The Upper Castle
Founding history
The history of the Upper Castle presumably begins in the first half of the 13th century. In the document from 1224 in which Siegen was mentioned as a city for the first time, there is also a provision regarding the admission of a “citizen or castle man”. It can therefore be assumed that there was a castle in Siegen in 1224. The Upper Castle is actually a hilltop castle. In addition to this topographical classification, research has categorised the medieval foundation complex architecturally as a peripheral house complex and front tower castle.
Bishop’s House and Count’s House
The core building of the castle complex today consists of the so-called stone building or “Bishop’s House” (Bischofshaus) and the so-called half-timbered or “Count’s House” (Grafenhaus) (a new building from the early 18th century). There is a flatter extension to the connection structure between the two parts of the building in the direction of the castle garden, which is presumably the former fortress or castle chapel. The names Bishop’s House and Count’s House are the result of the founding history of the Upper Castle and the city of Siegen. The castle complex, which was presumably founded by Heinrich II of Nassau, was, like the city, owned jointly by the Counts of Nassau and the Archbishops of Cologne until 1421. With the exception of a few years after 1255, however, the Upper Castle only served as a secondary residence until 1607.
Structural remodelling
Since the Middle Ages, both the core buildings and the outer complex have undergone far-reaching structural changes that were due to the functional reutilisation of the entire complex and/or individual parts of the building or adjustments to contemporary requirements. For example, the keep (main tower) of the medieval foundation complex was demolished in 1528/29 due to changes in warfare in the meantime. There are also no more traces of the almost 5.5 metre deep moat that surrounded the core building until 1830. In addition, serious war and fire damage repeatedly led to rebuilding and reconstruction work: At the beginning of the 16th century, the so-called “Gothic Hall” and “Hall of Orange” were built after the fire in the Bishop’s House; the reconstruction of the two upper floors of the Bishop’s House after partial destruction at the end of 1944 was carried out in stages until the 1950s.
Count’s residence in the 17th century
In the early 17th century count Johann VII of Nassau-Siegen made the castle his residence. This new use as a main residence and the denominational division of the House of Nassau-Siegen were accompanied by a considerable expansion of the fortifications and economic facilities as well as the construction of representative buildings such as the outer gate building, the “Great Crab” (“Großer Krebs”) and several batteries (buildings for artillery groups), the Castle garden, the armoury (with temporary “war school”) and the pavilion tower (with Welscher dome). In 1743 the House of Nassau-Siegen ceased to exist and subsequently the Upper Castle became the administrative centre of the House of Nassau-Dietz.
Manifold uses since the early 19th century
The more recent history of the building begins with the Congress of Vienna at which Wilhelm I surrendered the Principality of Siegen to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg; the Principality of Siegen was absorbed into the Prussian province of Westphalia at the District of Siegen. The castle building housed several administrative offices (for example the district administration and land registry office) and the homes of the corresponding officers. In 1888 the city of Siegen bought the Upper Castle which then once again housed other institutions: Among others, with the Anna-Helenen-Foundation, a children’s home moved into the Counts’ House or half-timbered building. The Museum of the Siegerland, which opened in 1905, extended across the entire core building from 1938.
