Grevenburg was a castle in Traben-Trarbach in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. It was the residence of the Rear County of Sponheim and today is a ruin following its destruction by the French in 1734.
22-645: The castle was built in 1350 by the Count Johann III of Sponheim-Starkenburg and replaced Castle Starkenburg as the residence of the Rear County of Sponheim . With the extinction of the ruling male line of the Rhenish branch of the House of Sponheim in 1437 the castle became seat of the bailiff of the new Counts to Sponheim ( Baden and Palatinate-Simmern or Palatinate-Zweibrücken or Palatinate-Birkenfeld ). In 1680 it
44-548: A feud against Archbishop Baldwin of Luxembourg, which was settled through atonement on 13 April 1347. On 4 January 1351 Archbishop Baldwin named Johann the chief Amtmann of the Trier lands on the right bank of the Moselle river. In 1356, Baldwin's successor, Boemund, entered a conflict with Johann and his brother-in-law Rupert I, Elector Palatine , about the toll near Enkirch. This feud was troublesome for many Trier locations because of
66-436: A document in 1285. The archbishop authorized the family to act as landlords of the area, through commercial contracts with Cologne , thus establishing the aristocratic line of the family that endured until 1833. This main seat would be the central administration of mills, offices, and the residence for barons, counts, and noble visitors during the summer. Political connections through deals, commerce and military control against
88-553: A neighbour enhancing the influence of the family in the business of the region. 1469 Geopolitical changes partially affect the administration. 1557 Beside the Boos von Waldeck there are only two families living in the castle (von Metz and the Counts Palatine). 1689 The French partially destroy the castle. 1720 Colonel William Lothar Baron Boos von Waldeck, who lived in Koblenz , settled
110-530: A resistance force of 50 knights against the arrival of Archbishop Baldwin, but were defeated near Gegenburgen. 1361 The brothers Johann and Emmerich Boos von Waldeck recognize the authority of the Archbishop of Cologne, which was acknowledged as a chivalrous, but would not give any access to the castle. 1370 Johann IV Boos von Waldeck (d. 1370) married Else of Montfort. The great-grandchild of this married couple, Simon Boos von Waldeck, received earnings, until 1480,
132-600: Is unknown whether he took part on the offensive organized by Count Kuno II of Falkenstein and Count Walram of Sponheim in 1362 against the Englishmen who were ravaging the left bank of the Rhine. Johann III was the builder of the Grevenburg (Grafenburg) over Trarbach, which was first mentioned on 3 October 1357. He was buried in the Abbey of Himmerod. In 1331, Johann III married Mechthild of
154-592: The County of Sponheim for 67 years. He also received many epithets such as "the Noble" and, because of his declining vision, "the Blind". Johann III of Sponheim was the first son of Count Heinrich II of Sponheim and Loretta of Salm . He had two brothers, Heinrich and Gottfried. He succeeded his grandfather, John II , in 1324, but his mother Loretta acted as his regent until his coming of age in 1331. In 1331 he married Mechthild of
176-710: The Electorate of the Palatinate , a niece of Ludwig der Bayer . During his reign, several important events occurred, such as the construction of the Heilig-Geist-Hospital in Enkirch and a war with the Archbishop of Trier , Boemund II of Saarbrücken , which caused high death tolls on both sides. Johann III of Sponheim had, along with his mother, disputes with the Trier church. In 1338 he ceded Sponheim possessions as fiefdoms to Archbishop Baldwin of Luxembourg . Johann waged
198-488: The Archbishop of Cologne. 1250 Building of the bailey by Rudolf Boos von Waldeck. 1325 First well-known attempt to host multiple families (coheirs) of the castle was regulated. Beside the sex of the Waldeckers, in three lines (Winandsche, Rudolfsche and Boos´sche (Heribert's) line) were also the families of Hartwin von Winningen, Metz, Sabershausen (since 1398). 1331-36 The knights of the castles Eltz and Boos-Waldeck set up
220-452: The French guaranteed almost six hundred years of influence. The surname Boos is related to ancient mediaeval German words meaning "lead", "nobleman", or "angry", possibly used to indicate the residents of the castle, hence the name variation "Castle of Boos-Waldeck" seen in some documents. In French it is cited as the castle of "Bois Walthecce" or "Boosse de Walthecce". Below, nearer the valley,
242-596: The Palatinate (d. 1375). She was a daughter of the Count Palatine of the Rhine Rudolf I and Mechthild of Nassau . Paternally, she was great-granddaughter of King Rudolf of Habsburg , and maternally granddaughter of King Adolf of Nassau . Emperor Louis the Bavarian , who had reigned since 1314, was her uncle. With the extinction of both Sponheim lines in 1437, their two daughters Mechthild and Loretta posthumously inherited
