Vianden Castle ( or (locally) ;

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

: ''Château de Vianden'';

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ''Schloss Vianden''), located in

Vianden Vianden ( or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in the Éislek region, north-eastern Luxembourg, with a population of 2,203 as of 2023. It is part of the canton of the same name. Vianden lies on the Our river, near the border between ...

in the north of

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, is one of the largest fortified castles west of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

. With origins dating from the fourth century as a Roman outpost and the 10th century, the more familiar castle form was built in the

Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...

from the 11th to 14th centuries.

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

transformations and trimmings were added at the end of this period. A Renaissance mansion was added in the 17th century but thereafter the castle was allowed to fall into ruins. It has, however, recently been fully restored and is open to visitors.Evy Friedrich, "Burgen und Schlösser", ''Editions Guy Binsfeld'', Luxembourg. . Vianden Castle is widely regarded as the best castle to visit in Luxembourg.

Location

Set on a rocky promontory, the castle stands at a height of , dominating the town of Vianden and overlooking the River Our about below. The castle and its dependent buildings have a total length of ."Château fort de Vianden"
Service des Sites et Monuments Nationaux". Retrieved 15 April 2011.

History

The first structure was built in 275 on a path of the Great-Reims-Cologne Roman road. It was used as a shelter for the town against attacks and between 430-440, the fort was abandoned. The Vianden castle was built on the site of an ancient Roman

castellum A ''castellum'' in Latin is usually: * a small Roman fortlet or tower,C. Julius Caesar, Gallic War; 2,30 a diminutive of (' military camp'), often used as a watchtower or signal station like on Hadrian's Wall. It is distinct from a , which ...

. The basement appears to have been a

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...

refuge. Historically, the first

count of Vianden The Counts of Vianden, ancestors of the House of Orange-Nassau, were associated with the castle of Vianden (Vianden Castle) in Luxembourg. In the 12th to 15th centuries the counts of Vianden were the mightiest lords of the area between the rive ...

was mentioned in 1090. The castle continued to be the seat of the Vianden's influential counts until the beginning of the 15th century. In about 1000, the first medieval stone castle was built on the land and contained a watch tower with a surrounding oval wall as defense. An excavation in 1994 led to unearthing the late Antiquity Tower from the Merovingian period, it was dated by the analyzing the wood scaffolding found on site. This is the only known structure to exist from the first medieval castle on site. Around 1100, the first residential castle was built with a square keep as well as a kitchen, a chapel and residential rooms indicating that an aristocratic family lived there at the time. During the first half of the 12th century, a new residential tower larger than the last and a prestigious decagonal chapel were added while the palace itself was extended. The decagonal Chapel floor plan was dated from 1170 (also by the wood scaffolding on site). At this time the architectural elements were added to the Hall for character as well. A large gallery was constructed connecting the Hall and the Chapel. At the beginning of the 13th century, a new two-storey palace measuring was built with a sumptuous gallery connecting it to the chapel. Level two of the Chapel had some influence of the

, and through the cornices and wood scaffolding found the renovations can be dated to 1196. An octagonal floor plan for the tower was added to complete the row of structures. These Romanesque influences were funded by Frederick III. These additions show how the counts of Vianden sought to rival the

House of Luxembourg The House of Luxembourg (; ; ) or Luxembourg dynasty was a royal family of the Holy Roman Empire in the Late Middle Ages, whose members between 1308 and 1437 ruled as kings of Germany and Holy Roman emperors as well as kings of Bohemia, List of r ...

. The last great change took place in the middle of the 13th century when the entire castle was adapted to reflect the

style. Finally, in 1621 the Nassau Mansion with its banqueting hall and bedroom was built by Prince Maurice of Orange-Nassau-Vianden in the

Renaissance style Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...

replacing a damaged side wing of the 11th century keep.Gaby Frantzen-Heger, "Castle-Palace of Vianden", ''Les Amis du château de Vianden'', Vianden, 1998. . During the 16th century, the castle was more or less abandoned by the counts of Vianden who had gained the additional title of the House of Nassau-Orange after Elisabeth, the granddaughter of Henry II of Vianden had willed the County of Vianden together with its castle to her cousin, Count Engelbert of Nassau. This initiated the long association between Vianden and the House of Nassau. In 1564, Prince

William the Silent William the Silent or William the Taciturn (; 24 April 153310 July 1584), more commonly known in the Netherlands as William of Orange (), was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburg Netherlands, Habsburgs that set off the ...

of Orange, count of Nassau and of Vianden, took an initial interest in Vianden where he built the first

blast furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being supplied above atmospheric pressure. In a ...

in Luxembourg but left in 1566 to lead the Dutch revolt against King

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

. As a result, Philip confiscated the castle and conferred it on

Peter Ernst von Mansfeld Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld (; 158029 November 1626), or simply Ernst von Mansfeld, was a German military commander; despite being a Catholic, he fought for the Protestants during the early years of the Thirty Years' War. He was one of the l ...

