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Castle

Oberes Schloss

Germany · 13th century

Founded
1259
Heritage status
architectural heritage monument in North Rhine-Westphalia
Location
Siegen
Coordinates
50.8757°, 8.03°
Links
Wikimedia Commons
Open on the map →Wikipedia ↗
Oberes Schloss in Germany
Photo: Frank Behnsen · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Description

The Obere Schloss is a castle on the 307 m high Siegberg in the German town of Siegen. It was originally a medieval hill castle initially jointly owned by the Prince Bishop of Cologne and the Count of Nassau. Later it became the sole property of the Nassau family. Partially rebuilt, it served as a residence for a time and now houses the Siegerlandmuseum.

The complex is first mentioned in a document dated 2nd September 1259 in the name of Bishop Henry of Liège as burch inde der stad zen Sigin. Another document from 1261 suggests that the castle had existed since at least 1224 - at the time when Henry II, Count of Nassau and Archbishop Engelbert II of Berg divided the city of Siegen between them. The castle is believed to have been built around 1200. The first documented mentions give no clues as to the castle's size or structure. One from 1341 merely mentions the "vestin Sigin, Ginsberg unde der Han". The first surviving precise evidence of the division of the building that had existed since 1224 and of the buildings' nature is a 1343 contract.

This mentions two gates, the main touwer and an inner courtyard with a fountain, all jointly owned by the Count and Archbishop. The buildings facing the River Sieg were the archbishop's residence or "Bischofshaus", while the buildings facing the River Weiß were the count's residence or "Grafenhaus". Over time the archbishop's influence gradually diminished. Until the late 15th century documents referred to the complex as a castle ("burch"), a fortress ("vestin") or a "castrum" - only after that date was it commonly referred to as a "Schloss" or palace. From 1670 onwards the complex was known as the Altes Schloss (Old Palace) or Oberes Schloss (Upper Palace).

In 1888 the city of Siegen bought the Obere Schloss from the Kingdom of Prussia for 30,400 marks and established the Siegerlandmuseum of regional history there in 1905. It was inaugurated on 25 March 1905. Its mission was stated to be to "present the essence of the Siegerland homeland in terms of history, culture and folklore". It had only three exhibition rooms in the Schloss, but this had been expanded to 35 rooms by 1929 and it now has 1.500 m² of display space. On 8 July 1938, a 150-metre-long 14-metre-deep show mine opened under the castle courtyard to demonstrate the original facilities and equipment of a Siegerland mine.

Text adapted from “Oberes Schloss (Siegen)” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

In the rankings

Oberes Schloss ranks #7,246 of 9,902 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #785 of the 927 mapped in Germany. Founded 1259, it is older than 67% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 1134 atlas entries founded in the 13th century. 5 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Koblenz, 65 km away. See how Germany compares in the castle statistics.

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