Runkel Family and Castle
My family name, Runkel, is a common name in Germany. The name Runkel is first found in the year 1159, as a Siegfried von Runkel is given permission to build a Runkel Castle on the banks of the Lahn River.
In 1250 the family arguments began (so soon?). A Heinrich von Runkel was driven out of the village of Runkel and proceeded to build the castle Schadeck on the opposite side of the river.
In 1315 the first Dietrich von Runkel appears. He must have disappeared soon thereafter as nothing else is known of him. In 1376, the third Dietrich von Runkel expands his fiefdom, and expands the castle. In 1440, building commences on the Lahn Bridge, a beautiful medieval bridge which still stands (see picture on home page). The bridge was finished only in 1448, partly because of disagreements with Duke Reinhard von Westerburg, a close neighbor. In 1543 Martin Luther's friend and helper Philip Melanchthon was the guest of Duke Johann IV of Wied in Runkel Castle, and a few years later the Reformation of the church came to Runkel and dramatically changed the beliefs of Christians in the village.
The darkest day in the history of the village was October 15, 1634 during the Thirty Years War. The Croatian soldiers of Duke Isolanie climbed the walls of the village, and laid both the city and its 500 year old castle to ashes. It was this war which was so instrumental in destroying the birth and death records which may have been kept in the many hamlets of central Europe.
In 1796 troops from nearby Darmstadt, in a nighttime raid, expelled occupying French troops out of the city. But in 1806, the French under Napoleon Bonaparte would reclaim the city once again. In 1824, the last of the noble Runkels dies, and the castle falls into the hands of the Wied family, who still lay claim to it today.
Our earliest Runkels are three could be brothers, who lived in the village of Rengsdorf, up in the hills about 11 km east of the Rhine River near Koblenz and not really near the castle at all. They are Johann, Jost and Werner Runkel. All three appear in my ancestry. Johann was born in 1642 and married Agnes Heyll. We have no record of Jost's birth, but do know he married a Margaretha . We estimate Werner's birth to be somewhere near 1650 with subsequent marriage to Magdalena in the mid 1670's. This couple sired four children before Werner's death in 1698 and it is through Werner that the name Runkel has traveled down to my father and to me.
My little friend is Ritter Runkel, or Knight Runkel, a cartoon character here in Germany.
I have a few added pictures of the castle. For a virtual tour of Runkel Castle follow this link to Scott Runkel's site.
If you have an interest in our genealogy, don't hesitate to e-mail me, or have a look at our ancestry in Cousin Michael's Gedcom File.
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