, the governor of Luxembourg.Jean Milmeister, "Vianden, Cité médiévale", ''Editions Guy Binsfeld'', Luxembourg 1984. . In 1417 the last Vianden descendant died and with him all the importance of the castle fell. The castle was used as storage and no longer hosted celebrations of the nobles. Outer structures on the property were torn down for agricultural means and craftsmen. In 1820,

King William I William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

sold the castle to Wenzel Coster, an alderman, for 3,200 florins. Coster started to demolish the building, selling off the tiles from the roof, the wooden panelling, the doors and the windows piece by piece. Even the roof beams and gutters made of copper and lead were sold off. The castle was in ruins.

Restoration

J-P-Schmit N-Liez ruines-du-chateau-de-vianden

Such was the indignation of his subjects at the mistreatment of the castle that in 1827 the king, himself a count of Vianden, repurchased the ruin for 1,100 florins hoping to begin restoration work. Unfortunately, his time was taken up with the

Belgian Revolution The Belgian Revolution (, ) was a conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. The ...

of 1830 and it was not until 1851 that Prince Henry of the Netherlands reconstructed the chapel at his own expense, giving it a lower roof. When Adolphe of Nassau-Weilbourg became Grand Duke of Luxembourg in 1890, he charged Bobo Ebhardt, a German specialist, with further restoration. Although Ebhardt succeeded in making important progress, his work was interrupted by the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. During 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 ...

, in the Battle of Vianden which took place on November 19, 1944, the castle was ably defended against the Waffen-SS by members of the

Luxembourg Resistance When Luxembourg was invaded and annexed by Nazi Germany in 1940, a national consciousness started to emerge. From 1941 onwards, the first resistance groups formed in secret, operating underground and in defiance of the German occupation. Their cov ...

against the Nazi occupation, and proved to have some military value even under conditions of modern warfare. It was not until 1962 that consideration was again given to restoration, resulting in reconstruction of the Armory. Further progress was hampered by questions of the castle's ownership. Only after

Grand Duke Jean Jean (Jean Benoît Guillaume Robert Antoine Louis Marie Adolphe Marc d'Aviano; 5 January 1921 – 23 April 2019) was the Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1964 until his abdication in 2000. He was the first Grand Duke of Luxembourg of French agnati ...

had ceded the castle to the State in 1977 did work continue. In 1978, attention turned to rebuilding the walls, the gables and the roof. In 1979, the chapel was also given a new roof and restored to reflect its original Gothic appearance, which had been lost during the fire of 1667 caused by lightning. The white tower was also reinforced and topped with a conical roof. Finally, after the Nassau Mansion was fully restored in 1981–82, efforts were made to refurnish the interior as authentically as possible. The Arms Hall is about 70 feet long and lined with armor, halberds, and pikes. The Byzantine Gallery is about 90 feet by 30 feet long with 10 trefoiled windows. It was used to practice archery indoors. The Banqueting Hall includes a fireplace dated to 1450 that is ornamented with the coat of arms and the family crest of Nassu/von Lootz. Many rooms are still not excavated but even more are still not furnished. All these restorations were completed in 1990.

The castle today

The castle is open to visitors throughout the year from 10 am to 4 pm every day. In March and October, the closing time is extended to 5 pm and in the summer months to 6 pm. Guided tours are also available."Vianden Castle"
''Association des châteaux luxembourgeois''. Retrieved 15 April 2011.

Gallery

File:Vianden Castle at night.jpg, Castle at night File:Vianden Castle - 9.jpg, Renaissance dining room File:Vianden Castle - Chapel.jpg, Chapel: upper level File:Victor Hugo Dessin037.jpg,

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

: Ruins of Vianden Castle (1871) File:Vianden Castle and town.jpg, A view overlooking the town and the castle

References

External links

* {{Authority control Vianden Castles in Luxembourg Castles in the Ardennes (Luxembourg) Castles in the Eifel