Lehmen Castle

The residential tower Hofgut Lehmen (also: "Wohnturm Lehmer Hof" or "Wohnturm Lehmen"; in the local dialect "Lehma Thǫn" [leːmɐ̆.tʼɔ́ˑn]) is a Romanesque residential tower in the Moselle valley in the municipality of Ediger-Eller, which belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde Cochem in the district of Cochem-Zell in Rhineland-Palatinate.

The Wohnturm Lehmen stands in the district of Ediger amidst the Ediger Elzhofberg vineyard and is located two kilometers southeast of the center of Ediger and one kilometer before the next downstream village, Nehren. The tower stands on the left side of the Moselle directly on Federal Highway 49 between the road and the vineyards at the Cochemer Krampen. In the immediate vicinity of the tower is the Roman tomb of Nehren, a burial site from the 3rd to 4th century AD. Directly next to the residential tower is the Grand Cru vineyard Ediger Elzhofberg.

The exact construction date of the tower is not known. The Lords of Lehmen are first mentioned in 1227. The tower is first documented in 1245 and probably dates from the first half of the 13th century. According to dendrochronological investigations of the beams of the tower, which is now a protected monument, the felling of the trees used is dated to the years 1233/34, so the tower was probably built at this time or shortly thereafter.

The knightly family of Lehmen provided generals and colonels under Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg and under the Dukes of Lorraine. It died out in the male line in the 17th century. It was inherited by the de Roben family. They had their ancestral home, Krickelshausen Castle, in Lontzen, now located in the Belgian province of Liège. In 1791, the 'Gut zu Leimen' belonged to the Marquis de Roben, a Spanish brigadier general. The small castle complex included a settlement and a chapel. Originally the private chapel of the Lords of Lehmen, it was later used publicly and endowed with many foundations. Around 1801, the de Robens abandoned the farmstead. The settlement of Lehmen once housed 14 families; in 1827, there were only 26 people, and the last moved to Ediger towards the end of the 19th century. The high altar of the chapel was later transferred to the Kreuzkapelle above Ediger.

The tower is (apart from minor wall remains) the last stone witness of the "Hofgut Lehmen". In the years 1986/87, the tower was restored by the local community of Ediger-Eller. The entrance is on the first floor, which is now accessed by a newly built wooden staircase with a canopy during the reconstruction.

The tower has four and a half floors, with the uppermost one featuring a battlement. It is built from local slate quarry stones, is unplastered, and today has a height of about 16 meters. It has a still-existing chimney shaft and could therefore be heated, so it served not only for defense but could also be inhabited.

The residential tower can only be viewed from the outside and cannot be climbed.