Limberg Castle () is a

ruined Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

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 ...

on the 190-metre-high Limberg in the

Wiehen Hills The Wiehen HillsElkins, T.H. (1972). ''Germany'' (3rd ed.). London: Chatto & Windus, 1972. . (, , also locally, just ''Wiehen'') are a hill range in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony in Germany. The hills run from west to east like a long f ...

. It is located near the village of Börninghausen in the borough of

Preußisch Oldendorf Preußisch Oldendorf () is a town in the Minden-Lübbecke district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. In 1905 the town name ''Oldendorf'' was changed officially by putting "Preußisch" in front of it, to make the distinction from other towns with ...

in the

East Westphalia Ostwestfalen-Lippe (, literally ''East(ern) Westphalia-Lippe'', abbreviation OWL) is the eastern region of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, congruent with the administrative region of Detmold and containing the eastern part of Wes ...

n county of

Minden-Lübbecke Minden-Lübbecke is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northeastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Diepholz (district), Diepholz, Nienburg (district), Nienburg, Schaumburg, Lippe, Herford (district), Herford, Osnabr ...

in the German state of

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 ...

History

The castle was built in the 13th century at a strategic site on the border of the bishoprics of

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...

and

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...

, probably by the Bishop of Minden. Even before that, a castle or fortress was said to have stood on the site, at which Duke

Widukind Widukind, also known as Wittekind and Wittikund, was a leader of the Saxons and the chief opponent of the Frankish king Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 777 to 785. Charlemagne ultimately prevailed, organized Saxony as a Frankish provinc ...

stayed. Around 1300, the castle became the possession of the

counts of Ravensberg Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

as a

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

and was extended by them. The castle is first recorded in a document in 1319. On the death of the last Count of Ravensberg,

Bernard Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It has West Germanic origin and is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''be ...

in 1346, the Limberg, as part of the County of Ravensberg, fell to the later Duke of Jülich and Berg. In 1554, Limberg Castle was damaged by fire but restored. As a result of the

War of the Jülich Succession The War of the Jülich Succession, also known as the Jülich War or the Jülich-Cleves Succession Crises (German language, German: ''Jülich-Klevischer Erbfolgestreit''), was a war of succession in the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg. The fi ...

, the castle was allocated in the 1614

Treaty of Xanten The Treaty of Xanten () was signed in the Lower Rhenish town of Xanten on 12 November 1614 between Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg and John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, with representatives from Kingdom of England, England and Kin ...

to the

Elector of Brandenburg This article lists the Margraves and Prince-elector, Electors of Margraviate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg during the time when Brandenburg was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire. The Mark, or ''March'', of Brandenburg was one of the prima ...

, who - after it had been captured and held during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

by the

Count Palatine of Neuburg Palatinate-Neuburg () was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire, founded in 1505 by a branch of the House of Wittelsbach. Its capital was Neuburg an der Donau. Its area was about 2,750 km2, with a population of some 100,000. History The Duc ...

, had it manned with a small contingent after 1647. During the war, it had been guarded by a 30-man garrison which was meant to guarantee the integrity of the castle, but when they were detailed to support the siege of

Lippstadt Lippstadt () is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest town within the district of Soest. Lippstadt is situated about 60 kilometres east of Dortmund, 40 kilometres south of Bielefeld and 30 kilometres west of Paderborn. Geo ...

, it was not difficult for the Count Palatine to seize it. In 1662, the castle's garrison of twenty men was transferred to the

Sparrenburg Sparrenberg Castle, also known as the Sparrenburg ( or ''Sparrenburg''), is a restored fortress in the Bielefeld-Mitte district of Bielefeld, Germany. It is situated on the Sparrenberg hill ( altitude) in the Teutoburg Forest and towers above th ...

, thus ending its history as a military base. Regardless of its overlord, the castle was always in the charge of various vassal lords (''Pfandherren'') or

bailiffs A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...

(''Amtmänner'' or ''Droste''). Towards the end of the 17th century, the castle gradually deteriorated and was barely usable for military purposes. In 1695, in a

rescript A rescript is a public government document. More formally, it is a document issued not on the initiative of the author, but in response to a question (usually legal) posed to the author. The word originates from replies issued by Roman emperors t ...

by Elector

Frederick I of Prussia Frederick I (; 11 July 1657 – 25 February 1713), of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was (as Frederick III) List of margraves and electors of Brandenburg, Elector of Brandenburg (1688–1713) and Duke of Prussia in personal union (Brandenburg–Pr ...

to the Ravensberg bailiwick (''Amtskammer''), it was recommended that the house of Limberg be demolished since, due to its state of disrepair, it had become uninhabitable. In the text, it was said that Limberg House ''"which, due to its decrepitude, no one could live in, was to be demolished, it being not the least use to the people and the country, because it was not situated on any pass, but in times of war could only be used by the enemy as a thieve's den."'' The tower was still used as a

gaol A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cri ...

until 1805 and was finally sold in 1832. In the 1980s, an association was founded to preserve the castle ruins.

Description

The square twelve-metre-high ''

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 ...

'' (

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 ...

), with sides measuring twelve metres long, was restored in 1989 and may be visited. In addition there are also several defensive

banks A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. As banks ...

, the wall remains of the ''

palas A ''palas'' () is a German term for the imposing or prestigious building of a medieval '' Pfalz'' or castle that contained the great hall. Such buildings appeared during the Romanesque period (11th to 13th century) and, according to Thompson ...

'' and parts of the

enceinte Enceinte (from Latin ''incinctus'' "girdled, surrounded") is a French term that refers to the "main defensive enclosure of a fortification". For a castle, this is the main defensive line of wall towers and curtain walls enclosing the positio ...

as well as the

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

. At the castle is a 600-year-old "court lime" (''

Gogericht The ''Landgericht'' (, plural: ''Landgerichte,'' ), also called the ''Landtag'' in Switzerland, was a regional magistracy or court in the Holy Roman Empire that was responsible for high justice within a territory, such as a county (''Grafschaft''), ...

slinde''), which used to act as the site of a regional magistracy or ''

''. File:Limberg Burgruine.JPG, 1850 sketch of the ruins File:Limberg 1905.jpg, The ruins in 1905 File:Limberg Grundriss 1907.jpg, Floor plan of the Limburg in 1907

Literature

* Bernhard Brönner: ''Die Burg Limberg und ihre Geschichte in kurzem Abriß''. Preußisch Oldendorf, 1950. *

Gustav Engel Gustav Engel may refer to: * Gustav Engel (historian) * Gustav Engel (musician) {{hndis, Engel, Gustav ...

: ''Die Ravensbergischen Landesburgen''. U. Helmichs Buchhandlung, Bielefeld, 1934, . * Gustav Engel: ''Landesburg und Landesherrschaft an Osning, Wiehen und Weser''. Pfeffersche Buchhandlung, Bielefeld, 1979, . * Verein zur Erhaltung der Burgruine Limberg e. V. (publ.): ''Die Burg Limberg – Mittelpunkt einer Region. Beiträge zur Geschichte und Gegenwart''. Selbstverlag, Preußisch Oldendorf, 2007, . * Edgar F. Warnecke: ''Das große Buch der Burgen und Schlösser im Land von Hase und Ems''. 2nd edition. H. Th. Wenner, Osnabruck, 1985, .

External links

*
Limberg Castle at Burgenwelt.de

History of the castle

Chronicle

Artist's impression
by Wolfgang Braun {{Authority control Castles in North Rhine-Westphalia Preußisch Oldendorf Buildings and structures in Minden-Lübbecke