Wiltz Castle

Wiltz Castle is located in the luxemburgerischen Wiltz, in the north of the country, in Ösling. The castle is situated in the upper part of the city, Oberwiltz ( Lux Uewerwolz ). The castle was built in the 12th century and is one of the main attractions of the city.

History

The first castle Niederwiltz, where now stands the dean church should protect the city from its enemies, but the location was so ill chosen that it was taken over again. In the 12th century the Lords of Wiltz finally searched for a better location for their new residence, and built on a rocky promontory, a second castle whose construction then justified the creation of the district Oberwiltz. 1388 were castle and village burned down by the French besiegers on fire, built shortly after. Around the middle of the 15th century, when the Ösling nobility sat down against the troops of Philip of Burgundy to defend, the castle was destroyed a second time.

The oldest part of the castle is the witch's tower on the north west side. It was built in 1573 and restored twice in the subsequent period. The roof of this multi-story tower adorns since the 19th century, the figure of the legendary Count Jan, the ordering as armored knights to guard the eternal Wiltz. The square tower dates from 1626, but its base extends even further back. This tower was once the main entrance, the one reached through a drawbridge. Right of the bridge stood the court Linde, therefore called the square in front of the castle today Lanne Pesch. Under the rule of the Count began in January 1631 with the construction of the still preserved Renaissance castle. The Thirty Years War, siege, famine and epidemics slowed progress to nearly a century, so that the new building was not completed until around the year 1720 under Count Charles -Eugène de Custine de Wiltz.

1722 was the new chapel, in 1727 the monumental, leading to the palace garden staircase was completed, which is used together with the facade of the castle as a backdrop of Wiltz Festival since the 1950s.