Altena Castle () is a medieval

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 a ...

in the town of

Altena Altena (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Altenoa'') is a town in the district of Märkischer Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The town's castle is the origin for the later Dukes of Berg. Altena is situated on the Lenne river valley, i ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

. Built on a

spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to ba ...

Klusenberg The Klusenberg is, at , the highest elevation on the territory of the city of Dortmund. The Klusenberg part of the Ardey Hills lies west of the Hohensyburg The Syberg is a hill in the Ruhr in the southern part of Dortmund, 240 m above Normalnu ...

hill, the castle lies near the

Lenne The Lenne () is a tributary of the river Ruhr in the Sauerland hills, western Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north a ...

in the

Märkischer Kreis The Märkischer Kreis (, ) is a district ('' Kreis'') in central North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Unna, Soest, Hochsauerland, Olpe, Oberbergischer Kreis, Ennepe-Ruhr, and the city of Hagen. History The district wa ...

. The castle was erected by the early

Counts of Berg Berg () was a state—originally a county, later a duchy—in the Rhineland of Germany. Its capital was Düsseldorf. It existed as a distinct political entity from the early 12th to the 19th centuries. It was a member state of the Holy Roman Emp ...

in the early 12th century. Eventually, the

House of Berg A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...

abandoned Altena and moved their residence to

Hamm Hamm may refer to: Places ;Germany: * Hamm, North Rhine-Westphalia, a city north-east of Dortmund * Hamm (Sieg), a municipality in the eponymous ''Verbandsgemeinde'' in the district of Altenkirchen, Rhineland-Palatinate * Hamm, Bitburg-Prüm, part ...

History

Supposedly, the castle was built by the brothers Adolf and Everhard von Berg around the year 1108 after

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...

granted them land in

Sauerland The Sauerland () is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the south-eastern part of the States of Germany, German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in parts heavily forested and, apart from the major valleys, sparsely inhabited. ...

for their loyal services. On Wulfseck Mountain they built their castle, which they named Wulfeshagen, later Altena. This is one of the several legends of the establishment of the county of Altena and the building of the castle. Burg Altena 20080215

After the acquisition of the parish land near the city of

in 1198, the counts of Altena took Mark Castle as their primary residence and called themselves the

Counts of the Mark The County of Mark (, colloquially known as ) was a county and state of the Holy Roman Empire in the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle. It lay south of Lippe river on both sides of the Ruhr river along the Volme and Lenne rivers. The Counts d ...

. They continued to only occasionally inhabit Altena Castle and from 1392 onward it was only used as a residence for the county bailiff (

Amtmann __NOTOC__ The ''Amtmann'' or ''Ammann'' (in Switzerland) was an official in German-speaking countries of Europe and in some of the Nordic countries from the time of the Middle Ages whose office was akin to that of a bailiff A bailiff is a ...

). Count Engelbert III of the Mark gave the small settlement at the base of the mountain the rights of liberty (such as self-governance). In 1455 the castle burned down and was only re-erected partially. In

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n times the castle became a

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

and was sold to the town of Altena in 1771. In the following years an

almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) is charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the Middle Ages. They were often built for the poor of a locality, for those who had held ce ...

and a

workhouse In Britain and Ireland, a workhouse (, lit. "poor-house") was a total institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. In Scotland, they were usually known as Scottish poorhouse, poorh ...

was established there. This existed until 1840. From 1766 to 1811 there existed a criminal court and prison in the castle. By 1834 the castle was greatly deteriorated and was to be reconstructed. Due to lack of funds, however, this was not carried out. The

Johanniter Order The Bailiwick of Brandenburg of the Chivalric Order of Saint John of the Hospital at Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of Saint John or the Johanniter Order (German: ''Johanniterorden''), is the German Protestant branch of the Knights Hos ...

set up a hospital in the buildings. Due to the 300th anniversary of the membership of the County of Mark to Brandenburg-Prussia in 1909 plans for a reconstruction of the castle began. In 1914 this was completed, apart from the outer bailey and lower gatehouse. There was a controversial debate about the modes of reconstruction, where the preference of historic designs over the medieval and early modern architecture was criticised. In 1918 the last works were completed. In 1914,

Richard Schirrmann Richard Schirrmann (15 May 1874 – 14 December 1961) was a German teacher and founder of the first hostel. Early life and education Schirrmann was born in Grunenfeld, Province of Prussia (now Gronówko, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship). His fath ...

established the world's first

youth hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...

within the castle, which is still in use today (''Jugendherberge Burg Altena''). The original rooms are a museum today. The youth hostel continues to run at a location on the lower castle court yard, opened in 1934. Today the castle is symbol of the town of Altena and a tourist attraction. The entry ticket is also valid for the nearby ''Deutsche Drahtmuseum'' (German

Wire file:Sample cross-section of high tension power (pylon) line.jpg, Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample d ...

Museum). During the first weekend of August a yearly Medieval Festival takes place in the castle and town. Part of the castle is used as a restaurant.

Literature

* Ferdinand Schmidt: ''Burg Altena - Blätter der Erinnerung für Freunde und Besucher unserer Burg'', Märkischen Burgverein, 1924 * Wilhelm Quincke: ''Führer durch die Burg Altena'', 1968 * Ernst Dossmann: ''Auf den Spuren der Grafen von der Mark''. 3. Auflage. Mönning, Iserlohn 1992, , S. 164–168.

History

See also

Literature

References

External links