The remains of the Castle can be visited
RuinWetteldorf
Schönecken Castle (Ruin) (Wetteldorf)
The ruin of Schönecken Castle lies above the village of Schönecken in the Nimstal valley in the West Eifel (Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm) in Rhineland-Pfalz.
The hilltop castle stood on the lowest ridge in the middle of a valley basin. The complex is protectively surrounded on all sides by higher mountains.
The castle ruin Schönecken is also called "Bella Costa" or "Clara Costa".
Brief Chronology:
- 762 – King Pippin donates the Wetteldorf estate to Prüm Abbey. The Counts of Vianden become the abbey's protectors.
- around 1230 – Presumably the construction of "Clara Costa" Castle.
- 1247 – Albertus Magnus and Konrad von Hochstaden at the castle.
- 1264 – Heinrich von Vianden calls himself "Lord of Schönecken".
- 1288 – Gerhard von Schönecken kills two Prüm monks in a dispute.
- 1352 – Hartard von Schönecken falls in battle for Balduin von Trier.
- 1370 – Johann, the last Lord of Schönecken, dies.
- 1384 – Schönecken comes under the Electorate of Trier. The castle becomes the residence of the Elector.
- 1593 – Knight and castellan Hermann von Hersel dies on July 13 and is buried in Sankt Leodegar (Catholic parish church) in Wetteldorf.
- 1643 – Conquest of the castle by mercenaries.
- 1802 – Schönecken burns down.
- 1804 – Under French administration, the castle is auctioned for demolition.
- 1848 – The Kingdom of Prussia becomes the owner.
- 1906 – First restorations of the castle by the Kingdom of Prussia.
- 1920s – Dr. Johannes Schreiber (1893–1978) prevents the final demolition of the ruin.
- 1970-1975 – The defensive towers and walls of the castle ruin were renovated by the Rhineland-Palatinate Palace Administration.
- 1984-1985 – Renovation of the castle and the castle hill with shotcrete.
- 2006 – Closure of the castle path due to risk of collapse of the castle wall; renovation is planned; increased weather damage has been found on the towers.
- The current owner of the castle is the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Feud of Hartard von Schönecken with Otto von Schönberg+
(between 1340 and 1350)
A feud that Hartard had with Otto von Schönberg was not very fortunate. According to this account, some lancers of the Lord of Schönberg went to Schönecken to buy grain, which was scarce in the Schönberg area at the time. Hartard ordered his men to drive away the Schönbergers. To avenge this insult, Otto von Schönberg advanced on Schönecken and besieged the castle. Hartard mocked him and called out from the castle: "Mich fruit Herr Otto dat sei mich besouchen" (Lord Otto, I am glad you are visiting me), to which Otto replied: "der Tuifel kricht dich uff der Erden, hahn langs geward dich zu strofen, miene Knechte seynd kine Frauwen, koum herous, da schmakst du die Knechte!" (The devil will get you on earth, I have long waited to punish you, my servants are no women, come out, then you will taste the servants!). Hartard then made a sally, defeated the Schönbergers and pursued them to Schönberg. At Schönberg, Otto took a stand and received support from his subjects. After a fierce battle, the Schöneckeners fled and Hartard's son was killed. The women of Schönberg are said to have torn his body to pieces and thrown it to the dogs. Otto pursued the Schöneckeners to Schönecken, and here there was another battle in which Otto and Hartard met and fought each other. Otto split Hartard's helmet and wounded him on the head, whereupon Hartard fled and threw himself into his castle, which Otto now besieged. Finally, Hartard was forced to buy off the enemy's withdrawal with 100 guilders.
Layout+
The castle complex was a 120-meter-long rectangular structure with a curtain wall and three outwardly projecting towers.
The inner courtyard area of the castle measures between 6,500 and 7,000 square meters. The enormous dimensions tell us of a great past. A castle of this magnitude is unlikely to have existed anywhere else in the West Eifel; Bella Costa appears to the observer more like a fortress, surpassed in its size and defensive capability only by Ehrenbreitstein Fortress in Koblenz, which, however, is of a significantly younger date.
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Source: Wikipedia · Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0
This description draws on the facts documented in the linked Wikipedia article; Wikipedia content is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Wording and editing: Mobile History.
Location: 50.1602, 6.4619