Jahrhunderts beschädigt wurde. Ihre Westhälfte wurde während der zweiten Hälfte dieses Jahrhunderts neu errichtet, wohin dagegen der Ostteil der Mauer aus dem 11. Jahrhundert stammt.


Burg Steinenschloss

Kerpen Castle (German: Burg Kerpen) is a spur castle standing on a dolomite hill spur at a height of 500 m above sea level (NHN) above the Eifel village of Kerpen in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

History

The precise origins of Kerpen Castle are hidden by the mists of time. It is very likely that it was built by Sigibertus de Kerpene, first mentioned in 1136, or his son, Henry I (1142-1177). However, it is not yet possible to give an exact date of construction.

In 1265, Theodoric II of Kerpen converted the castle into a fief of the Archbishop of Cologne, Engelbert II of Falkenburg. The estate was later divided between him and his brother, William II.

In 1299, a 'Theodoric III' is recorded as Lord of Kerpen. His sons later founded the three family lines of Kerpen-Linster, Kerpen-Mörsdorf and Kerpen-Illingen (Lit.: Losse, 2003), who remained the owners of their ancestral castle and turned it into a jointly-owned inheritance or Ganerbenburg.

In 1446, Conrad of Kerpen-Mörsdorf sold his share of the castle to his cousin, William II of Sombreff, who acquired another share in 1448. Together with his family inheritance, this made William the sole owner of the castle. After his death, there were ongoing disputes over Kerpen castle, which lasted for more than 200 years.

William's son, Frederick, died childless, so that the castle fell to his sister, Margareta. Through her marriage to Count Dietrich of Manderscheid-Schleiden, the castle came into the possession of the count's family.

At the beginning of the 16th century, Dietrich IV of Manderscheid-Schleiden had a castle chapel built in the Gothic style. When he died childless in 1593, his brother-in-law, Philip of the Mark, had Kerpen Castle occupied by those loyal to him in order to lay claim to the estate. The quarrel between him and Philip's widow ended in a settlement in 1611 and he bought Kerpen from the widow.

But the property disputes were by no means over. In 1653, the Count of Löwenstein-Wertheim also tried to stake his claim to the estate by occupying the castle. It was not until 1674 that the dispute between the various noble families over Kerpen was brought to an end when the Imperial Chamber Court at Spires granted the estate of Kerpen and its castle to the Duchess of Arenberg. The Arenberg family remained owners until 1794, but never realised their initial plans to have the castle transformed into a schloss.

In the Reunion Wars, some of the buildings of the castle were destroyed by French troops in 1682. During the Thirty Years' War, soldiers of the French army under General Bouffleur blew up the castle and village and razed them to the ground.

After the occupation of the left bank of the Rhine by French Revolution troops in 1794, French administrators sold the ruin to the village in 1803 for demolition.

In 1893, Johann Heinrich Dün took over the dilapidated estate. He had it freed of rubble, built the present residential house and put a new battlement on the bergfried.

From 1907 to 1911, Kerpen Castle was owned by Clemens Manstein.

In 1911, Eifel painter, Fritz von Wille, bought the castle from Clemens Manstein and had urgent safety and repair work carried out. When the artist died in 1941, he was buried in the castle grounds.

In the same year, the company of DEMAG bought the castle to use it as a training centre. In the 1950s, the company carried out further measures to secure, modify and expand the castle.

From 1969 to 2007, Kerpen was owned by the county of Neuss, who used it as a country hall of residence (Landschulheim). Then a Dutch family bought the property and underwent extensive renovation in 2010.

Currently (2016) it is used as refugee accommodation.

Description
Kerpen Castle is built on a triple-terraced, hill spur, which is guarded to the north by a roughly 15-metre-wide neck ditch. The battlemented, 23-metre-high, bergfried stands on the first and highest terrace. On the top floor was once a dungeon.

On the middle terrace there used to be domestic and outbuildings, which no longer exist. The only relic from medieval times is the 35-metre-deep castle well in a roundel.

The lowest terrace is surrounded by an enceinte which is supported on heavy pillars. In the 17th century it house several outbuildings and castellan's houses before they were destroyed by the French in 1682.