Runkel

My father bought the painting in the early 1930s. As a child, I was fascinated by the pair of riders in front of a dark castle.

After my parents' deaths, I inherited the painting. The problem was its size; when we moved to our present apartment in 2008, we did not find a room with a sufficiently large wall to hang it.

©Stadt Wesel

Here, my investigation started. Walter Heimig was a painter of the Düsseldorfer Schule. Wikipedia knows: He earned a reputation as a painter of elegant park and ballroom scenes, which he executed figuratively and with bold color accents. These paintings are often characterized by women wearing long, sweeping skirts.

Heimig painted my two riders on the right bank of the River Lahn, with the old stone bridge and Runkel Castle in the background. Yes, the lady wears a long, sweeping shirt. But why horses and why Runkel?

Apparently, Heimig loved to paint horses, too.

Horse riding in the summer forest

Here is an elegant (?) forest scene with two riders in the background approaching.

 

More horse riding

Don't we recognize the couple? The lady changed the color of her horse but not her lover.

The gift agreement in January 2009 (Click images to enlarge).

Finally, my wife and I decided to donate the painting to the town of Runkel, with the proviso that Heimig's work would be hung in the town hall. We always wanted to verify the hanging, but Elisabeth died before we could do the inspection.

Oscar Achenbach's self-portrait with green vest (©Ostsee Zeitung)

When I spoke to a friend about Heimig in spring, she said, "Runkel, that rings a bell." My late husband's grandfather, Oscar Achenbach, ran a painting school there. I'd like to visit the place. So, we visited the town on the Lahn River on May 26 /27.

In the afternoon of the first day, we met a local expert at the north bank of the Lahn river near the old stone bridge. We enjoyed the classic view of the castle, the bridge, and the houses of Runkel on the other side. The Lahn flowed peacefully through lush green meadows.

Looking down the bridge on the site where Heimig's horse riders passed.
Not the old lock on the left. The meadow with the flag pole is Runkel's river bath.

It looked all so clean, but our guide, a hunter and fisherman, warned us, "The Lahn is a dead river."

The classic water treatment process, with three stages of purification, is insufficient to remove micro-pollutants such as human pharmaceutical residues and agricultural pesticides. These toxins enter the river through wastewater and harm aquatic organisms, even at low concentrations.

According to the EU Water Framework Directive, fish stocks in the Lahn are "unsatisfactory." This is the second-worst category in the EU's rating system.

Fish species such as eels, pikes, and graylings have declined sharply and, in some cases, have disappeared locally. Roach and bleak are present as young fish, but larger specimens are absent.

The low water flow in the Lahn, resulting from low rainfall, leads to increased concentrations of pollutants. The observed rise in water temperature further deteriorates the fish habitat.

The measures taken so far to improve water quality are not sufficient. A sustainable increase in fish stocks in the Lahn requires further efforts in the areas of water protection, reducing pollutant inputs, and adapting to climate change.

We crossed the Lahn River on the one-way stone bridge, crammed with cars waiting for a railroad crossing to open. The Limburg-Gießen railway opened in 1865. At that time, the line was militarily important.

A picturesque corner in Runkel

Our guide continued on the history of Runkel. The name was first mentioned in documents in 1159 in connection with Siegfried von Runkel, who, as "guarantor and witness," may have been the imperial administrator responsible for the construction of Runkel Castle.

Burg Schadeck opposite Runkel

Around 1250, family disputes began, during which Siegfried expelled (his brother?) Heinrich. In defiance, Heinrich built Schadeck Castle on the opposite side of Runkel, which was first mentioned in 1288. In the same year, the Runkel family split. One part took its name from Westerburg Castle in the Palatinate. It was the beginning of a long-standing dispute.

In 1440, the lords of Runkel began construction of the Lahn Bridge, which was not completed until 1448 due to disputes with Count Reinhard of Westerburg (sic!).

It is noted that in 1543, Luther's comrade-in-arms Melanchthon stayed at Runkel Castle, but the Reformation reached Runkel only in 1568. 

Runkel's darkest day was October 15, 1634. The Croats of Count Isolani scaled the walls and set fire to the town.

Johann Ludwig Hektor von Isolani

This caught my attention and reminded me of the beginning of Schiller's drama Die Piccolomini. In the play, Count Isolani is greeted by Christian von Ilow in the Gothic town hall of Pilsen:

You are late – but you have come!

The long journey, Count Isolan, excuses your delay.

To which Isolani replies:

We do not come empty-handed!

