Brandenbourg Castle (French: Château de Brandenbourg), now a ruin, is located on a promontory some 70 metres above the village of Brandenbourg in north-eastern Luxembourg. It has a history going back to the 9th and 10th centuries when there was a wooden fort on the site. The 13th century keep, now 11.9 metres high, used to have four floors, only three of which remain. In 1668, the French attacked the castle which subsequently fell increasingly into ruin. It is now owned by the Luxembourg State.[1]
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The castle is located high above the crossroads of the road from the River Sûre up into the Ardennes and that from Bourscheid to Vianden. The site, measuring 35 by 95 metres, consists of the main castle and of a lower courtyard.[2]
Archaeological digs provide evidence of a wooden fort dating back to the 9th and 10th centuries. The first buildings of stone are from the 13th century. In the 14th century a chapel was added to the castle. And during the 15th and 16th centuries the castle was expanded and a bailey, two towers, vaulted cellars and curtain walls were added.[3]
The castle was inhabited until the middle of the 18th century. Like many other medieval castles, it was then abandoned and left to fall into ruin. In 1936 and during the 1950s, the State carried out basic consolidation work. Since the 1980s, all necessary consolidation work has been performed while archaeologists have continued to explore the site for further evidence of the castle's history.[2]
The site used to be fully accessible to the public but access is now restricted, probably in the interests of preventing further damage.
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