The castle at Bodenheim is the only preserved family seat of the former Brabant landowners of Lommersum, which was still a fiefdom in the late 18th century. On the estate there is clear evidence of the original medieval two-part castle with a moat. The picturesque manor house, with its many corners and angles, stands on an artificial mound and the moat has been dry for decades.
The oldest preserved part is the west wing, with its corner tower and stair-tower in the courtyard. The castle was first mentioned in records in 1194 when the first aristocratic lineage was named. The heirs of this lineage were at first the Brents von Vernich and finally von Tomberg, who also built the largest part of the castle as it is known today. 1625 the estate was transferred by marriage to the family von Hersel, who lived in the castle for almost 200 years. In 1845 Earl Edmund von Hatzfeld-Weisweiler sold the castle to the Duke of Aremberg, who leased it to the Kieselstein family. In 1934 the family acquired the castle and still live in it today.
References:The Gravensteen is a castle in Ghent originating from the Middle Ages. The name means 'castle of the counts' in Dutch. Arnulf I (918–965), Count of Flanders, was the first to fortify this place, building a medieval bastion on this high sand dune, naturally protected by the river Leie and its marshy banks. This bastion consisted of a central wooden building and several surrounding buildings, also in wood.
In the early 11th century, the wooden building was replaced by a stone residence, consisting of three large halls that made up three storeys, connected by a stone stairwell. The monumental stone staircase, the light openings, the fireplaces built into the walls and the latrines were signs of considerable luxury and comfort in those days. There was probably also a tower.