Literature & sources
What these pages work from – and where the record contradicts itself
Less has been published on Burg Uda than its age would suggest. There is no comprehensive recent monograph, but there is an excavation report, a local historical account, a database entry and a yearbook. This page collects what we use and sets out how we handle it.
Principal titles
Kurt Schietzel: Burg Uda in Oedt
The excavation report on the archaeological investigations at the castle and the authoritative publication on the finds. ISBN 3792705966. On the author see the page Kurt Schietzel.
Karl-Heinz Brocker: Geschichte des alten Amtes und späteren Gemeinde Oedt
A connected account of local history from the landlordship of Gladbach Abbey into the twentieth century, published by the Heimatverein Oedt e.V. and publicly available. PDF at the Heimatverein Oedt. The basis of the pages Amt Oedt, Dietrich Luf III and Girmes works. In German.
EBIDAT – castle database of the European Castles Institute
A specialist database entry with description of the fabric, dating and dimensions. Entry for Burg Uda in Oedt. The basis of the page Architecture. In German.
Das Üdsche Heimatblättsche
The annual yearbook of the Heimatverein Oedt e.V., in 2026 in its 21st edition, with essays, eyewitness accounts and photographs on local history. For many questions of detail the only source. The volumes are not yet fully accessible to us; statements depending on them are marked as open on these pages.
Wilhelm Janssen: Zur Geschichte der Burg Oedt (1968)
An essay on the castle's history, cited in the specialist literature as a standard reference. Not currently available to us.
How we handle contradictions
The record on Burg Uda is inconsistent at several points. For a building that ended as a quarry in 1757, and whose remains were investigated in several campaigns across decades, that is not surprising. We follow three rules.
First: where sources contradict one another, we give both figures with attribution rather than adopting one in silence. An example is the table of differing dimensions on the page Architecture.
Second: where we cannot document something, we say so. Several pages carry boxes headed „Not yet documented". They are not an oversight but the more honest part of the account.
Third: legends are marked as legends and not mixed with documented history. Where the basis of a legend's transmission is unclear – who recorded it, and when – we note that.
Known open points
• Side length of the main castle: 30 m or 35 m
• Height of the round tower: 21 m or 23 m
• Material of the fireplace jamb: trachyte or tuff
• Sponsorship and duration of the excavation around 1960
• Recorders and age of the transmitted legends
• Building history of the Villa Girmes
• Company data of the Girmes works
Corrections welcome
These pages are a private information project and are not operated by the Heimatverein Oedt e.V. Anyone with sources, building records, photographs or personal recollections, or who spots an error, is expressly invited to get in touch. Every documented correction improves the account.
For questions about local history itself, the Heimatverein Oedt e.V. is the most competent contact.
Sources and status
This overview is being extended. It does not claim bibliographic completeness but names the titles that actually underlie the content of this website.
Last updated: August 2026