Wachendorf Castle

Wachendorf Palace is one of the few aristocratic country seats which deserves its title of palace. Today it lies at an easy distance from the village of the same name, on the fringe of a large park, reaching out through an impressive avenue into the countryside. The remains of the moat and the cannon bastion are evidence of an unsettled and uncomfortable past. Wachendorf Castle was also first used as a knight's castle.

It was first mentioned in records in 1190 as country seat of the aristocrat Vogt, when the property was church-owned. During the early 16th century ownership was transferred by marriage to Johann von Palandt, who was one of the most important of the Jülich knights. In 1628 Marsilius III von Palandt held the infamous witch trials here, although he was not authorized to do so. None the less, 16 people lost their lives as a result.

In 1780 it was acquired by Bavarian Major-General Adolph, Baron von Ritz, who had the gothic castle demolished, to be replaced by a small baroque palace. In 1877 through the Landrat of Euskirchen it passed into the hands of Baron Solemacher-Antweiler, who converted the small property into the present large pala. In 1896 his son sold it to Dr. Paul von Mallinckrodt.

References:

• Kreis Euskirchen

Address

Schloß Wachendorf 1A, Mechernich, Germany

Details

Founded: 1780
Category: Castles and fortifications in Germany
Historical period: Emerging States (Germany)