Medieval castles in North Rhine-Westphalia
Broich Castle
Broich Castle was originally erected to protect the town of Mülheim from invasion by the the Normans in the late 9th century. It is probably the oldest, still maintained Carolingian fortification in German-speaking Europe. The abandoned castle was rebuilt and expanded by the noblemen of Broich in the end of the 11th century. The castle survived a long and eventful history, including bloody feuds, wars, occupat ...
Founded: 11th century |
Location:
Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany
Burg Castle
Burg Castle (Schloss Burg) is the largest reconstructed castle in North Rhine-Westphalia and a popular tourist attraction. Its early history is closely connected to the rise of the Duchy of Berg. In the beginning of the 12th century (after 1133), Count Adolf III of Berg built Schloss Burg on a mountain overlooking the river Wupper. Not until the 15th century, after significant reconstruction as a hunting castle, did ...
Founded: c. 1133 |
Location:
Burg an der Wupper, Germany
Sparrenberg Castle
The Sparrenburg castle in Bielefeld was erected sometime before 1250 by the counts of Ravensberg. It guarded the Bielefeld Pass over the Teutoburg Forest, as well as acting as the ruling seat of the counts of Ravensberg, and as protection for the city of Bielefeld, probably founded around 1200. Because the construction of a protective castle generally predates the foundation of a town, it is assumed that there was an old ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Bielefeld, Germany
Drachenfels Castle Ruins
The ruined castle Burg Drachenfels, on the summit of the Dhill, was built between 1138 and 1167 by Archbishop Arnold I of Cologne and bears the same name. It was originally intended for the protection of the Cologne region from any assault from the south. Originally it consisted of a bergfried with court, chapel and living quarters for servants. The castle was slighted in 1634, during the Thirty Years' War, b ...
Founded: 1138-1167 |
Location:
Königswinter, Germany
Monschau Castle
Monschau Castle is first recorded in 1217 as castrum in Munjoje by Archbishop Engelbert I of Cologne. It was expanded in the middle of the 14th century into a fortress for the counts of Jülich and equipped with mighty ring walls and wall walks. In 1543 troops of Emperor Charles V besieged the site with heavy guns, captured it and plundered it together with the town of Monschau. In the early 19th century the Fr ...
Founded: c. 1217 |
Location:
Monschau, Germany
Vischering Castle
Vischering Castle is a typical moated castle in the Münster region. It consists of outer defensive courtyard, defensive gateways, moat, drawbridge, main building and chapel. The sandstone walls, the red tile roofs as well as their reflection in the moat provide many harmonious views from the wooded surroundings. Vischering Castle was built by Bischop Gerhard von der Mark. It became the seat of the Vischering Family ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Lüdinghausen, Germany
Linn Castle
The oldest fortress on the Lower Rhine is located in the historic Krefeld suburb of Linn. The former country castle belonging to the Electorate of Cologne has its origins around 1200. It was badly damaged during the Spanish Civil War of 1704. The beautiful water castle is well preserved and includes a bailey, hunting lodge and tithe barn. In the accompanying Landscape Museum it is possible to view excavation finds from t ...
Founded: c. 1200 |
Location:
Krefeld, Germany
Satzvey Castle
Satzvey Castle was built between 1396 and 1406 on an island in the middle of a large pond crossed by the Veybach. At that time a main and a fore-castle were situated on separate islands. Behind the wide expanse of water, today one can see the richly structured manor house, with its tower and the gate-house from the 15th century. The son of Max Felix Reichsgraf Wolff Metternich, who had lived as lord of Satzvey since 1878, ...
Founded: 1396-1406 |
Location:
Mechernich, Germany
Vondern Castle
Vondern castle was founded probably in the 12th or 13th century. The estate appears in documents in 1266, as the home of Gerhard de Vondere. Today Vondern is used for regular concerts, weddings and medieval market in summer.
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Oberhausen, Germany
Altena Castle
Altena Castle was erected by the brothers Adolf and Everhard von Berg around the year 1108 after Henry V granted them land in Sauerland. On Wulfseck Mountain they built their castle, which they named Wulfeshagen, later Altena. This is one of the three legends of the establishment of the county of Altena and the building of the castle. After the acquisition of Mark near the city of Hamm in 1198, the counts of Altena ...
