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Founded: 12th centuryCategory: Palaces, manors and town halls in Germany
Historical period: Hohenstaufen Dynasty (Germany)
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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 1180, made by the Cologne Archbishop Philip I when he mentioned revenues that were to be collected from the then castle owner, the Lord of Rheydt, in his correspondence. The first Lord of the castle mentioned by name is William of Heppendorf.
Otto von Bylandt had the existing exterior facade created by Maximilian Pasqualini (1534–1572), son of the Italian architect Alessandro Pasqualini. Pasqualini renovated in the style of his father, adding casemates and bastionsand creating a moat around the palace. Pasqualini also considerably renovated the interior by adding fireplaces, statues and various paintings. Most of Pasqualini's work remains in a very good condition.
Throughout the 19th century the palace changed hands many times, however the owners were unable to maintain the palace due to the upkeep costs. Gradually the palace fell into disrepair. The palace was purchased by the town of Rheydt from the last private owner in 1917. Since then the palace has undergone some restoration (1988–1993) and vast parts of Schloss Rheydt have been converted into museum areas and reopened.
References:The city walls of Avila were built in the 11th century to protect the citizens from the Moors. They have been well maintained throughout the centuries and are now a major tourist attraction as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visitors can walk around about half of the length of the walls.
The layout of the city is an even quadrilateral with a perimeter of 2,516 m. Its walls, which consist in part of stones already used in earlier constructions, have an average thickness of 3 m. Access to the city is afforded by nine gates of different periods; twin 20 m high towers, linked by a semi-circular arch, flank the oldest ones, Puerta de San Vicente and Puerta del Alcázar.