Manderscheid - Castles

The small river Lieser, that runs between the two ruined castles, once was the border between the principalities of Trier and Luxembourg. The Oberburg ("Upper Castle") and the small town of Manderscheid belonged to the Electorate Trier, the larger Niederburg ("Lower Castle") and the strong fortified valley settlement Niedermanderscheid to Luxembourg. The guards on the opposite towers watched each other very distrustfully for centuries.

The Upper Castle, already mentioned in 973 as a donation to the archbishop of Trier. It got destroyed by French troops in 1673. The Lower Castle was built in the second half of the 12th century was the ancestral seat of the Manderscheid Counts, a powerful aristrocratic family in the Eifel. The Lower Castle got destroyed by French troops as well. They did the job in 1794, after the French Revolution.