Gimborn Castle (German: Schloss Gimborn) is a former moated castle situated in a remote valley of the upper Leppe in the municipality of Marienheide in the Oberbergischer Kreis of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Gimborn Castle is a castle in the Gimborn district of the municipality of Marienheide in Oberbergischer Kreis in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Districts neighbouring on Gimborn are Boinghausen in the north, Jedinghausen in the east, Erlinghagen in the south, and Unterlichtinghagen in the west.

This former water castle lies in the upper Leppe valley. It was pledged in 1273 from the county of Berg to the county of Mark, and became the Residenz in the county of Gimborn Neustadt of the House of Schwarzenberg in 1631. Since 1874 the castle has belonged to the Barons von Fürstenberg zu Gimborn.

Since 1969 the Castle has served as a conference site and meeting place for the International Police Association. Once a year, the Castle opens its gates to the Schützenfest of the Gimborn Saint Sebastianus Schützenverein.



Gimborn Castle

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Ehreshoven Castle (German: Schloss Ehreshoven) is a moated castle in Engelskirchen, Oberbergischer Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near the village of Ehreshoven, about 32 kilometres (20 mi) by road east of Cologne. Several kilometres to the northwest is Georghausen Castle.

The castle was originally owned by Siegburg Abbey, which had been founded in 1164 by Archbishop Anno of Cologne. Ehreshoven was first mentioned in 1355 when it existed as a house or small castle. In 1396 it was given to the family of the count of Nesselrode and stayed in their possession until 1920.

Under Wilhelm of Nesselrode, the house was essentially remodelled and the medieval chapel built into the structure in 1595. At the end of the 17th century, Philipp Wilhelm Christoph von Nesselrode and his wife built a new house integrating just the chapel and the northern part of the original castle. The three-winged manor house and the big four-winged front house were built at this time. In the early 18th century, a French garden was installed in the north of the castle which is mainly intact today.

The last owner was Marie Countess of Nesselrode who died unmarried in 1920 and bequeathed the whole estate to the Rheinische Ritterschaft. In 1924, they transformed it into a charitable foundation for Cannonesses. Only parts of the original medieval buildings remain at the rear of the castle of today. The chapel is part of the original buildings incorporated into the present manor house. In 1990, the whole manor house was renovated from the outside and the original building was repainted in a light yellow colour.

In the TV series Verbotene Liebe, the castle was the residence of the fictional Count Johannes von Lahnstein, one of the richest men in Germany.

Ehreshoven Castle

Hückeswagen Castle is the castle of the town of Hückeswagen in the Oberbergische Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

It is first recorded in the year 1189. Today (2005) it accommodates municipal offices and a museum of local history.

The castle Hückeswagen (castrum Hukingiswage) was mentioned for the first time in 1189, the counts by Hückeswagen, however, already in 1138. In 1260 the county Hückeswagen was disposed to the counts Berg, and the Hückeswagener counts moved to Moravia. In the future the castle of the countess Margarete von Hochstaden served as a widow's seat. To constant Verpfändungen of Hückeswagen during the following centuries the name changed in 1397 into castle. During the following centuries the castle was mostly in a bad state, until it reached in 1884 at first partially in the possession of the town. Later the city administration and the home museum were accommodated there. Only in 2005 parts of the city administration were evacuated in the civil centre built in the former central station area on the Etapler place.

One of the most striking components of the arrangement is the donjon which is also called "scoundrel's tower". He was probably established in the first third of the 13th century. The oldest view of the castle of Erich Philipp Ploennies at the beginning of the 18th century shows the tower with 23 metres substantially higher than today. The reduction on two floors occurred at rebuilding and protection work at the beginning of the 19th century.