Founded: 1108 |
Location:
Altena, Germany
Schloss Rheydt
Schloss Rheydt is a Renaissance palace in Mönchengladbach. Over the years the building has been the family seat of various noble families, including the Bylandt-Rheydt dynasty that ruled over Rheydt for over 300 years and gave the palace its present look. Originally a castle dating from 1060, the palace has evolved over the years to become the palace it is today. The castle's first documented mention dates to 118 ...
Founded: 12th century |
Location:
Mönchengladbach, Germany
Zülpich Castle
Zülpich Castle origins may be traced to a Roman castrum. The present site was built in the late 14th century as a symbol of sovereignty and outpost of the archbishops of Cologne against the County of Jülich. Razed by French troops at the end of the 17th century, the ruins of the lowland castle ended up in private hands. The Zülpich manufacturing family of Sieger opened a schnaps distillery in the castle unti ...
Founded: 14th century |
Location:
Zülpich, Germany
Herten Castle
The Herten family, vassals of the Werden Abbey, was first documented in 1286. At that time, their residence was probably in the center of today"s city next to St. Antonius church. In the 14th century, the family with 'Ritter' (knight) status built a fortified house on the site of today"s castle. In 1376, this building was mentioned as fief of Werden Abbey. Through marriage, the Herten house fell ...
Founded: 14th century |
Location:
Herten, Germany
Cappenberg Castle
Cappenberg Castle is a former Premonstratensian monastery. The Counts of Cappenberg, who were related to the Salians and the Staufers, were a rich and powerful family. During the Investiture Controversy, when they supported Duke Lothar von Supplinburg against Emperor Heinrich V, Count Gottfried von Cappenberg and his brother Otto von Cappenberg led their armies against Münster in February 1121 under the ...
Founded: 1122 |
Location:
Selm, Germany
Stolberg Castle
The development of Stolberg Castle in its present appearance was essentially proceeded in three phases. In the second half of the 13th century, the original castle (built by the lords of Stalburg in the 12th century) was rebuilt by Wilhelm I of Nesselrode and his son Wilhelm II. After damaged during the Guelders Wars (1502-1543), Hieronymus von Efferen renovated the Stolberg after 1542. A third construction phase wa ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Stolberg (Rheinland), Germany
Moyland Castle
Moyland Castle (Schloss Moyland) is a moated castle in Bedburg-Hau in the district of Kleve, one of the most important neo-Gothic buildings in North Rhine-Westphalia. 1307 is the first time that a fortified farm called Moyland is documented with ditches and ramparts. It was between 1345 and 1355 redesigned by Roland von Hagedorn into a classical gothic castle with a square floor plan. In addition to three round ...
Founded: 1345-1355 |
Location:
Kleve, Germany
Strünkede Castle
The moated Strünkede Castle with thick walls was the seat of the Barons of Strünkede for seven centuries. The castle was built before 1243. In the mid-17th century it was rebuilt in the early Baroque style. First it housed a restaurant, later the police, and a hospital during the war. In 1948 the city bought the castle, restored it and opened a branch of the Emschertal Museum (Emschertalmuseum) in it with an exhibition ...
Founded: before 1243 |
Location:
Herne, Germany
Gemen Castle
The beautiful water castle of Gemen near Borken was founded probably in the 9th or 10th century. The first document dates from 1274. The current appearance is a result of five essential reconstruction phases. Since 1946, the castle has been used as a youth camp under the guidance of the diocese of Münster.
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Borken, Germany
Blankenheim Castle
Blankenheim Castle was built around 1115 by Gerhard I and became the family seat of the House of Blankenheim. The lords of Blankenheim were elevated to the countship in 1380. The site has been remodelled on numerous occasions. In the course of time the medieval defensive site was converted into a Baroque schloss with a Baroque garden and an orangery. Its end came in September 1794, when French troops marched ...
Founded: c. 1115 |
Location:
Blankenheim, Germany
Reifferscheid Castle
The ruins of Reifferscheid Castle stand at a height of 450 metres near the German-Belgian border between the mountains of the Eifel and the Ardennes in the municipality of Hellenthal. All that has survived of the medieval hill castle are the remains of the curtain walls, a gatehouse with two flanking round towers, a gabled entrance and a round, white-plastered bergfried made of rubble stone. Reifferscheid is ...
Founded: 12th century |
Location:
Hellenthal, Germany