Brüggen Castle

Brüggen Castle, locally known as Burg Brüggen, lies in the town with the same name, northwest of the city of Mönchengladbach in the North Rhine-Westphalia region in Germany.

Brüggen Castle was first mentioned in 1289 as a property of the Counts of Kessel. In 1306 the castle went to the Counts of Jülich through heritage. In 1350 they strengthened the castle and made it a so-called Landesburg. It was built as a rectangular fortress with 4 corner towers.

In 1473 troops of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy took and plundered Brüggen Castle. In 1474 the castle was plundered again, this time by troops of the Duchy of Guelders. Hereafter the badly damaged castle was repaired and pledged to the Counts of Moers. The Dukes of Jülich regained ownership of the castle in 1494.

Between 1561 and 1577 the castle was enlarged and adapted to modern warfare of the time. During the 17th century the town and castle suffered from attacks of Croatian soldiers during the Thirty Years' War and from an attack by Branderburger troops in 1651.

In 1758, during the Seven Years' War, the town and castle were taken by the Duke of Braunschweig. In 1770 part of the earthworks around the castle were removed. In 1794 the region was occupied by the French and in 1801 Brüggen Castle was sold by the French authorities to a Johann Ludwig Dortans.

In 1815 the castle was sold at an auction to Johann Heinrich Printzen. And in 1934 his heirs sell it to the Stroetges family who are still owners of the castle. Although in 1974 they rented the castle out to the local authorities and it now houses a museum and the local tourist office.

At present the castle can be visited as a visitor to the museum. A rather nice castle.

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