We were informed at Donauwörth

That a Swedish transport was on its way

With provisions, some six hundred wagons.

My Croats intercepted it;

We'll bring it.

It is historically accurate that Isolanis' Croatian light cavalry rode from Thuringia across the Rhön Mountains to the Rhine in the fall of 1634. The soldiers destroyed everything in their path. In ransacking Runkel, the Croats severely damaged the Lahn Bridge and parts of the castle, too.

During these years, Matthäus Merian produced his famous Topographia Germaniae, featuring numerous town views. For many places that had suffered in the war, he depicted the silhouette of towns before their destruction with the suffix "in flore."

©Wikipedia

Presenting Runkel, however, Merian exaggerated greatly. The bridge suddenly has at least seven arches instead of four, and a mighty, magnificent castle rises proudly above the town. It is said that his second wife originated from Runkel, and he wanted to impress her with a greatly embellished view of her hometown.

Then our guide invited us into his home, where he had some of Oskar Achenbach's paintings on display, which he had borrowed especially to show us. 

Castle and bridge. What else?

Little Gambrinus in the night hours.

The bridge and the castle in the winter

Schadeck and Runkel.
It looks like the Lahn River passes the town on the left.

Wikipedia knows: Oskar Achenbach initially served on the Eastern Front during the First World War, was transferred to Limburg an der Lahn in 1917, and, due to his knowledge of French, was assigned to the letter control office of the officer prisoner-of-war camp. From December 1917 until shortly before his death, he lived in Runkel. Here, he ran a publishing house and the Runkel School of Nature Painting.

The next morning, a four-person delegation welcomed us at the council chamber of the town hall. My gaze immediately fell on the Heimig painting.

There were the riders in all their splendor. The picture frame, which had suffered during the many moves, had been lovingly restored.

  

And there was another Achenbach in the council chamber. A drone view of the venerable bridge.

      

Runkel's official photo (©Town of Runkel)

We then heard about the town of Runkel with its nine districts. It has just under 10,000 inhabitants and a municipal council of 31 seats. I compared this with the city council in Freiburg, which has 48 seats for a population of 230,000.

Until May 1248, Freiburg had only 24 noble councilmen for about 8,000 inhabitants.

In accordance with ancient custom, the entire citizenry gathered in the square in front of the cathedral in May 1248 and presented their demands (for participation) to the mayor and city council. It was decided by general agreement that the older twenty-four councilmen should be joined by an equal number of younger men, especially in important matters and administrative affairs.

The "holy" number of 4 times 12 has remained unchanged to this day.

Fritz Hegenbarth 1979: Runkel Castle and Schadeck in the 16th century.
Reconstruction based on historical documents.

On our way out, we discovered an architect's view of Runkel in flore. Note the customs house on the bridge.

During the subsequent tour of Runkel, there were many charming details to discover.

A barber's sign. Note: In the past, barbers performed cupping.

An entrance with a Greek inscription (Click to enlarge)

The entrance to the castle. Behind the bulwark is the moat.

Today, a bridge spans the moat.

The church in the shadow of the mighty castle
©Evangelische Gemeinde Runkel

We entered the church that was destroyed in the inferno of 1634. It was rebuilt in 1640.

     

The organ facade dates back to the Renaissance.

Runkel's oldest coat of arms hangs in the church.

From the church square, a last look at Schadeck Castle and
a section of Runkel's town wall.

We had lunch with Runkel's delegation and had questions. In Runkel, Achenbach taught his students painting. But how did Heimig end up here?

The Düsseldorf school organized summer camps in Runkel during the semester breaks, which is probably how the Wesel painter came to be here, where the castle casts its shadow on most of the paintings. In those times, was picturesque Runkel a Hessian Worpswede?

 
During the meal, memories came back. From April 1, 2011, to May 8, 2011, an exhibition entitled "Oskar Achenbach (1868-1935) - Painting and Graphic Art" was held at the Palace of the Pomeranian Dukes in Szczecin, organized by Achenbach's grandson, Prof. Hans Achenbach.

    

Around 2010: Professor Hans Achenbach on a visit to Runkel

On display were watercolors, oil paintings, drawings, prints, and photographs from numerous private collections in Germany and Switzerland.

Another exhibition of Oskar Achenbach's works entitled "Between North Cape and Capri" took place in Barth from August 23, 2018, to September 18, 2020.

Runkel was one of those special visits. A town delegation received us as special visitors. We were overwhelmed by their hospitality. Thank you.

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