Landesburg

Electoral Cologne's Landesburg at Linn was built to defend against Cleves, Moers and Berg

The Landesburg of Brüggen secured the Duchy of Jülich in the north

The northernmost bastion of the counts of Berg: the Landesburg of Angermund

A Landesburg or landesherrliche Burg ("sovereign castle", "state castle" or "stately castle") was a castle that a territorial lord, such as a prince-bishop, duke or prince built for the defence or expansion of his sovereign estates. They were thus the central and most important castles of the great princely territories. The Landesburgen were usually the property of the territorial lord, but they sometimes referred to castles that he did not own, but were available to him as a safe house (Offenhaus).^[1] The large castles of the 8th to 10th centuries, east of the Rhine and outside the towns were often described as Landesburgen because they performed important functions in the control of the state.^[2]

History

The emergence of Landesburgen began in the Late Middle Ages and was a result of the decline of royal centralised power and the associated displacement of power "from former great territories to regional territories".^[3] In the early stages of this development regional lords used their allodial castles as a means of forming and preserving contiguous territories. In this connexion such fortifications took on the function of a territorial castle (Territorialburg). An example is Zülpich Castle, which was built by the archbishops of Cologne to secure their estates from attack by the counts of Jülich. Often Landesburgen were used as counter-castles (Gegenburgen) to the fortifications of neighbouring and rival territorial lords.^[4]

References

1. S. Frankewitz: Geldrische Landesburgen vom 13. bis zum Ende des 15. Jahrhunderts.
2. H. W. Böhme et al.: Wörterbuch der Burgen, Schlösser und Festungen, 2004, p. 11.
3. H. Ott: Rheinische Wasserburgen, 1984, p. 126.
4. Brigitte und Walter Janssen: Burgen, Schlösser und Hofesfesten im Kreis Neuss. Kreisverwaltung Neuss, Neuss, 1980, ISBN 3-9800327-0-1, p. 75.

Literature

• Horst Wolfgang Böhme, Reinhard Friedrich, Barbara Schock-Werner (eds.): Wörterbuch der Burgen, Schlösser und Festungen. Philipp Reclam, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-15-010547-1, pp. 175, 241.
• Stefan Frankewitz: Geldrische Landesburgen vom 13. bis zum Ende des 15. Jahrhunderts. In: Johannes Stinner, Karl-Heinz Tekath (eds.): Gelre – Geldern – Gelderland. Geschichte und Kultur des Herzogtums Geldern . Verlag des Historischen Vereins für Geldern und Umgebung, Geldern, 2001, ISBN 3-921760-35-6, pp. 185–204.
• Richard Klapheck: Die Baukunst am Niederrhein. Vol. 1. Düsseldorf, 1915/1916, pp. 46–66 (online).
• Hanns Ott: Rheinische Wasserburgen. Geschichte – Formen – Funktionen. Weidlich, Wurzburg, 1984, ISBN 3-8035-1239-5, pp. 133–171.