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#1732858950399264-479: The Rhineland. The first documentary mention of a castle in the vicinity of today's ruins dates to the year 1243. In that document, the knights – Heribert, Udo (Rudolf) and Winand (surnames Boos von Waldeck, Boose of Walthecce ) – gave their castle Elector of Cologne , Konrad von Hochstaden , who in turn enfeoffed them. Around 1250, Rudolf (Udo) Boos von Waldeck built the lower bailey and both wards are mentioned in
286-515: The associated robbery and fire, but Boemund destroyed Starkenburg , Kirchberg , and cornered Sponheim in such a way that Johann had to sue for peace in 1360. The ensuing feud between Johann and his cousin Walram was not of great importance, since it was rapidly settled. On 9 May 1368, he bestowed the Sponheim Erbmarschall office, which had been vacated by the death of Simon of Waldeck , and
308-421: The comital-Palatine tower, the castle now consisted of three parts: a new tower that had been built over the previous two wards (today the so-called upper bailey) and two lower baileys: the old upper (now lower bailey) and the old lower bailey. 1124 First mention of Archbishop Konrad about "Waldeck area" . 1242 The knights Heribert, Udo (Rudolf) and Winand (Boos of Waldeck) buy the rights to use their assets from
330-696: The fortress in 1150 and, in so doing, established the "Boos-Waldeck" family which was later to become widespread. The mediaeval castle endured several wars, and was partially destroyed by the French in 1689 during the course of the Nine Years' War , known in Germany as the War of the Palatine Succession ( Pfälzischer Erbfolgekrieg ). The castle was used until 1833 when the family of Boos von Waldeck sold its holdings in
352-403: The lower bailey was established, possibly to enclose the houses of the joint owners of the castle. It is possible that the lower ward had been built around 1250 by the aforesaid Rudolf (Udo). Some documents mention both wards of the castle in 1285. The remnants of the lower bailey were only rediscovered and identified as such in recent years when the land was prospected. With the new building of
374-408: The ruin of Montfort (nearby). Henceforth the descendants of this bloodline would be called “ Boos von Waldeck und Montfort ”. 1398 Ruprecht from Pfalz conquered the castle, after Johann Boos von Waldeck had died. In the peace treaty of 29 March, Ruprecht was granted access for living in the new tower, to keep occupied "on the neck" (thus on the upper castle). Thus the authority of the Palatinate became
396-447: The valley beneath. Of the castle, although only the western wall of the former keep remains, the foundations are largely intact 49°56′48″N 7°06′56″E / 49.9466°N 7.1155°E / 49.9466; 7.1155 Johann III, Count of Sponheim-Starkenburg Johann III, Count of Sponheim-Starkenburg , the Older (b. ca. 1315 – d. 30 December 1398), reigned over
418-645: The village of Sevenich associated with this fiefdom upon Lord Friedrich of Ehrenburg. For Winterburg , Koppenstein, and Birkenfeld , he received city rights from Kaiser Ludwig in 1330. He built a church in Trarbach , but the year is not known. He sent an abbot from Himmerod Abbey in Traben, who had to read the Mass in Trarbach daily, and three times a week in the absence of the Count. It
440-775: The whole County of Sponheim between the Baden and the Veldenz . Children: Waldeck Castle (Hunsr%C3%BCck) Waldeck Castle within the limits of the village of Dorweiler in Dommershausen in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis ( district ) in Rhineland-Palatinate was the main seat of the Hunsrück family of Boos. The ruin lies high above the Baybach valley. William I of Heinzenberg built
462-523: Was conquered by Louis XIV of France and was extended, together with the fort of Mont Royal in the horshoe bend of the Mosel north of the town of Traben-Trarbach as a part of the fortifications. During the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), in 1702 it was taken by the French under Tallard and in 1704 on the express orders of the commanding officer John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough it
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#1732858950399484-624: Was overpowered by Friedrich of Hesse-Kassel . The badly damaged castle was then occupied by the Dutch. In 1730 it was repaired by the Electorate of Trier for the defence of Koblenz and the Rhine river. In the War of the Polish Succession it was taken after three weeks' siege for the fourth and last time by the French who destroyed it in July 1734. The castle was blown up, huge chunks of it have plunged into
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