Kirkel is located just east of Saarbrucken. When I first reconned this castle I thought it would be unique. However, I was diappointed by what I found. First, there is not too much left. The tower is really the best and most well preserved item. Next, even the ruins have been too heavily smoothed out and no longer look very authentic. This is at least my opinion.
The tower is nice and the view excellent, making a visit to this castle still worth one's time. These photos were taken in 2008.
The approach to the castle was a bit interesting, since the castle is located on a small hill in the midst of the town. You must take a back road and then park along the street in front of somebody's apartment.
The photo below of the tower implies some major reconstruction, or that another section of the castle was once attached to the tower. A diagram of the castle implies it was the latter.
The castle in Kirkel was built around 1075, a document to Godefridus comes de Kirchila of the Counts of Saarwerden, confirming ownership of the property and the name. The castle and property was divided up within the family when Henry von Kirkel died without a male heir. The castle remainded under divided ownership for 170 years. In the early 1300s, the house of Siersberg took ownership, being closely associated with the Holy Roman Emperor, while still retaining close association to Lorraine. The new owners took on the Kirkel name to solidify their control.
After tumultuous years in the 1300s where the castle was used to not only ward off gangs and hold the Bishop Berthold von Strassburg Buchegg prisoner, the castle passed to the Elector Palatine Ruprecht after John von Kirkel IV died without a male heir. The castle then passed through a series of co-owners and for several hundred years the farmland and craftsman improved the land and trade in the area. During the Thirty Years War, the owners allied with the Swedes. The castle was attacked and abandoned, being so severely sacked in 1635 that it remained abandoned until 1648. The Dukes of Zweibrucken, who controlled the estate, rebuilt the castle after the war.
The castle, still undergoing repairs, was invested by the French in 1677 and was surrendered without a fight. Two years later, the garrison was so careless that they allowed the castle to be engulfed with fire twice in one year! Avoiding destruction during the Palatine War of 1689, the castle apparently burned again and fell into ruin. At one point in the 1850s the ruins were used by the local homeless for shelter.
The town conducts an annual summer festival at the castle, and hence the reason for the reonstructed shops and stables seen below. Here is the link to the town's official site.
Left, a portion of the ruins linked by a recently built walkway. The castle was built on a tablerock, which helped the defense.
The base of the tower seen here with an extra band of bricks about it. The rock foundation would easily be able to handle the weight of the tower and keep it from settling.
Below, a view from the tower looking down into the area where the summer festival is held.
Two views within the tower. By the 1850s, the tower was intact but without stairs or roof. The stairs are of recent construction, as is the roof. The roof was rebuilt close to the construction techniques of the 1600s.
Right, a schematic of the castle and grounds taken from the Kirkel town website. The diagram indicates that there was originally two towers, one hexigonal. The extant tower is the one to the right. The reconstructed shops and stables are to the right of the extant tower.
With this diagram in mind, it appears that the two towers were linked to a keep. This would explain the differences of the stone in the tower.
Below, a view of the town and the Saarland to the southwest.
