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

Dyck Castle

Schloss Dyck is a moated castle in the Rhineland region of Germany. The history of the castle began in 1094 when the knight Hermannus de Disco was mentioned in a record of the Archbishop of Cologne as the lord of a simple fortification. Over time the site was converted into a fortified moated castle. In 1383 the castle was besieged by the cities of Aachen and Cologne, as well as by the archbishop Friedrich III ...
Founded: 11th century | Location: Jüchen, 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

Hülshoff Castle

Hülshoff Castle near Havixbeck is one of the most popular destinations in Münsterland. The first documented mention of the castle dates back to 1349. It developed from the former upper court, to which a manor house was added by the then owners, the Lords of Schonebeck. In 1417 the ancestors of the poet acquired the knight"s seat. The manor house, which was built as a closed Renaissance complex in the years 1540-15 ...
Founded: 14th century | Location: Havixbeck, 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

Münstereifel Castle

Münstereifel Castle was built in the 13th century and first documented in 1317. Knight Gottfried of Jülich, whose table tomb is in the collegiate church, lived in Bad Münstereifel castle, and later the Duke of Jülich’s bailiffs and administrators. The castle was set on fire by retreating French troops in 1689. Since 1984 the castle has been in private ownership and includes a restaurant. The Inge Baecker gallery, w ...
Founded: 13th century | Location: Bad Münstereifel, Germany

Tecklenburg Castle

Tecklenburg is a ruined castle and venue for the Tecklenburg Open-Air Theatre in the eponymous town of Tecklenburg, Germany. It was once the seat of the rulers of the County of Tecklenburg. The castle was probably built around 1100 by the Dutch Count of Zutphen to protect the important trade route from Lübeck via Bremen and Münster to Cologne. The castle is first mentioned in an 1184 document. At that time, the Teckle ...
Founded: c. 1100 | Location: Tecklenburg, 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

Schwanenburg Castle

The Schwanenburg Castle, in North Rhine-Westphalia, where the Dukes of Cleves resided, was founded on a steep hill. It was first mentioned in 1020 in the monastery annals. The massive 55m high tower, the Schwanenturm (Swan tower), is associated in legend with the Knight of the Swan, immortalized in Richard Wagner"s Lohengrin. The knight"s hall, built around 1170, stood where today the car park surrounded by li ...
Founded: 11th century | Location: Kleve, 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

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Monte d'Accoddi

Monte d"Accoddi is a Neolithic archaeological site in northern Sardinia, located in the territory of Sassari. The site consists of a massive raised stone platform thought to have been an altar. It was constructed by the Ozieri culture or earlier, with the oldest parts dated to around 4,000–3,650 BC.

The site was discovered in 1954 in a field owned by the Segni family. No chambers or entrances to the mound have been found, leading to the presumption it was an altar, a temple or a step pyramid. It may have also served an observational function, as its square plan is coordinated with the cardinal points of the compass.

The initial Ozieri structure was abandoned or destroyed around 3000 BC, with traces of fire found in the archeological evidence. Around 2800 BC the remains of the original structure were completely covered with a layered mixture of earth and stone, and large blocks of limestone were then applied to establish a second platform, truncated by a step pyramid (36 m × 29 m, about 10 m in height), accessible by means of a second ramp, 42 m long, built over the older one. This second temple resembles contemporary Mesopotamian ziggurats, and is attributed to the Abealzu-Filigosa culture.

Archeological excavations from the chalcolithic Abealzu-Filigosa layers indicate the Monte d"Accoddi was used for animal sacrifice, with the remains of sheep, cattle, and swine recovered in near equal proportions. It is among the earliest known sacrificial sites in Western Europe.

The site appears to have been abandoned again around 1800 BC, at the onset of the Nuragic age.

The monument was partially reconstructed during the 1980s. It is open to the public and accessible by the old route of SS131 highway, near the hamlet of Ottava. It is 14,9 km from Sassari and 45 km from Alghero. There is no public transportation to the site. The opening times vary throughout the year.