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29-658: Starting from 1922, the first races were held on a 33 km long combination of public roads around Nideggen , Wollersheim , Vlatten , Heimbach , Hasenfeld and other villages in the Eifel mountains, similar to the Targa Florio which was a very important race at that time, and popular in Germany due to two wins by Mercedes (still without Benz then). In 1922, all vehicles were allowed, cars, motorbikes, and even bicycles with supporting engines. Over 100 entrants showed up to compete in

58-549: A museum of local history, but attacks during World War II caused unprecedented damage to the building structure. Reconstruction did not begin until the 1950s. The first steps have been taken to ensure that the Romanesque parish church of the castle site is restored. The tower house was then restored in its original form and became home to the first castle museum in North Rhine-Westphalia in 1979. The square castle garden

87-561: Is enclosed by walls and was built after the Middle Ages. A gate in the north-western corner of the wall led to the Burgflecken. In the middle of the west side stood a house from the Baroque period, which has not survived. It had walls linking it to the outer castle gate. The outer castle gate, built in the 14th century, served as an entrance to the smaller, outer courtyard of the castle, which at

116-573: Is known for its ruined, but partly restored castle ( Burg Nideggen ) and the sandstone rocks along the Rur. It is twinned with Thatcham in Berkshire , England . The first mention in history was in 1184. The town was created in 1972 by amalgamation of eight until then independent communities: Abenden (782 inhabitants), Berg-Thuir (709), Brück (301), Embken (734), Muldenau (161), Nideggen (2,983), Rath (757), Schmidt (2,974), Wollersheim (637) (December 2014). It

145-457: Is situated between 250 and 450 metres above sea level. Nideggen lies on the river Rur and at the banks of the Rurtalsperre, the second largest dam in Germany. The region is famous for its precipitous Early Triassic rocks of Buntsandstein in the valley of Rur and is situated between 250 and 450 metres over sea level. In the municipally-owned Nideggen Castle is the unique Castle Museum of

174-472: The 24 Hours Nürburgring race three weeks later. Currently there are no major race series cooperating with the ADAC to host a weekend as Eifelrennen. Nideggen Nideggen ( German: [ˈniːdɛɡn̩] ) is a town in the district of Düren in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany . It is located on the river Rur , in the Eifel hills, approx. 15 km south of Düren . Nideggen

203-460: The 5. Eifelrennen weekend, starting with motorcycle races. On Sunday, Rudolf Caracciola won the first car race on a Mercedes-Benz S. The Südschleife was used instead of the Nordschleife from 1928 until 1931 and from 1958 until 1968. The connection between the motorcycle and car races was discontinued in 1974, when organisers, drivers and German motorcycle Grand Prix riders disagreed on

232-678: The Duchy of Geldern culminated in the Guelders Wars (also known as the Jülich feud), in the course of which the castle and town of Nideggen were destroyed by imperial artillery in 1542. In 1689, the castle was suffered a similar fate. During the War of the Palatine Succession , troops under Louis XIV once again looted and burned it down. Earthquakes in 1755 and 1878 did the rest. The castle fell into ruins,

261-522: The German Alpine Club and Nideggen Mountain Rescue Team . The late Romanesque gate building has been the only access to the main castle since time immemorial. It is connected to the donjon of the castle by a curtain wall . After the gate had been destroyed by wars and earthquakes, it was rebuilt between 1901 and 1906 and extended with a staircase on the west side. Built between 1177 and 1190,

290-526: The Rhineland . The Düren Gate ( Dürener Tor ), one of the symbols of the town, hosts regular art exhibitions. This Düren district location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Nideggen Castle The ruins of Nideggen Castle ( German : Burg Nideggen ) are a symbol of the town of Nideggen in Germany and are owned by the county of Düren . The rectangular hill castle

319-481: The castle was laid in 1177 by William II on the construction of the bergfried , which was erected within sight of the imperial castle of Berenstein . It was located about three kilometres to the west and was built around 1090. After its almost complete destruction around 1200, it served as a quarry for the extension of Nideggen's castle tower. The yellowish ashlar blocks of the Berensteins differ markedly from

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348-483: The 10-lap event. The track was not paved, and muddy after heavy rains. From 1924 to 1926, the races for 2 and 4 wheels were held on separate days, and classes were introduced. Still, several fatal accidents happened. Even spectator stands collapsed, caused by stormy weather. The unsatisfying safety situation led to the construction of the Nürburgring circuit in that area, which was inaugurated on Saturday, 18 June 1927 by

377-468: The Second World War, they were rebuilt again between 1948 and 1950. Today the castle restaurant is located here. The Castle Museum opened in 1979 in the castle's tower house. It offers a glimpse of the Eifel region, which is rich in castles, through its exhibitions which cover an area of approximately 600 square metres. These enable the visitor to learn interesting facts about the function and

406-563: The best way to make the track safe for both kinds of racing – with straw bales or without? As a result, international contenders for the motorcycle World Championships boycotted the races, leaving the GP wins to rather unknown Germans (even to German fans) who decided to ride anyway. After the modern Grand Prix track was built at the Nürburgring in 1984 and F2 was replaced with F3000, the Eifelrennen

