Wildenburg Castle

The term 'Wildenburger Land' has been mentioned in local history and heritage books since the beginning of the 15th century. At that time, the owner of this estate was Gerhard von Wildenburg. The property was managed from the Wildenburg Castle.

The Wildenburg is the ancestral seat of the Lords of Wildenburg, who were stewards of the Werdener possessions in the area in the early 13th century as Lords of Aremberg. They built the castle, which they named themselves after in 1239. The last lord of Wildenburg, Hermann von Wildenburg, died in 1418. His nephews, the sons of his sister Jutta, who was married to Johann von Hatzfeldt since 1387, inherited the property of Wildenburg. Since then, the Hatzfeldt family has owned the castle. In 1806, the Wildenburger Land passed to the Grand Duchy of Berg, in 1815 to Prussia, and in 1946 to Rhineland-Palatinate. From 1808 to 1815, Wildenburg served as the seat of a cantonal administration in the Department of Sieg before being abandoned and fell into disrepair in the mid-19th century.

The structure, which was still preserved and inhabited around 1830, was used as a quarry in the later 19th century, which is why it is mostly in ruins today. The hilltop castle is located on a mountain spur that drops steeply on three sides, dominating the Bergische Eisenstraße, formerly known as Hileweg in 1048, which passes by here. The surviving elements include sections of walls, a more than 20-meter-high round bergfried with a Baroque spire and partial roofing, as well as building remnants from the 14th to 18th centuries. There is also a polygonal bastion from the 15th/16th centuries, which was expanded in 1757 and 1932/33.

Only the outer bailey can be visited at any time. The castle are privately owned.

Address

Wildenburg 1A, Friesenhagen, Germany

Details

Founded: 13th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in Germany
Historical period: Hohenstaufen Dynasty (Germany)