The castle square is fastened and by vehicles over Marktstrasse which leads immediately by the historical Old Town to reach. A historical well which was redeveloped in 2007 extensively stands on the place enclosed with a wall. Also sidewalks start to the castle: once from Bahnhofstrasse by the so-called Schlosshagen (tree growth with sidewalks) or alternatively over the precipitous street "castle mountain" which branches off from Islandstrasse. The rose garden borders on the castle square oppositely. Striking building there is a historical pavilion. Directly beside the castle stands the Paulus church Hückeswagen. The Steengaden, a rest of the former connection arrangement, is below the castle in Islandstrasse.

Hückeswagen Castle

Homburg Castle is an old hill castle in Nümbrecht, Oberbergischer Kreis in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The Homburg is first mentioned in records of 1276. Gottfried I of Sayn from the House of Sponheim (1247-1283/84) transferred his castrum Homburg to the German King Rudolf of Habsburg, in order to place it under his protection. He received the castle back as an inheritance. The castle was the residence of the Counts of Homburg, an imperial fiefdom (Reichsherrschaft).

From 1635 Count Ernst von Sayn-Wittgenstein altered the castle to its present-day appearance. One hundred years later the line of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg took over its management; the structure then fell into disrepair. Not until 1904 was its decline halted and, in 1926, a museum, founded by Hermann Conrad, took over the premises. Today it is the Museum of Oberbergisches Kreis.

In 1999 during an excavation, a stone keep of about 12.5 metres diameter was uncovered. Experts estimate that it dates to the 11th century. A consequence of this was that the history of the castle had to be reassessed to that time.

At the beginning of 2005 the district council decided to upgrade the castle. Their plans included inter alia the expansion of the 'Red House' (Rotes Haus) and the construction of a central cash desk and toilet area. The old orangery was to be torn down and replaced by a new two-storey administration and exhibition building.

In the immediate vicinity are a sawmill and mill with a bakery. In addition, in the former farmhouse building, the 'Red House', the castle's tithe barn, is the headquarters of the Oberberg Biological Station, whose main fields of work are the scientific and practical support of the Oberberg nature reserves and various landscape conservation projects.

The nature trail was established in 2004. This is a circular walk that was the initiative of the Oberberg Biological Station and German Forest Conservation Society (Schutzgemeinschaft Deutscher Wald).

The footpath and nature trail starts at the castle and runs through Homburg Bröl and Huppichteroth, past the historic Holstein Mill and the Dicke Steine back to Homburg Castle. Nine information stations have been set up along the route which describe the natural environment around Homburg Castle and the Bröl meadow to walkers.

The stations are:

Forests around Homburg Castle (Wälder um Schloss Homburg). Here the visitor can learn about the individual types of trees species using viewing boxes.
The Oak (Die Eiche). Here the life of an oak is explained with the help of annular rings, and the height of an oak can be measured.
Cultural Landscape (Kulturlandschaft). The diverse cultural landscape is explored together with the individual habitats using a telescope.
Village Life (Lebensraum Dorf). This explains how man and nature live side-by-side. Several bird calls may be heard here.
Hedge (Hecke). The planting of hedges as well as the life in the hedge is explained using diagrams and a picture board.
Tree-Top Platform (Baumkronen-Plattform). A platform built in the tree tops offers an unusual perspective with information boards that describe life in this part of the wood.
Bröl Meadow (Brölaue). Here the water level and the animal life in the Bröl stream is demonstrated using viewing screens and a rotating wheel.
Dicke Steine. The origin of this natural monument is clearly explained.
Woodpecker Wood (Spechtwald). At this station there is a view of a spotted woodpecker nest.
The Homburg Castle nature trail is about 2.8 km long and the walk generally takes 1.5 to 2 hours.

Homburg Castle

Burg Castle (German: Schloss Burg), located in Burg an der Wupper (Solingen), is the largest reconstructed castle in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and a popular tourist attraction. Its early history is closely connected to the rise of the Duchy of Berg.

