Klusenstein is a castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

 in Hemer

Hemer

Hemer is a town in the Märkischer Kreis district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.- Geography :Hemer is located at the north end of the Sauerland near the Ruhr river. The highest elevation, at 546 metres , is in the Balver Wald in the south of the city...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, located on a 60m high cliff above the valley of the Hönne

Hönne

The Hönne is a left tributary river to the Ruhr, flowing through the northern Sauerland hills in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The spring of the Hönne is located in the west of Neuenrade at 437m above sea level. After 33 km the river ends near the town of Fröndenberg...

 river. The castle was built in 1353 as a boundary fortification of the earldom Mark.

History

The castle was built in 1353 by Gerhard of Plettenberg

House of Plettenberg

The House of Plettenberg is a Westphalian noble family of the Uradel. It dates back at least to 1187, when Heidolphus de Plettenbrath was mentioned in a document by Philip I...

, a vassal of earl Engelbrecht III of the Mark. Levold of Northof (1279-1359?), the chronicler of earl Engelbrecht, wrote

In denseluen jair, als die vurs. Greue Engelbrecht auer Meer reysden, beghan Gerit van Plettenbrecht in afwesen des Greuen dat Slot ind Stat to nyenraide in Suderlande to tymmeren ind oick Slot ten Cluysensteyn.

which translates to

In the year when Earl Engelbrecht was traveling beyond the sea, Gerit of Plettenberg in the absence of his earl began to build the castle and town of Neuenrade

Neuenrade

Neuenrade is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the hills of the Sauerland in the Märkischer Kreis.-Geography:The highest elevation in the town area is the Kohlberg with an altitude of 514 m above sea level. The lowest elevation is at Hölmecke with 190 m...

 in the Sauerland

Sauerland

The Sauerland is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the south-eastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, in parts heavily forested and, apart from the major valleys, sparsely inhabited...

, as well as the castle of Klusenstein.

The castle formed the boundary fortification of the earldom Mark to the bishopric state of Cologne and the earldom Arnsberg. All three territories met at the Hönne river valley, the castle was also overlooking an old road crossing the valley. During the feud between earl Engelbert and Gottfried IV of Arnsberg, the castle was under siege in 1366, but did not fall.

When the last earl of Arnsberg, Gottfried IV, sold the earldom to the bishop of Cologne, the castle lost its importance. Until the 17th century the family of Werminghausen owned the castle. During the 30 years war (1618-48) both Swedish and Hessian troops stayed in the castle. In 1695 the Brabeck family bought the castle, and was sold in 1812 to the Löbbecke family. In 1904 it was sold to the Hoesch

Hoesch

Hoesch may refer to*Erica Hardwick-Hoesch, neo-Nazi activist*Hoesch AG, a former German manufacturer with steel and benzol-oil plants*Leopold Hoesch , founder of the 1871 Hoesch AG iron and steel plant in Dortmund....

 company, and now belongs to the company Rheinkalk.

For the 650th anniversary in 2003 the castle and the adjoining buildings were renovated.

Etymology

The origin of the name Klusenstein isn't fully known. While the second part stein simply means rock, the word Kluse may either refer to a rift in the rock, or alternatively from the dialect word for or hermitage.

Location

The castle is located on a 60m high cliff over the Hönne river valley, at around the narrowest part of the valley. At the bottom of the rock is a small cave in total 51m long. One corridor bends upward, but about 30m below the plateau it is blocked by stones. There were legends about a secret escapeway of the castle, in 2003 the top entrance to the cave was found below the eastern palais destructed in 1840.

Below the castle is a mill, however though named Klusenstein mill it did not belong to castle. Since 1912 the railway connecting Balve

Balve

Balve is a town in the Märkischer Kreis district, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in Hönnetal, a narrow valley created by the river Hönne, which is near the Sorpesee, formerly part of Balve, and at the north end of the Sauerland, near Dortmund...

 and Menden

Menden (Sauerland)

Menden is a town in the district Märkischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located at the north end of the Sauerland near the Ruhr river.-History:...

runs directly below the castle.