Septfontaines Castle

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Septfontaines Castle Septfontaines Castle.jpg
Septfontaines Castle

Septfontaines Castle (French : Château de Septfontaines, Luxembourgish : Buerg vu Simmer) in central Luxembourg is one of the castles belonging to the Valley of the Seven Castles. Located high above the village of Septfontaines, the medieval castle is now privately owned. [1]

French language Romance language

French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues d'oïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French (Francien) has largely supplanted. French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the (Germanic) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to France's past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, most notably Haitian Creole. A French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French.

Luxembourg grand duchy in Western Europe

Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a small landlocked country in western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France to the south. Its capital, Luxembourg City, together with Brussels and Strasbourg, is one of the three official capitals of the European Union and the seat of the European Court of Justice, the highest judicial authority in the EU. Its culture, people, and languages are highly intertwined with its neighbours, making it essentially a mixture of French and German cultures, as evident by the nation's three official languages: French, German, and the national language, Luxembourgish. The repeated invasions by Germany, especially in World War II, resulted in the country's strong will for mediation between France and Germany and, among other things, led to the foundation of the European Union.

Valley of the Seven Castles

Valley of the Seven Castles is an informal name given to the Eisch valley, in central Luxembourg. The valley stretches from the confluence with the Alzette upstream to Steinfort, on the border with Belgium. The entire route can be traversed in about an hour by car, starting near the town of Arlon on the Belgian/Luxembourg border. There is also a 37-kilometre footpath that takes hikers along the valley and past the castles.

Contents

History

It is not clear when the first castle was built in Septfontaines. In 1192, there is a reference to someone by the name of Tider who was Lord of Septfontaines. In 1233, Jean de Septfontaines placed the property under the protection of Countess Ermesinde of Luxembourg. At the beginning of the 14th century, Thomas de Septfontaines, a friend and companion of Emperor Henry VII, was the lord of the castle. In 1600, Christoph von Criechingen built a huge Renaissance tower at the northern entrance. [2] In 1779, a fire destroyed the castle which increasingly fell into ruin. In 1919, the castle was partly demolished but in 1920 the owners attempted to carry out restoration work, but did not pay much attention to historical architectural requirements. [1]

Ermesinde, Countess of Luxembourg Countess suo jure of Luxembourg

Ermesinde I, reigned as Countess of Luxembourg from 1197 until her death in 1247.

Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor King of the Romans from 1308 to 1313

Henry VII was the King of Germany from 1308 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1312. He was the first emperor of the House of Luxembourg. During his brief career he reinvigorated the imperial cause in Italy, which was racked with the partisan struggles between the divided Guelf and Ghibelline factions, and inspired the praise of Dino Compagni and Dante Alighieri. He was the first emperor since the death of Frederick II in 1250, ending the great interregnum of the Holy Roman Empire; however, his premature death threatened to undo his life's work. His son, John of Bohemia, failed to be elected as his successor, and there was briefly another anti-king, Frederick the Fair contesting the rule of Louis IV.

Renaissance architecture architectural style

Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 14th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance architecture followed Gothic architecture and was succeeded by Baroque architecture. Developed first in Florence, with Filippo Brunelleschi as one of its innovators, the Renaissance style quickly spread to other Italian cities. The style was carried to France, Germany, England, Russia and other parts of Europe at different dates and with varying degrees of impact.

The castle today

Today the castle is privately owned and cannot be visited.

See also

Related Research Articles

Septfontaines Place in Luxembourg

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References

  1. 1 2 "Château de Septfontaines", Fortresses, Châteaux, Manoirs. (in French) Retrieved 16 March 2011.
  2. ↑ "Septfontaines", Tal der 7 Schlösser. (in German) Retrieved 16 March 2011.

Coordinates: 49°42′01.56″N05°57′48.69″E / 49.7004333°N 5.9635250°E / 49.7004333; 5.9635250

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.


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