geschichte.pfad
Historischer Wanderweg Sand
von Manfred Dasbach und Udo Harler
Kapitel 16
Haus Lerbach
Seiten 44 - 50
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"geschichte.pfad Historischer Wanderweg Sand"
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 16: Lerbach ManorAlready in 1826 the old knight’s castle that had been repeatedly rebuilt was a damp, cold and musty place. The heroic priest J.P. Ommerborn who in that year took up his ecclesiastical post refused to move into the decrepit Wiedenhof which had been the home of all his predecessors from about 1350. But the moated castle that he rented instead was also damp and not very comfortable. |
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It is not certain when the knight’s manor Lerbach and a first moated castle (which can’t have been very big) were erected. It is probable that The Knight of Lerbach was one of the followers of the Duke of Berg and that he belonged to the courtiers of Bensberg Castle. A wooded area at the edge the surrounding hills was given to him as a fief for his services. In a document that dates from 1259 a certain Knight Embrico von Leirbeg is referred to.
If in the name “Leirbeg” the ‘i’ serves to lengthen the ‘e’ that precedes it and if you pronounce the final ‘g’ like the German ‘ch’ the place name may have been spoken like ‘Leerbech’. It is not quite clear what the meaning of ‘Ler’ was. There are two possibilities. It may have been derived from “leie” meaning slate as well as from the original name for the hills of the county of Berg which was ‘Lyrwald’ referring to its state as a virgin forest. In consequence “Lerbach” might either mean a mountain brook or a rivulet running through the “Lyrwald” = virgin forest.
It is known that the owners who followed Embrico von Leirbeg were Gerhard and Maria von Oeßbrugge named in 1384. In the 15th and 16th centuries the knighted families von Forstbach and von Hachenberg were the new residents. In 1657 the knight’s castle that had been converted into a small Renaissance residence became the property of the von Leers family whose name has nothing to do with the name of the castle they inhabited.
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In 1686 Philipp von Leers had the Rochus Chapel built. The fourth generation of the family was no longer able to keep the castle for financial reasons, leading to a repeated change of ownership. In the 19th century there the following owners: Eduard Knobel: from 1834 until 1850. He was an Englishman who had come to Germany because of the prospering ore-mines in the so called coalfield area of Bensberg. He had the manor rebuilt in the classical style.
General Leopold von Niesewand: from 1850 till 1865. Duke Levin Wolff-Metternich from 1865 till 1893 who was also the chairman of the Parish Council of Sand. It is from him in 1893 that Richard and Anna Zanders purchased the manor. They faced the same problems that priest Ommerborn had had 70 years earlier: they didn't succeed in drying out the building surrounded by the moat. Mr. Zanders was the owner of a big paper-mill and member of the town council; Anna was the daughter and the heiress of Werner von Siemens, the famous inventor and industrialist.
Therefore they disposed of the necessary financial means and were able to engage the well-known Munich architect Gabriel von Seidl to build a new stately mansion upside Lerbach farmyard, a little higher up the slope. The old walls were torn down without further ado.
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Only the big decorative fireplace and the floor with its white and black tiles were put to use in the new home.
Seidl’s youngest collaborator Ludwig Bopp (1869 – 1930) became the site manager. Later he became the private architect of the Zanders family. Among other projects he designed and constructed the town hall and – again for the Zanders – the forest colony at Gronau. It is there that he had the dwelling house of the Unterlerbach estate relocated in order to give way to the new Lerbach Manor. During the construction phase of the colony it served as office as well as dwelling place.
In 1906 Richard Zanders who was only 46 years old had a fatal accident. Anna, however, lived in the stately building for more than 30 years surrounded by her staff and guests. The people of Bergisch Gladbach lovingly call her “et Liebecher Annche” After her death in 1939 her nephew Hermann von Siemens who lived in Berlin inherited Lerbach Manor.
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Once again Lerbach Manor experienced changing times:
During World War II it was used as a soldiers quarter,
after that it was used for a short time as an old people’s home;
then it served as an paediatric institute.
In 1949 the manor was confiscated by Belgian troops who used it as a recreation home for officers.
In 1955 it was transformed into a hotel that offered Kneipp cure activities.
It wasn’t until 1961 that it was let out for lease on a longer basis: the Gustav-Stresemann-Institute used it as “Lerbach Manor for European PR and educational work”. In 1986 the sons of Hermann von Siemens (Wendelin and Ruprecht) inherited the estate. When in 1987 the Gustav-Stresemann-Institute terminated the leasing contract both the Siemens heirs as well as the city council of Bergisch Gladbach asked themselves how to make the most effective use of Lerbach Manor.
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The estate and the park were put on the list of monuments. In order to have more time to mull over the best possibilities the manor was rented out for a limited period of time: 36 sequels of “Forestry Inspector Buchholz” were shot in and around Lerbach Manor. Meanwhile the inhabitants were shaken by a rumour that the manor might be made into a casino.
After 1990 the manor was converted into “Schlosshotel Lerbach” with a three star luxury restaurant attached to it. The opening took place in 1992. The manor is surrounded by a carefully laid out and well maintained Nature Park. It takes its inspiration from English landscaping and boasts quite a number of exotic groves and bushes that are well worth taking note of. On the other side of the road the park extends into the extensive woodlands of Lerbach forest.
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