Emmaburg (Eyneburg)

The Emmaburg or Eyneburg castle near the village of Hergenrath in the municipality of Kelmis, located in the former Duchy of Limburg, is one of the most important historical buildings in the East Cantons. The castle, built on a hill, dominates the left bank of the river Geul.

A 19th-century legend links the castle to Emma, a daughter of Charlemagne, and her secret lover Einhard, friend and biographer of Charlemagne. The saga of Einhard (Eginhard) and Emma (Imma) may concern the relationship of Charlemagne's daughter, Bertha (779/780 - 828, banished from court in 814), with the court clergyman Angilbert.

Eyneburg was first mentioned in 1260. At that time, the castle, as a former fief of the Aachen Marien church, was owned by the knightly family of Eyneberghe. In 1371, the granddaughter of Gerhard von Eyneburg, married to Daem van den Bongaert, inherited the castle. Their daughter, Bela van den Bongaert, married Arnold van Tzevel in 1430. Through the marriage between Bela's daughter, Joan van Tzevel, and Johan Dobbelstein of Donrath, the castle became the property of the Dobbelstein family for the next three centuries.

In 1640, the castle burned down, after which John van Dobbelstein, married to Helwige van Horion, rebuilt the castle, new and larger (1648). Baron Karl August Dobbelstein von Donrath sold Eyneburg to Josef Rainer Turbet in 1786.

In the 19th century, the castle changed owners several times. In 1836, Baron Florent van Thiriart of Mützhagen, then, his distant cousin, Baron de la Rousselière-Clouard, in 1897, the Aachen cloth manufacturer Nellessen Theodor (1842-1926) who had the castle rebuilt by architect Ludwig Arntz in 1900/1901. The current chapel was added. In 1958, the Nellessen family left the castle. The castle then became the property of Hergenrather Kalkwerke AG. On July 18, 1966, Eyneburg was declared a protected monument. In 2001, the castle was purchased by Eyne GmbH.

The complex today consists of the castle with a keep, a chapel, and a farm. The large round keep was built during the castle's initial construction. In the 15th century, a residence was added to the donjon by the last Lord of Eyneburg, which was destroyed by the fire of 1640. During the reconstruction in the 17th century, the residence was raised by one floor. During the 19th century, the castle fell into significant disrepair. Theodor Nellessen had the castle restored and expanded with a neo-Gothic chapel.

The front section of the castle has undergone fewer changes. The two-story northern wing dates from the 17th century; however, the façade facing the courtyard has been renewed. The southern half of the western wing was built in the 15th century, the northern half with cross windows in the 17th century.

The outer walls of the elongated southern wing belong to construction phases from the 15th and 16th centuries, the western half to the 17th century. Here you will find a gate with the coat of arms of Baron Johan Karl Dobbelstein von Donrath and his wife Catharina Barones von Westerholt-Lembeck from the year 1722.

Michel