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24-635: It was in 963 that Count Siegfried , in search of a site from which he could defend his properties, obtained the Bock and its surroundings from St Maximin's Abbey in Trier in exchange for the land he owned at Feulen in the Ardennes to the north. The Romans , then the Franks , had probably already inhabited the Bock although there is only scant archeological evidence of their presence. There are however traces of

48-847: A 4th-century Roman watchtower close to the point in the Fish Market where two major Roman roads used to cross, one from Reims to Trier and the other from Metz to Liège . The first historical mention of the Bock is indeed in connection with a watchtower or fortification on the Roman road from Reims to Trier which, in 723, was ceded by Charles Martel , Duke of the Franks, to the Abbey of St Maximin in Trier. Two centuries later, Count Siegfried, who had properties "in Feulen , Hosingen and Monnerich in

72-750: The Pagus Wabrensis , in Sarreburg , Berncastel and Roussy in the Pagus Mosellanus ", was looking for a location for a castle able to withstand any onslaught which would serve as a central point for his holdings. After failing to obtain a site near the Abbey of Stavelot , now in the Belgian province of Liège , he approached the Abbot of St Maximin's for the purchase of the property high up on

96-752: The House of Ardenne–Luxembourg and his descendants would become the Counts of Luxembourg, his brothers Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine and Gozlin, Count of Bidgau and Methingau became founders of their own branches known as House of Ardennes-Bar and House of Ardennes-Verdun respectively. Their descendants would become the rulers of the Duchy of Lorraine and Upper Lorraine , the Duchy of Bar , as well as become counts or bishops of many surrounding cities like Arlon , Bastogne , Metz , Trier , Verdun , and Laon among others. Another one of Sigfried's brothers

120-457: The Bock also included a system of casemates , which originated in the cellars of the medieval castle. In 1744, during the Austrian period, these underground passages were considerably enlarged by General Neipperg . The main passage, which still remains, is 110 m long and up to 7 m wide. Branches leading off on either side were equipped with no less than 25 cannon slots, 12 to the north and 13 to

144-499: The Bock cliff above the Alzette River, described as a "castle by name Lucilinburhuc" ( castellum quod dicitur Lucilinburhuc ). It therefore seems as if there was already a castle on the site before Siegfried became interested in it and that it was not Siegfried who called it Lucilinburhuc. After the consent of Emperor Otto I had been obtained, the deed was signed by Viker, Abbot of St Maximin's, on 7 April 963. Siegfried acquired

168-587: The Bock to the old town was an important component of the fortifications. Technically, it is a rather curious structure. Built in 1735 by the Austrians, it provides no less than four ways of crossing between the cliffs: the road over the top, a passage by way of the four upper arches, a spiral staircase up through the main arch, and a tunnel under the road at the bottom. Over the years, the Bock casemates have received several famous visitors. These include: There have reportedly been people that have seen Melusine in

192-684: The French politician and engineer Lazare Carnot to call the Luxembourg fortress "the best in the world, apart from Gibraltar ". As a result, it has often been called the Gibraltar of the North. The fortifications were finally demolished under the terms of the Treaty of London in 1867. The demolition took 16 years and cost the enormous sum of 1.5 million gold francs. The two-storey bridge connecting

216-723: The construction of the castle of Saarburg . As the Duchy of Lorraine was a state of the Holy Roman Empire , Sigfried always remained a loyal servant of the Holy Roman emperors . From 966 to 972 Sigfried joined emperor Otto I during the third Italian expedition to Rome . In 982 he sent troops to southern Italy to support Otto II in his war against the Saracens at the Battle of Stilo . Sigfried also served Otto II during

240-593: The future counts and dukes of Luxembourg . He was also an advocate of the abbeys of St. Maximin in Trier and Saint Willibrord in Echternach . His male-line descendants are known as the House of Luxembourg, or House of Ardenne–Luxembourg , and his descendants would become the counts of Luxembourg . Through his mother Cunigunde , who was a granddaughter of King Louis the Stammerer of West Francia , Sigfried

264-470: The most competent fortification engineer of his day, undertook major additions to the defences, realizing that underground passages and chambers were just as important as the surface installations. The Large Bock, connected to the old town by the Pont du Château, was further reinforced. Enclosed by a wall 12 m (39 ft) high, it was the major component of the new fortress. In addition to these structures,

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288-488: The river Moselle , he turned his attention towards the Alzette valley. In the mid-10th century, Siegfried acquired the rocky promontory known as Lucilinburhuc and its immediate surrounding area, as well as usage rights for the river from the Abbey of Saint-Maximin in Trier in exchange for land he owned near Feulen . The deed for the exchange was not drawn up until 987 and although the plots of land involved were tiny,

