Nassau Castle
| Nassau Castle | |
|---|---|
| Nassau, Germany | |
Nassau Castle (aerial view)
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Nassau Castle - Compound wall
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| Coordinates | 50°18′37″N 7°47′31″E / 50.31028°N 7.79194°ECoordinates: 50°18′37″N 7°47′31″E / 50.31028°N 7.79194°E |
| Type | Castle |
| Height | 33 m |
| Site information | |
| Open to the public |
yes |
| Condition | partially restored ruins |
| Site history | |
| Built | ca. 1100 |
| Built by | Dudo-Henry of Laurenburg |
Nassau Castle, located in Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, was the original seat of the House of Nassau. The ruins of the castle are situated on a rock outcropping about 120 m (390 ft) above the Lahn River. The House of Nassau was an aristocratic dynasty among whose descendants are the present-day monarchy of the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
The castle was founded around 1100 by Count Dudo-Henry of Laurenburg (German: Dudo-Heinrich von Laurenburg), the founder of the House of Nassau. In 1120, Dudo-Henry's sons and successors, Counts Robert I (German: Ruprecht; also translated Rupert) and Arnold I of Laurenburg, established themselves at Nassau Castle with its tower. They renovated and extended the castle complex in 1124.
Because the castle stood at that time on the territory of the Bishopric of Worms, a bitter feud developed between the family of the two brothers and the Bishopric of Worms. Even when Robert I in 1124 inherited the position of the Bishopric of Worms' vogt in Weilburg, whose territory had included the former Königshof Nassau since 914, the conflict was not settled. When Robert I began calling himself the Count of Nassau after the castle, the Worms Bishopric disputed the title.
The dispute was only solved (and the title confirmed) in 1159, about five years after Robert’s death, under his son Walram I by the intervention of the Archbishop of Trier, Hillin of Falmagne. The Laurenburger family gave up their claim to allodial title and in return were given the fiefdom over the castle and town of Nassau from the archbishop. Thereafter, the Laurenburger family were titled the Counts of Nassau.
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