Septfontaines Castle in central Luxembourg

Luxembourg

Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

 is one of the castles belonging to the Valley of the Seven Castles

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...

. Located high above the village of Septfontaines

Septfontaines

Septfontaines is a commune and small town in western Luxembourg. It is part of the canton of Capellen, which is part of the district of Luxembourg. , the town of Septfontaines, which lies in the centre of the commune, has a population of 356...

, the medieval castle is now privately owned.

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

Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor

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...

, was the lord of the castle. In 1600, Christoph von Criechingen built a huge Renaissance

Renaissance architecture

Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance...

tower at the northern entrance. 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 unfortunately did not pay much attention to historical architectural requirements.