Castle on a slate promontory
Bourscheid Castle was situated on a slate promontory at a height of 360 metres. The stronghold was 151 metres long, 53 metres wide and covered an area of 12,000m². Today, it has fallen into ruin. Only a circular wall and a number of towers remain standing.
Roman remains
No-one knows exactly when the building of the fortress began. Archaeologists have found traces from the Ottonic, Carolingian, Merovingian and Roman eras at the site. What is certain is that in the year 1000 an existing wood construction was transformed into what eventually became the castle.
Herringbone stonework
Originally, there was just a small enceinte with four towers. This ran around the chapel, the forecastle and the keep. Today, the enceinte and the keep of the Roman-Gothic construction still remain. Especially beautiful is the herringbone stonework, also referred to as opus spicatum.
The Stolzemburger House
Around 1350 the great enceinte was added. This included eleven enclosed spaces and eight watchtowers. When the wall was finished in 1354, in the same year the Stolzemburger House – a nobleman’s house - was built in the lower castle. Together with three other similar houses, this house formed the border of the vassals’ land. The wonderful Gothic cellar in the Stolzemburger House, in particular, is worth a visit.
Dungeon in the rocks
The great ring-wall protected the castle better. No fewer than four extra floors were then added to the original castle. A bakery was added next to the castle. Under that building, a two-level dungeon was hewn from the rock. What was once the entrance to the bakery is now the warden’s house.
Justice under the linden tree
In 1477, a turret was added. Behind that turret, a ditch prevents access to the upper and lower castle. The square in front of the exterior gate was protected by palisades. In the square stood a linden tree beneath which justice was dispensed.
Dilapidation of the castle
In 1512 – the year in which the last lord of the Bourscheid died – the castle began to fall into disrepair. The upper castle was divided into two houses. One of the houses was deserted in 1626. The other was never permanently inhabited. From 1650, only the bailiff lived in the stronghold, in the Stolzemburger House, the current castle. In 1794, the French Revolution brought an end to the feudal era. In 1802, the castle’s archive was moved to Gemünden in Germany. In 1803 the last bailiff left the castle.
Renovation of the castle
In 1936 the State of Luxemburg had some renovation work done on the castle. It was then declared a national monument. In 1972, the State of Luxemburg bought the castle. The Stolzemburger House and the warden’s house were restored to make the castle accessible to the public. Archaeological research and the archives of the Friends of Bourscheid Castle have considerably extended knowledge of its history.