Nürburg

Nürburg (German pronunciation: [ˈnʏɐ̯bʊɐ̯k]) is a town in the German district of Ahrweiler, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is also the name of the local castle, Nürburg Castle, which was built in the High Middle Ages. The name is derived from the Latin word "niger" which means 'black' (cf. French "noir" meaning the same), and burg which means "castle". The castle is made of basalt which usually has black color. The town is best known for its famous 24 kilometer race track, the Nürburgring. Five kilometers (3.1 miles) of the track are used for a Formula One grand prix.

Location

The Nürburg rises above the village of the same name on the second-highest hill in the Eifel (678 metres or 2,224 feet). The castle and hill are regarded as a characteristic feature of the Eifel. Even though it is one of the most significant castles in the Eifel, it nevertheless still needs to be researched in full. There are almost no written sources relating to the history of the castle's construction in the Middle Ages. The hill is referred to in documentary evidence in AD 954 by the name mone nore, which means black hill. In descriptions of boundaries which served to clarify which property belonged to whom, it was used as a significant reference marker. The name Nürburg is thought to derive from mons nore, as the color of the volcanic basalt used to build the castle exhibits an unusually dark color.

Nürburg Castle

The Nürburg is a ruined hilltop castle in the German Eifel Mountains near the village of Nürburg south of Adenau in the district of Ahrweiler in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It stands within the famous North Loop, or Nordschleife, of the Nürburgring racing course at a height of 678 metres on a volcanic basalt cone. It may be visited for a fee.

History

The site was first mentioned in the records in 1166 as Noureberg or Mons Nore, but it is probable that it was already used as a signal station in Roman times to protect the important Roman road that ran through the Eifel.

The actual instigator of the Nürburg was Count Ulrich, who, is named in a document from 1169, although his father, Dietrich I of Are had already started the construction of a refuge castle on the mountain. Ulrich's descendants called themselves the lords of Nürburg and Are and were vassals (Lehnsmänner) of the bishops of Cologne and the Hohenstaufen emperor.

In 1290, ownership of the castle was transferred to the Electorate of Cologne, because there were no more descendants of the lords of Nürburg. The archbishopric appointed a bailiff (Amtmann), who from then on was to represent their interests.