Bjelaj castle, locally known as Stari Grad Bjelaj (Bjelaj old town), is a medieval town-fortress complex near the village of Bjelaj, Bosanski Petrovac.
Located on the edge of the Petrovac plain (or part thereof Bjelajsko fields), on the northern slope of the Osječenica mountain. The area around the city is uninhabited and lean. The whole complex is situated on a plateau about 850 metres long.
On the south end of the northern half, there is a great fort, a prehistoric site from the Bronze and Iron Age. On the north end, there is a small fort. The fort itself has two parts: a medieval southern and northern Ottoman part. The medieval town has a ground plan of an irregular rectangle over 40 meters long and a width of about 35 meters. From the tower on the west side is the beginning of the remains of a large pen that was added along with the medieval city in the Ottoman period.
First mentioned in written sources in 1495 and named after the whiteness (or tint) by which it stood out above Bjelajsko field. Between 1530 and 1537, Bjelaj came under Ottoman rule.
Bjelaj has two parts: the southern medieval and northern Ottoman part. The medieval city has a layout of irregular rectangles over 40 m long (north-south) and about 35 m wide (east-west). The entrance to the city is in the northward.
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Kakesbeck is one of the largest medieval fortifications in Münsterland and the oldest castle in Lüdinghausen. The imposingly grown complex originated in 1120 as a motte, a small hilltop tower castle. After numerous changes of ownership, the castle was extended onto two islands, but it was not until the 14th century that it underwent significant alterations and extensions under the von Oer family. The estate experienced its heyday in the middle of the 18th century, when it covered an area of almost one square kilometre and consisted of five further outer castles in addition to the core castle, which were secured by ramparts and moats.
The well-maintained condition of the castle today is thanks to the late Wilfried Grewing, the former lord of the castle. The foundation named after him has been particularly committed to preserving the property since 2020.