Marl, Germany

Archeologists consider the hillfort as an outstanding historical monument which is worth of protection.

The hillfort was used by the rural population as a protective barrier until the Late Middle Ages.

Assured written regional facts about the Early Middle Ages in the 9th and 10th century were however not documented till the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.

Marl was first documented in 890 in the urbarium of the benedictine abbey of Werden, which was founded in 799 during the Saxon wars. There is written, that a Dagubraht donated his possession and revenues to the abbey for his salvation.

The name of Marl derives from the medieval place name "meronhlare".

Linguists interpreted this name as "marshy range" or "range at a pond". The name changed over the centuries from "Marlar", "Maerl" to "Marler" and finally Marl

In the urbarium are furthermore found the names of nearby settlements which later became part of the town. They were called "Threviri (Drewer)", "Vrilinctorpe(Frentrop) und "Haranni (Hamm). In addition to the Werden Abbey there were other great land owners as the Cologne and Xanten chapter, the Essen abbey and some nobles.

This scattered property caused massive feuds and fighting in the Middle Ages.

In the urban district of "Alt-Marl" (Old Marl) stands St George's Church, which in the 11th century belonged to the local Count Balderich of the Lower Rhine. Later he gave the church to Archbishop Heribert of Cologne. A manuscript dating from 1160 states that Archbishop Heribert donated the church to Deutz Abbey. In the 13th century it became a parish church, the appointment of its first priest being recorded in 1228. From 1419 the church was under the patronage of the local noble family of Loe. This lasted until 1830, when the patronage devolved to Baron Twickel of Lüttinghoff. Between 1856 and 1859 the church was completely restored, to plans drawn up by Emil von Manger, a builder employed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Münster. The church's Romanesque foundation walls dating from the 12th century were retained in the restoration.

In the year 1111 the noble family of Loe built a castle with a moat named "Strevelsloe". In 1359 it was renamed to "Haus Loe". In official manuscripts of 1373 it was named as "castrum".

In 1378 the castle was signed over as an "Offenhaus" by the owner Wessel van Loe to the Archbishop of Cologne, Frederick III. of Saarwerden. "Offenhaus" means, that in the case of war, the owner can use the castle as a stronghold.

The family had very many properties in the region, several farms and mills, like the "Loemill", the "Sickingmill" and the Wermeling manor at the Lippe river.

Although the Loe-family had no male successor, the name lived on as in 1585 the daughter of Wolter van Loe married her cousin Baron Dietrich of Dorneburg-Loe from Eickel.

From 1705 to 1832 the castle and all properties were passed over to the noble Family of Wiedenbrück. They sold it to the baron of Twickel, who sold it on his part to Theodor Waldhausen from Essen. 30 years later it was sold to the Duke of Arenberg, who demolished the castle.

Today on the former site of the castle there is a grammar school and several sports grounds.

The noble Loe-family is borne in remembrance through several names like "Loe Street", "Grammar school at the Loefield" or "Loemill-Airport".

Throughout the Middle Ages Marl was involved in several wars.

Between 1243 and 1384 there were many military operations between the Archbishop of Cologne and the Count of Mark among other things about the possession of the neighbor town of Recklinghausen.

1388 and 1389 Marl was involved in the "Great Dortmund feud" and in the fratricidal war between Adolf IV. of Kleve-Mark and Gerhard of the Mark from Hamm.

From 1442 to 1449 Marl suffered from the Soest feud in which the town of Soest defended her freedom against the Archbishop of Cologne.

At the end of the 16th century Marl had 800 inhabitants. Most of them lived in the farming community of Drewer.

In the "War of the Jülich-Cleves succession", the farming communities around Marl were plundered by the Dutch and Spanish troops who joined the war.

Directly following this war, the Thirty Years' War began, where the plunderings continued.

After the war, there was peace for many centuries. During the French campaign of Charles, Prince of Soubise, in the Seven Years' War in 1758 the plundering of Marl started again. After the French troops, the Prussians came but without improvement for the situation of the inhabitants.