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Wildenburg Castle (Eifel)
The Wildenburg lies in the North Rhine-Westphalian part of the Eifel Mountains in the national park district of Hellenthal in the German county of Euskirchen. The castle was built between 1202 and 1235 and is one of the few hill castles in the Eifel that has not been destroyed by war or demolition. It was the centre of gravity of a territorial lordship that extended in the west as far as the present border with Belgium and in the east reached the gates of Steinfeld Abbey Steinfeld Abbey (''Kloster Steinfeld'') is a former Premonstratensian monastery, now a Salvatorian convent, with an important basilica, in Steinfeld in Kall, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. History The origins of the site go back to about 920. .... As in the Middle Ages the castle may only be accessed on a single road, today the '' Landesstraße'' 22, which runs from the valley of the Reifferscheider Bach via Steinfeld into the valley of the River Urft. References Literature * * Harald He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 are thus distinguished from lowland castles (''Niederungsburgen''). Hill castles may be further subdivided depending on their situation into the following: * Hilltop castle (''Gipfelburg''), that stands on the summit of a hill with steep drops on all sides. A special type is the rock castle or ''Felsenburg''. * Ridge castle (''Kammburg''), that is built on the crest of a ridge. * Hillside castle (''Hangburg''), that is built on the side of a hill and thus is dominated by rising ground on one side. * Spur castle (''Spornburg''), that is built on a hill spur surrounded by steep terrain on three sides and thus only needs to be defended on the one remaining side. When in the 10th and 11th centuries castles lost their pure fortress charact ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Territorial Lordship
A territorial lord (german: Landesherr) was a ruler in the period beginning with the Early Middle Ages who, stemming from his status as being immediate (''unmittelbar''), held a form of authority over a territory known as ''Landeshoheit''. This authority gave him nearly all the attributes of sovereignty. Such a lord had authority or dominion in a state or territory, but this fell short of sovereignty since as a ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, he remained subject to imperial law and supreme authority, including imperial tribunals and imperial war contributions. The territorial lord was generally a member of the high aristocracy (''Hochadel'') or clergy, who was the title bearer or office holder of an existing or constituent state through the custom of primogeniture or feudal law. In the Holy Roman Empire, the lords of the individual member states, the imperial states or ''Reichsstände'' (excluding the Holy Roman Emperor), were the territorial lords of the regions ruled by them. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euskirchen (district)
Euskirchen () is a Kreis (district) in the south-west of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Aachen, Düren, Rhein-Erft-Kreis, Rhein-Sieg, Ahrweiler, Daun, Bitburg-Prüm, and the Liège province (Belgium). History In 1827 a first district around the city of Euskirchen was created, however much smaller than today. In 1932 the district of Rheinbach was dissolved, whereby the Euskirchen district gained its southern part. In 1972 the Euskirchen district grew again by the inclusion of the Schleiden district. Geography Geographically, the south-western half of the district is inside the Eifel hill chain. This land is hardly suitable for agriculture, and therefore in historical times the region was rather poor. Areas further to the north-east are more flat and have historically been used to grow a variety of crops, most notably sugar beets. The only other source of wealth was the iron ore, but today the many forests there make the area interesting for tourists. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
River Urft
The Urft is a right-hand tributary of the Rur in the county of Euskirchen in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It flows through the village of Urft in the municipality of Kall. The Urft rises in the North Eifel region of the Eifel Mountains. Origin of the name The name of the Urft is derived from ''Urd-apa''. The origin of the word ''Urd'' is unknown, but ''apa'' is Celtic and means "stream". In 1075, the Urft was called the ''Urdefa'', in 1419 the ''Orfft'' and, in 1503, the ''Oyrfft''. The village of Urft takes its name from the river. Course The Urft rises in the North Eifel in the High Fens-Eifel Nature Park. Its source is in the Dahlem Forest (''Dahlemer Wald''), west of the Dahlem village of Schmidtheim and (both as the crow flies) northwest of Dahlemer Binz Airfield. The Urft initially flows through Schmidtheim. From there it is accompanied by the Eifel Line and joined by the Dänenbach stream. It then flows through the village of Blankenhe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Landesstraße
''Landesstraßen'' (singular: ''Landesstraße'') are roads in Germany and Austria that are, as a rule, the responsibility of the respective German or Austrian federal state. The term may therefore be translated as "state road". They are roads that cross the boundary of a rural or urban district ('' Landkreis'' or '' Kreisfreie Stadt''). A ''Landesstraße'' is thus less important than a ''Bundesstraße'' or federal road, but more significant than a ''Kreisstraße'' or district road. The classification of a road as a ''Landesstraße'' is a legal matter (''Widmung''). In the free states of Bavaria and Saxony – but not, however, in the Free State of Thuringia – ''Landesstraßen'' are known as ''Staatsstraßen''. Designation The abbreviation for a ''Landesstraße'' consists of a prefixed capital letter ''L'' and a serial number (e. g. L 1, L 83, L 262 or L 3190). ''Staatsstraßen'' in Saxony are similarly abbreviated using a capital ''S'' (e. g. S 190) and the ''Staatsstraß ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and transitioned into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history: classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early Early may refer to: History * The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.: ** Early Christianity ** Early modern Europe Places in the United States * Early, Iowa * Early, Texas * Early ..., High Middle Ages, High, and Late Middle Ages. Population decline, counterurbanisation, the collapse of centralized authority, invasions, and mass migrations of tribes, which had begun in late antiquity, continued i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steinfeld Abbey
