Alte Burg | |
---|---|
Lommersdorf | |
Coordinates | 50°23′46″N 6°44′35″E / 50.396179°N 6.742942°E |
Type | hill castle, spur castle |
Code | DE-NW |
Height | 431 m above sea level (NHN) |
Site information | |
Condition | Burgstall, few remains |
Site history | |
Built | Middle Ages |
Garrison information | |
Occupants | Edelherren |
The Alte Burg ("Old Castle") near Lommersdorf in the municipality of Blankenheim in the county of Euskirchen in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia is a levelled mediaeval castle site.
The site lies about 900 metres north of the River Ahr, above the village of Ahrhütte in the valley of the Mühlenbach on the L 105 country road. On the east, the hillside drops rapidly from around 431 m above NHN at the castle to the foot of the hill at about 378 metres above sea level.
The spur castle, which covered a small area, probably goes back to the Late Middle Ages. According to Janssen, the two-part structure belongs to the "two-part motte group (Gruppe der zweiteiligen Motten).[1] But its small size is unusual for the genre. On the small, conical hill, just four metres in diameter on a hilltop plateau, was most likely to have been a tower. In 1928, Wackenroder confirmed that there were still stone remains that pointed to a former wall.[2] The site has not yet been investigated archaeologically, but there are now no wall remains or other solid remains to be seen.
A family, the von Lommersdorfs are recorded in deeds dating to 1455 and 1478 which mention a John of Lommersdorf. Whethere there is a connexion between him and the castle is not certain. The site may have been linked to the quarrying of brown iron ore, which was then smelted in the nearby ironworks.