Castle Dyck () is a

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 ...

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 ...

in the

Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...

region of

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 and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is located in the municipality of

Jüchen Jüchen () is a municipality in the Rhein-Kreis Neuss, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The municipality of Jüchen consists of 17 villages and several hamlets. The most important villages are Jüchen itself (6600 inhabitants) and Hochneukirc ...

Rhein-Kreis Neuss Neuss is a Kreis (district) in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Nearby are the urban districts Mönchengladbach, Krefeld, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Cologne, the districts Rhein-Erft-Kreis, Düren, Heinsberg and the district Viersen. ...

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 ...

, between

Grevenbroich Grevenbroich () is a town in the Rhein-Kreis Neuss, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the river Erft, approximately 15 km southwest of Neuss and 15 km southeast of Mönchengladbach. Cologne and Düsseldorf are in a ...

and

Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach (, ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany, west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Netherlands, Dutch border. Geography Municipal subdivisions Since 2009, th ...

History

The history of the castle began in 1094 when the knight ''Hermannus de Disco'' was mentioned in a record of the

Archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ''ex officio'' one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate of Cologne ...

as the

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

of a simple fortification. Over time the site was converted into a fortified moated castle. In 1383 the castle was besieged by the cities of

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

and

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, as well as by the archbishop Friedrich III von Saarwerden and Duke

William I of Guelders and Jülich William (5 March 1364 – 16 February 1402, Arnhem) was Duke of Guelders, as William I, from 1377 and Duke of Jülich, as William III, from 1393. William was known for his military activities, participating in the Prussian crusade five times ...

. They accused Lord Gerard van Dyck of being a

robber knight A robber baron or robber knight () was an unscrupulous feudal landowner who, protected by his fief's legal status, imposed high taxes and tolls out of keeping with the norm without authorization by some higher authority. Some resorted to actual ...

. When Gerard van Dyck died without male offspring, the castle was inherited by Johann V von Reifferscheidt, the ancestor of the counts and princes of

Salm-Reifferscheid Salm is the name of several historic countships and principality, principalities in present Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. History Origins and first division The County of Salm arose in the tenth century in Vielsalm, in the Ardennes r ...

. This family owned the castle for more than 900 years until it became the Centre for Garden Art and Landscape Design in 1999. The last heiress of the family, Countess Marie Christine Wolff Metternich, turned it over to a foundation to secure the future of the castle. The castle is the center of Salm-Reifferscheid-Dyck, a former independent territory located between the

Electorate of Cologne The Electorate of Cologne (), sometimes referred to as Electoral Cologne (), was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that existed from the 10th to the early 19th century. It consisted of the Hochstift—the temporal posses ...

Guelders The Duchy of Guelders (; ; ) is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries. Geography The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') in present-day Germany. Though the present pr ...

and

Jülich Jülich (; in old spellings also known as ''Guelich'' or ''Gülich'', , , Ripuarian: ''Jöllesch'') is a town in the district of Düren, in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. As a border region between the competin ...

. The small territory was called "Dycker Ländchen" and is still recognizable for its unique cultural landscape.

Description

The main building, the forecourts, and the outbuilding and the stables are spread over four islands. In the 17th century the castle was turned into an early

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 ...

residence A residence is a place (normally a building) used as a home or dwelling, where people reside. Residence or The Residence may also refer to: * Domicile (law) In law and conflict of laws, domicile is relevant to an individual's "personal l ...

. Count Salentin of Salm-Reifferscheid extended the main building into a four-wing complex; stables, watch rooms, and the brewery were renewed. In the 18th century, Schloss Dyck became a

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 ...

residence, with fine tapestries and exquisite furniture. Unfortunately not everything has been saved: the famous

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

was sold at an auction in 1992, as was the armory and weapons collection. The complex is surrounded by an

English landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (, , , , ), is a style of "landscape" garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal ...

created by prince

Joseph zu Salm-Reifferscheidt-Dyck Joseph Franz Maria Anton Hubert Ignatz Fürst und Altgraf zu Salm-Reifferscheidt-Dyck (4 September 1773 at Castle Dyck near Neuss – 21 March 1861 in Nice) was a German aristocrat, amateur botanist and owner of Castle Dyck. Early life ...

. The castle and the park are open for visitors. The complex also includes a hotel that hosts many venues and meetings
Schloss Dyck Classic Days
is a cultural heritage festival started in 2006. Its proceeds are used for the maintenance of the castle.

Bibliography

* Jakob Bremer: Die reichsunmittelbare Herrschaft Dyck der Grafen jetzigen Fürsten zu Salm-Reifferscheidt. 1959. *

Ludger Fischer Ludger Fischer (born 30 October 1957 in Essen) is a German historian on building history, reviewer of contemporary architecture and political scientist. Work In 1986 Fischer received his doctorate with a dissertation "''Über den Denkmalwert sog ...

: ''Die schönsten Schlösser und Burgen am Niederrhein''. Gudensberg-Gleichen 2004, * Rita Hombach: ''Landschaftsgärten im Rheinland. Die Erfassung des historischen Bestands und Studien zur Gartenkultur des »langen« 19. Jahrhunderts'' = Beiträge zu den Bau- und Kunstdenkmälern im Rheinland 37. Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft, Worms 2010. , S. 103–113. * Klaus-Henning von Krosigk: ''Anmerkungen zum Pleasureground im Schloßpark von Dyck''. In: Die Gartenkunst 19 (2/2007), S. 374–380. * Frank Maier-Solgk (Text), Sonja Geurts (Red.), Stiftung Schloss Dyck (Hrsg.): ''Schloss Dyck. Historischer Park und neue Gärten'', Jüchen: Stiftung Schloss Dyck, 2002, * Margit Sachse: ''Als in Dyck Kakteen blühten ...: Leben und Werk des Dycker Schlossherren Joseph Altgraf und Fürst zu Salm-Reifferscheid-Dyck (1773–1861)'', Pulheim: Rhein-Eifel-Mosel Verlag, 2005,

External links

Stiftung Schloss Dyck

The Friends of Schloss Dyck

Picture Album of Schloss Dyck

Schloss Dyck Classic Days

Shawn Lee Martin Normal Days
{{Authority control Museums in North Rhine-Westphalia Water castles in North Rhine-Westphalia Rococo architecture in Germany Palaces in North Rhine-Westphalia Baroque architecture in North Rhine-Westphalia Baroque palaces in Germany Historic house museums in Germany Gardens in North Rhine-Westphalia Buildings and structures in Rhein-Kreis Neuss