Reifferscheid Castle

Reifferscheid Castle, locally known as Burg Reifferscheid, lies in the village of the same name, in the North Rhine-Westphalia region in Germany.

When Reifferscheid Castle was first built is unknown. It was first mentioned in 1106, when it was destroyed by its owner; Henry I, Duke of Lower Lorraine and Count of Limburg, to prevent it from falling into the hands of his enemy. Shortly after that it was rebuilt and an outer bailey, containing a small village and a church, was added in 1130.

The Lords of Reifferscheid were first mentioned in 1195. In the early 13th century the brothers Gerhard and Philipp von Reifferscheid divided up their territory between each other and a new family branch was born; the Lords of Wildenburg.

In the next centuries Reifferscheid Castle was strengthened and made into an impregnable fortress. So much so, that in 1385 a siege by the unified armies of Cologne, Aachen, Lüttich, Jülich and Brabant was unsuccessful.

A fire caused a lot of damage to the castle in 1509. In 1669 a fire hit again, this time destroying the village and the castle completely. A new Baroque style castle was built on its foundations. This castle didn't survive long, for in 1689, during the Nine Years' War, it was torn down by the troops of Louis XIV of France.

Again the castle was quickly rebuilt. Only to be destroyed again in 1794 by French revolutionary troops invading the region. The castle was confiscated and auctioned off for demolition. The next decades the castle served as a quarry for building materials. In 1889 the Reifferscheid family regained ownership of their ruined family seat.

At present the Reifferscheid Castle is owned by the municipality and freely accessible. A nice ruin.

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