Steinfeld Abbey (''Kloster Steinfeld'') is a former Premonstratensian monastery, now a Salvatorian convent, with an important basilica, in Steinfeld in Kall, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. History The origins of the site go back to about 920. The first monastic settlement at Steinfeld took place in about 1070, and the Premonstratensians settled here in 1130. It became an important monastery in the German Empire, and established a number of daughter houses across Europe, including Strahov Abbey in Prague. It was raised to the status of an abbey in 1184. In 1802, Steinfeld Abbey was secularised. The basilica was put to use as a parish church, while the conventual buildings were used for a number of secular purposes until 1923, when the Salvatorians acquired them. Basilica The basilica, formerly the abbey church, was built between 1142 and 1150 by the Premonstratensians as one of the earliest vaulted churches in Germany. The present structure includes features from a number ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest. It covers an area of and has a population of more than 11.5 million, making it the 22nd most densely populated country in the world and the 6th most densely populated country in Europe, with a density of . Belgium is part of an area known as the Low Countries, historically a somewhat larger region than the Benelux group of states, as it also included parts of northern France. The capital and largest city is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven. Belgium is a sovereign state and a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. Its institutional organization is complex and is structured on both regional ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kreis Euskirchen
Euskirchen () is a Kreis (district) in the south-west of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Aachen, Düren, Rhein-Erft-Kreis, Rhein-Sieg, Ahrweiler, Daun, Bitburg-Prüm, and the Liège province (Belgium). History In 1827 a first district around the city of Euskirchen was created, however much smaller than today. In 1932 the district of Rheinbach was dissolved, whereby the Euskirchen district gained its southern part. In 1972 the Euskirchen district grew again by the inclusion of the Schleiden district. Geography Geographically, the south-western half of the district is inside the Eifel hill chain. This land is hardly suitable for agriculture, and therefore in historical times the region was rather poor. Areas further to the north-east are more flat and have historically been used to grow a variety of crops, most notably sugar beets. The only other source of wealth was the iron ore, but today the many forests there make the area interesting for tourists. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spur Castle
A spur castle is a type of medieval fortification that is sited on a spur of a hill or mountain for defensive purposes. Ideally, it would be protected on three sides by steep hillsides; the only vulnerable side being that where the spur joins the hill from which it projects. By contrast, a ridge castle is only protected by steep terrain on two sides. Description A spur castle was one of several types of hill castle. Depending on the local topography, a spur castle may have relied mainly on its inaccessible position or may have integrated further features such as shield walls and towers into the defences. In addition castle builders may have improved the natural defences of the terrain by hewing into them to make the hillsides harder to climb and reduce the risk of landslide. A classic feature is the neck ditch, cutting off the spur from the rest of the hill. A long spur castle is sometimes, but not always, subdivided into a lower ward and a more strongly defended upper ward (or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eifel National Park
The Eifel National Park (german: Nationalpark Eifel) is the 14th national park in Germany and the first in North Rhine-Westphalia. The park was founded in 2004, and is classified as a "national park in development". Eifel National Park is part of the much larger High Fens – Eifel Nature Park, a cross-border protection between Germany and Belgium established in 1960. General The aims of the Eifel National Park accord with those set out by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, IUCN. These require that at least 75 percent of the national park's area must be left to develop naturally – i.e. must not be given over to human use – within 30 years of the foundation of the park. Aims, mechanisms and executive bodies are laid down in the National Park Regulation (''Nationalpark-Verordnung'' or ''NP-VO''). The relatively young national park lies in the north of the Eifel region between Nideggen in the north, Gemünd in the south and the Belg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eifel Mountains
The Eifel (; lb, Äifel, ) is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Community of Belgium. The Eifel is part of the Rhenish Massif; within its northern portions lies the Eifel National Park. Geography Location The Eifel lies between the cities of Aachen to the north, Trier to the south and Koblenz to the east. It descends in the northeast along a line from Aachen via Düren to Bonn into the Lower Rhine Bay. In the east and south it is bounded by the valleys of the Rhine and the Moselle. To the west it transitions in Belgium and Luxembourg into the geologically related Ardennes and the Luxembourg Ösling. In the north it is limited by the Jülich-Zülpicher Börde. Within Germany it lies within the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia; in the Benelux the area of Eupen, St. Vith and Luxembour ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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