In the beginning of the 12th century (after 1133), Count Adolf III of Berg built Schloss Burg on a mountain overlooking the river Wupper. The old castle of the counts, Castle Berge in Odenthal near Altenberg, was abandoned. The original name of the new castle was Castle Neuenberge (Newmountain), or in Latin, novus mons, novum castrum, or novi montis castrum. Not until the 15th century, after significant reconstruction as a hunting castle, did it receive its current name reflecting its palatial extension.

His great-grandson, Count Adolf VI of Berg took part in the Fifth Crusade and died during the siege of Damietta in Egypt in 1218. Since the late count had not any male descendants his younger brother, archbishop Engelbert I of Cologne, took over the reign of the county needing two feuds to win the inheritance dispute with Duke Waleran III of Limburg. As count Engelbert II of Berg he built the palas of Burg castle 1218-1225. Engelbert was a very powerful man, not only archbishop and count, but also advisor and chief administrator to the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, and guardian and tutor of the later king Henry (VII) of Germany. But he also made enemies and on November 7, 1225 he was murdered by his nephew Friedrich von Isenberg.

The War of succession for the Duchy of Limburg influenced the history of the castle. Count Adolf VIII of Berg participated successfully in the decisive battle of Worringen on 5 June 1288. After the battle, the opposing archbishop of Cologne, Siegfried II of Westerburg, was kept prisoner in the castle. Adolf VIII now was able to proceed to elevate his town, Düsseldorf, to a city and was able to control traffic on the Rhine river. In the 13th and 14th century Schloss Burg remained the main residence of the counts of Berg. Five years after King Wenzel elevated Count William to the position of a duke in 1380, Düsseldorf became the capital of the Duchy of Berg. Schloss Burg continued to serve as a hunting castle and was used for ceremonial events, hence it became a "Schloss" (representative castle). Thus in 1496, Maria of Jülich-Berg was engaged as a child to John of Cleves-Mark (later John III, Duke of Cleves). Their wedding took place 14 years later at Burg and led to the unification of the duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg. The second daughter of this couple was Anne of Cleves, briefly married with Henry VIII of England.

In 1632 Swedish soldiers laid siege to the castle. After the Thirty years war, in 1648, Imperial troops destroyed the fortifications of the castle including the keep, walls, and gates. In 1700, the main building was partially reconstructed and subsequently used for administrative purposes. 1849, the castle was sold to be scrapped, decayed, and became a ruin.

The architect Gerhard August Fischer from Barmen proposed in 1882 the reconstruction and submitted drawings and plans based on old documents, primarily using the castle’s appearance in the 16th century. Since 1890 the castle reconstruction committee led the restoration of the castle during the next 24 years. Painters from the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf participated. With the erection of the Battery Tower in 1914 the work seemed completed.

On the night of November 26, 1920 a large fire destroyed much of the castle. Subsequently visitors had to pay entry fees and the money was used to restore and rebuild the castle again. Reconstruction lasted from 1922 to 1925. In 1929 the Engelbert monument by the sculptor Paul Wynand was dedicated to honor the builder and archbishop.

Today’s appearance does not exactly match the condition documented by Erich Philipp Ploennies at about 1715. The reconstructed castle of today is a major public attraction. It also contains the Museum of the Bergische Land. The castle church is popular for weddings. The castle also is home to the Memorial for Deportation and the Memorial of the German Eastern Provinces with church bells from Königsberg and Breslau. In addition, commercial shops for souvenirs are located on the grounds.

The surroundings offer hiking trails to the forests and to Unterburg, that is where the village is located, at the foot of the mountain. There you can buy the Burger Brezel, a local pretzel specialty; the pretzel bakers even have a monument. A chairlift (Seilbahn) connects Unterburg and the castle.

Burg used to be an independent township until it became part of Solingen in 1975.

Linguistically, "Schloss Burg" would be translated as "palace castle" - a tautology, yet in German "Schloss" refers to a representative building and "Burg" to a fortification - an oxymoron.