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Ansembourg Old Castle ( lb, Buerg Aansebuerg , french: Vieux Château d'Ansembourg, german: Burg Ansemburg), known as the Old Castle of Ansembourg, in central
The property is first mentioned in 1135 when the lord of the castle was Hubert d'Ansembourg. The fortifications were probably built in the middle of the 12th century. At the beginning of the 14th century, the south-western tower gate and the northern keep appear to have been built by Jofroit d'Ansembourg. Since the times of Jakob II de Raville-Ansembourg, the castle does not appear to have been significantly altered. The main entrance bears the date of 1565. In 1683, the castle was damaged by the French troops of Marshal de Boufflers. In the 17th century, repairs were carried out by the Bidart and the Marchant et d'Ansembourg families who built the
"Der Graf von Ansemburg heiratet"
''Luxemburger Wort'', 25 August 2010. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
Temps d'Or Hotel
Ansembourg Old Castle ( lb, Buerg Aansebuerg , french: Vieux Château d'Ansembourg, german: Burg Ansemburg), known as the Old Castle of Ansembourg, in central 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 ...
is one of the castles belonging to the Valley of the Seven Castles
The Valley of the Seven Castles () is an informal name given to the Äischdall, the valley of the Eisch river, in central Luxembourg. The valley stretches from the confluence with the Alzette upstream to Steinfort, on the border with Belgium. Th ...
. Located high above the little village of Ansembourg
Ansembourg (, ) is a village in the commune of Helperknapp, in western Luxembourg. , the village had a population of 61.
Ansembourg is in part of the Eisch valley known as the Valley of the Seven Castles. The village is the site of two of the ...
, the medieval castle is the private residence of the current Count and Countess of Ansembourg.
History
The property is first mentioned in 1135 when the lord of the castle was Hubert d'Ansembourg. The fortifications were probably built in the middle of the 12th century. At the beginning of the 14th century, the south-western tower gate and the northern keep appear to have been built by Jofroit d'Ansembourg. Since the times of Jakob II de Raville-Ansembourg, the castle does not appear to have been significantly altered. The main entrance bears the date of 1565. In 1683, the castle was damaged by the French troops of Marshal de Boufflers. In the 17th century, repairs were carried out by the Bidart and the Marchant et d'Ansembourg families who built the New Castle of Ansembourg
The New Castle of Ansembourg (french: Grand Château d'Ansembourg), in central Luxembourg is one of the castles belonging to the Valley of the Seven Castles. Located about one kilometre or just over half a mile below the Old Castle of Ansembourg ...
.
Recent developments
Today the castle is owned by Gaston-Gaëtan Count de Marchant et d'Ansembourg who moved into the property after the death of his father. At the end of 2008, the Luxembourg government acquired the family's library (around 6000 books) and were offered the family archives. Interest had grown in the collection after the Codex Mariendalensis manuscript telling the story ofYolanda of Vianden
Mother Yolanda (or Yolande, Iolanda) of Vianden, O.P., (1231–1283) was the youngest daughter of Count Henry I of Vianden and Margaret, Marchioness of Namur. She joined the Dominican monastery in Marienthal, Luxembourg, against the wishes of h ...
was found in 1999 by the linguist Guy Berg. The manuscript dating from the end of the 14th or beginning of the 15th century was especially significant as it was written in the Moselle Franconian dialect which is closely related to modern Luxembourgish
Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide.
As a standard form of th ...
.''Luxemburger Wort'', 25 August 2010. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
The castle today
The castle is strictly private property and is not open to visitors. In 2011, the Count of Ansembourg opened a very exclusive boutique hotel, in one of the buildings surrounding the castle.See also
*New Castle of Ansembourg
The New Castle of Ansembourg (french: Grand Château d'Ansembourg), in central Luxembourg is one of the castles belonging to the Valley of the Seven Castles. Located about one kilometre or just over half a mile below the Old Castle of Ansembourg ...
*List of castles in Luxembourg
By some optimistic estimates, there are as many as 130 castles in Luxembourg but more realistically there are probably just over a hundred, although many of these could be considered large residences or manor houses rather than castles.Evy Friedri ...
External links
Temps d'Or Hotel
References
Castles in Luxembourg {{Luxembourg-struct-stub