312-444: The ruins of an abandoned Roman castellum . The site chosen for the construction of the castle of Luxembourg was not only located on an easily defendable rock, but it was also not far from the intersection of the old Roman road Reims - Trier and a prehistoric path leading from Metz to Liège . A marketplace soon arose at this intersection around which a town started to grow. Siegfried then gradually extended his territory towards

336-454: The site in exchange for some of his properties at Feulen. Over the centuries, Siegfried's fortified castle on the Bock was considerably enlarged and protected with additional walls and defences. In 987, the castle chapel was built at the nearby Fish Market . Today's St Michael's Church stands on the same site. Under Conrad I , the castle became the residence of the Counts of Luxembourg . It

360-505: The south, offering considerable firepower. In the event of war, the Bock casemates, covering an area of 1,100 m, could be used as barracks for several hundred soldiers. Water was supplied from a well 47 m deep. Thanks to its defenses, in 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars , the city held out against a French siege for seven months. When the garrison finally surrendered, the walls were still unbreached. This led

384-514: The territories of Count Warner in the region of Bodeux near the Benedictine Abbey of Stavelot . However, the Abbot of Stavelot, Werinfried, reluctant to have an ambitious landowner as his neighbor, acquired the village of Bodeux himself in 959. As Siegfried's ambitions to expand towards the river Meuse had failed, and as he was unwilling to confront the powerful episcopal cities of Trier or Metz which ruled out expanding towards

408-472: The transaction was evidently a significant one, for the document bears the seals of Bruno, archbishop of Cologne and brother of emperor Otto I , Henry I, archbishop of Trier and Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine , Siegfried's brother. In 963 Siegfried built a stronghold, castellum Lucilinburhuc on top of the Bock rock . The structure may have been a refurbishment of an older existing building, presumably

432-560: The wars against West Francia , in 983 he served as mediator on behalf of the emperor and met with Hugh Capet , duke of the Franks. At the death of Otto II in 983, Siegfried fought at the side of the dowager empress and regent Theophanu against the ambitions of King Lothair of France . In 985 he was briefly captured and imprisoned by the king. When Sigfried died in 998, his son Henry I , followed him as count of Luxembourg. Around 950, Sigfried married Hedwig of Nordgau (c. 922–993), daughter of Eberhard IV of Nordgau . They had

456-511: The waters nearby. 49°36′42″N 06°08′13″E  /  49.61167°N 6.13694°E  / 49.61167; 6.13694 Siegfried of Luxembourg Sigfried (or Siegfried ) ( c.  922 – 28 October 998) was count in the Ardennes , and is known in European historiography as founder and first ruler of the Castle of Luxembourg in 963 AD, and ancestor and predecessor of

480-469: The west, avoiding the Abbey's lands and those of the emperor. This act is generally regarded as the foundation of Luxembourg City and ultimately of what would become the County of Luxembourg . Although Siegfried constantly used the title of count, the first written evidence of the title "count of Luxembourg" is attributed to Conrad I some 120 years later. In 964, Sigfried also laid the foundations for

504-455: Was Adalbero I , Bishop of Metz . As the youngest son, Sigfried had inherited, unlike his brothers, only a few possessions from his father in the Duchy of Lorraine . He is first mentioned in around 950 AD as having been an advocate of the abbeys of St. Maximin in Trier and Saint Willibrord in Echternach. Since at least 982 he was a "count in the Moselgau ". From 958, he sought to acquire

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528-503: Was a sixth-generation descendant of Charlemagne . His father is most likely Count Palatine Wigeric of Lotharingia , the ruler of Lotharingia , which was a successor state of Middle Francia . Wigeric is also considered the founder of the House of Ardennes , and his sons, including Sigfried, would all create their own respective branches and become important rulers in Upper and Lower Lotharingia . Thus, while Sigfried became founder of

552-507: Was also strengthened with three forts, the Large Bock, Middle Bock and Small Bock (from west to east), separated from each other by cuts in the rock and linked by bridges. As a result, little remained of the medieval castle. A little later in 1684, on behalf of Louis XIV , Vauban succeeded in capturing the city of Luxembourg during a month-long siege under which the Bock fortifications were completely flattened. Thereafter Vauban, perhaps

576-641: Was damaged, destroyed, captured and rebuilt on several occasions as the Burgundians (1473), the Habsburgs (1477), and the Spaniards (1555) attacked and took the fortress. As time passed, the fortifications needed to be adapted to new methods of war based on increasingly strong firepower. During the 1640s under the Spaniards, the Swiss engineer Isaac von Treybach significantly reworked the defences. The Bock

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