Dudeldorf Castle () is the most important monument in the parish of Dudeldorf in the district of

Bitburg-Prüm The Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm () is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) Luxembourg, Belgium and the districts of Euskirchen, Vulkaneifel, Bernkastel-Wittlich and Trier-Saarburg. History ...

in the German state of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

. The

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

is in the northwest corner of the former village walls of Dudeldorf. It was built in 1345 and restored 1451–53.

History

The original Dudeldorf Castle was built in the 12th century, although the exact date is not known. A lord of Dudeldorf is recorded in 1052. In the 14th century this aristocratic family became extinct. The castle occupies the northern part of the village walls which also form the curtain walls of the castle. The overall site consists of the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, to command and defend strategic points ...

, which was converted into a school in the 19th century, the double-winged

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

, added in the 18th century, the courtyard with its archway and the garden and pavilion. The ''

bergfried ''Bergfried'' (plural: ''bergfriede''; English: ''belfry''; French: ''tour-beffroi''; Italian: ''torrione''; Castilian: ''torre del homenaje'') is a tall tower that is typically found in castles of the Middle Ages in German-speaking countries an ...

'', which rises above a

vaulted In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...

basement, bears the date 1734 at the level of the uppermost of its three floors. This was the year when it was repaired and marks the start of construction of the mansion by Balthasar Seberger, commissioned by Wolf Heinrich Gottfried Braun of Schmidtburg. His father Heinrich Gottfried bought the castle in 1701. It was out of this that Dudelsdorf House (''Schloss Dudelsdorf'') was created by Heinrich Braun of Schmidtburg in 1734–35, then called Nassau House (''Nassauisches Haus''). The second house appears in the Austrian

cadastral map A cadastre or cadaster ( ) is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes and bounds, metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref> Often it is represente ...

of 1766, used as a sheep barn because of its poor state of repair. The longer of the two

rusticated ashlar image:Palazzo medici riccardi, bugnato 01.JPG, Two different styles of rustication in the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi in Florence; smooth-faced above and rough-faced below Rustication is a range of masonry techniques used in classical architecture g ...

wings is dated 1735 in an inscription over the middle one of its three

transom window In architecture, a transom is a transverse horizontal structural beam or bar, or a crosspiece separating a door from a window above it. This contrasts with a mullion, a vertical structural member. Transom or transom window is also the customary ...

s (''Oberlichtportale'') below a double

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

. The southern wing was converted into a primary school in the first half of the 19th century, with an apartment for the schoolteacher. Further repairs were made in 1847, 1853 and 1886. A fireplace by the sandstone arches indicates that the entrance hall was once a hall kitchen (''Flurküche''). In the area of the ground floor—the former courtroom—is a shallow, carved

rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

niche. On the second floor is a fireplace surround in 18th century style. On the capstone of the archway of the path leading from the village to the castle courtyard there is a ruined coat of arms dated 1715. By the garden wall an 18th garden house with a

hip roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downward to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope, with variants including Tented roof, tented roofs and others. Thus, a hipped roof has no gables or other ve ...

replaced in 1994–95 rises above the foundations of an outward-facing

defensive tower A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with defensive walls such as curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of ...

. On its outer wall can still be areas of

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

window painting. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the castle was used as a munitions depot by the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

Literature

Georg Dehio Georg Gottfried Julius Dehio (22 November 1850 – 21 March 1932), was a Baltic German art historian. In 1900, Dehio started the "''Handbuch der deutschen Kunstgeschichte''" (Handbook of German Art History), published by Ernst Wasmuth Verlag, ...

: '' Handbuch der Deutschen Kunstdenkmäler. Rheinland-Pfalz''.

Deutscher Kunstverlag The Deutscher Kunstverlag (DKV) is an educational publishing house with offices in Berlin and Munich. The publisher specializes in books about art, cultural history, architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and bu ...

, Munich, 1984.

External links

Dudeldorf Castle in the data bank of cultural estates in the region of Trier

Website of the castle
* {{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in 1345 Castles in Rhineland-Palatinate Buildings and structures in Bitburg-Prüm