435-545: The donjon housed a local history museum. After severe damage in the Second World War , it was rebuilt in 1954 and 1955 and furnished with a roof again in 1979. Since then, it has housed the first castle museum in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a length of 61 metres and a width of 16 metres, the palas was the largest hall building on a German castle of the 14th century. Both on the ground floor and on

464-402: The female members of the count's family. The castle well partly followed a natural crevice and was once 95 metres deep. Since 1945, however, it has only been about 30 metres. The appearance of the buildings that used to stand on the west and north side of the castle is largely unknown. The present ones were rebuilt between 1901 and 1906 on old foundations. After their destruction in

493-418: The former location of the north wall. In the front wall was a secondary staircase to the upper floor. Below the palace there are cellar vaults, some of which are filled in. Among other things, they served as a kitchen. The east flank of the palas is protected by an octagonal tower from the middle of the 14th century, whose height until 1944 was still 14 metres. Fragments of a staircase, which presumably led to

522-451: The red-coloured sandstone blocks forming the lower half of the tower, which were broken at Nideggen. Construction work was continued by William  III. Like his ancestors, his successor was also at odds with the Electorate of Cologne . In 1242, after a successful battle, William IV left the then Archbishop , Conrad of Hochstaden for nine months in the dungeon of the keep. But he

551-452: The same time had the function of a zwinger . In the 16th century the gate building was replaced. It was not until the 18th century that the entrance was covered by a two-storey, south-east-facing building timber-framed house . This so-called gateman's house ( Pförtnerhaus ) was reconstructed in 1979 after having been destroyed during the Second World War . Today it is used by the Düren branch of

580-576: The settlement of Nydeckin was founded near the Burgflecken. Gerhard granted Nideggen town rights in 1313. William V, later Duke William I started to extend the castle in 1340, the palas at Nideggen being one of the largest castle halls built in the Rhineland . In the late Middle Ages, only the Emperor's hall of Aachen Town Hall and the Gürzenich in Cologne approached similar dimensions. William I

609-402: The south side was well above ground level and could only be reached by ladder. Only when the main gate and the enceinte had been built, were the present ground-level entrance and a staircase tower built. After the roof had been sold for scrap at the turn of the 18th century, the brickwork suffered great damage in the period that followed and this was not rectified until 1906. From 1925 to 1944,

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638-404: The top of the tower, have survived. The lower floor served as a storeroom. Primarily, however, the tower had to fulfil defensive functions, as indicated by its very small window apertures. The West Tower with its large windows also consists mainly of 14th century buildings and served representative purposes. Inside, there are remains of a chimney, which is why the cabinets are also found here for

667-496: The tower house is the oldest part of Nideggen Castle. On its eastern side is a deep neck ditch . Around 1350, the tower was increased in height to six storeys. Inside, the castle chapel is on the ground floor, next to the dungeon. The remaining floors each have two rooms which, in addition to living quarters, were used as storerooms and garrison rooms ( Mannschaftsräume ). The tower was heated and had toilets from its early days. To be able to defend it well, its elevated entrance on

696-415: The upper floor, it housed a two-nave hall with twelve large cross-windows . On its west and east side it is flanked by two octagonal side towers. At the north-western corner of the palas there was originally a staircase tower , on whose foundations stands the small tower of today's restaurant. Remains of columns are still to be found in the middle of the hall building, as well as remains of walls indicating

725-539: Was also the one who made Nideggen Castle his family seat in 1356. After the death of Rainhald of Jülich , the castle went to the family of the dukes of Berg , whose heads from then on called themselves the Dukes of Jülich and Berg. With the extinction of the House of Jülich and Berg in 1511, Nideggen went into the possession of the Duchy of Cleves . Hereditary disputes between the House of Cleves and Emperor Charles V over

754-538: Was discontinued as it always was associated with the long Nordschleife . Later, the trademark was given to a standard rounds of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft and STW touring car racing on this short GP track. Often two separate races were held, thus two winners. The last Eifelrennen was held in early May 2003 when several races were held, including an VLN endurance race on the full length combined course (25.9 km) in preparation for

783-460: Was not the only one who got to know the walls of that dark prison. A few years earlier (around 1214), Duke Louis of Bavaria had to "make his quarters there". And Conrad's successor to the throne of the Archbishopric of Cologne , Engelbert II of Falkenburg , was also held captive there by the Jülich counts for more than three years in the period from 1267 to 1271. Under Gerhard of Jülich ,

812-514: Was seized by the French and was sold by them in 1794 for demolition. It was subsequently used as a quarry. It was only on the initiative of the Nideggen townsfolk that an end was put to this. The castle was bought jointly and secured in 1888. In 1905, the county of Düren was given the castle as a gift. It is still in their possession today. From 1901, the castle was rebuilt for the first time and used as

841-471: Was the seat of the powerful counts and dukes of Jülich and had a reputation in the Middle Ages of being impregnable. Nideggen Castle was built by the counts of Jülich in the strategically important border area of the then Herrschaft ("Lordship") of Monschau . It was intended to protect the inherited territory of the counts against the interests of the archbishops of Cologne . The foundation stone for

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