Montclair Castle

Montclair Castle ("Munzlar") (Latin: mons clarus = bright mountain) is a medieval castle ruin near Mettlach, a municipality in the district of Merzig-Wadern (Saarland).

The ruin of the hilltop castle is located about 290 meters above sea level on the high ridge, known as Burgberg, which is encircled by the Saarschleife (Saar Loop).

Towards the end of the 12th century (probably after 1177), Archbishop Arnold I of Valancourt of Trier granted the property as a fief to Arnulf of Walecourt (Arnolphe de Walecourt), Vogt of Merzig, who had built the first "Munkler" - Montclair - castle (today referred to as Alt-Montclair) near the ruins of the old Frankish hilltop castle Skiva Castle (= rock, destroyed by Archbishop Poppo of Babenberg in 1016 during the Moselle Feud). Nothing is known about the background and the specific circumstances of the disputes settled thereby between the Diocese of Trier and Arnulf, who called himself "Arnold de Monclir" at least since 1195 and was probably married to a countess from the powerful House of Sponheim (possibly a sister of Count Heinrich of Sponheim). The undated document that settles the conflict only testifies that Arnulf had built a castle there, which the Bishop of Trier now transferred to him as a fief. It can be concluded from this that Arnulf was defeated by the bishop in a previous dispute and now had to "submit" to him. When the inheritance became vacant with the death of Irmgard of Montclair in 1218, the fief reverted to the Archbishop of Trier. Archbishop Theoderich of Wied gave it in the same year to the Lords of Joinville, as Irmgard was married in her second marriage to Simon, Lord of Joinville and Vaucouleurs, Lord of Montclair since 1218, also named Seneschal of Champagne in 1224. Through inheritance, the fief passed to Guy of Clermont and his descendants, who now consistently called themselves "Lords of Montclair," like their ancestor Simon of Joinville since 1218. The legal relations concerning the castle, the associated fiefs, revenues, and other rights remained disputed. In addition to the Diocese of Trier, the Duke of Lorraine in particular raised claims, so that, for example, in 1344 Jakob of Montclair had to agree to a division of the rooms in the castle between him and Lorraine. In 1351, after a renewed feud with Kurtrier, the castle was captured and razed by Archbishop Balduin of Luxembourg. This ended the not inconsiderable influence of the Montclair family and their successors, who had been able to maintain a quite respectable position of power for centuries in the area of tension between Kurtrier, Luxembourg, and Lorraine, which certainly also contributed to the formation of the condominium of Merzig-Saargau between Kurtrier and Lorraine. After Johann of Montclair, knight, Luxembourgian burgrave of Freudenburg, who died before 1428, the Lords of Sierck-les-Bains followed as feudal lords (Arnold of Sierck was a grandson of Jakob the Younger of Montclair from the marriage of his daughter Else with Jakob of Sierck), who had a new castle built on the site between 1434 and 1439 (today called Neu-Montclair). In 1442, the Lords of Sierck were elevated to the Imperial Count status by the Emperor, but the nominal elevation of the Lordship of Montclair to a county remained as unsuccessful as all efforts in past centuries to establish an independent territorial rule here between the territories of the too powerful neighbors. The castle has since been administered by Malbrouck Castle. Through Elisabeth of Sierck, Montclair fell to the Counts of Sayn in 1492. When this comital family also died out in the male line in 1606 with Heinrich IV, who had Montclair renewed and expanded once more, Kurtrier confiscated the fief. In the following period, the castle fell into disrepair. In 1992/93, Neu-Montclair Castle was restored and partially rebuilt.