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Palace

Schloss Nörvenich

Germany · 14th century

Founded
c. 1400
Heritage status
architectural heritage monument in North Rhine-Westphalia
Location
Nörvenich
Coordinates
50.8084°, 6.6458°
Links
OpenStreetMap · Wikimedia Commons
Open on the map →Wikipedia ↗
Schloss Nörvenich in Germany
Photo: Bodenstein · CC BY-SA 3.0 de · Wikimedia Commons

Description

Schloss Nörvenich is a schloss in Nörvenich, situated between Aachen and Cologne, Germany. In 21st century, Schloss Nörvenich has been hosting weddings and other events.

Origin and early construction phase excavations by the Bonn State Museum in 1982 revealed that a smaller, demolished castle from the mid-14th century once stood at the current site. High medieval Pingsdorf pottery was recovered from a post pit. Two well fillings were excavated in the mansion cellar.

Schloss Nörvenich, formerly known as Gymnicher Burg, is located in Nörvenich, Düren district, North Rhine-Westphalia. It was established in around 1400 by bailiff Wilhelm von Vlatten. The castle was initially built as a two-part Wasserburg with the main structure and outer bailey facing south.

In the 15th century, the property fell through marriage to Konrad Scheiffart von Merode-Bornheim. Wilhelm Scheiffart von Merode and his wife Agnes von Bylandt enlarged the house in the middle of the 16th century to the West Wing. At the end of the 16th century, the castle fell through marriage to Baron Johann Otto von Gymnich, whose family remained in possession of it until the 19th century. It then passed to Count Wolff-Metternich von Gymnich, and became known for a period as Schloss Gymnich.

In the 18th century, it was expanded into a castle, and fortificated with a moat between the main and outer bailey. The outer trench zone, which was filled in 1902, has been dredged again by 1979 and used as a sculpture garden.

Just before the Second World War, the schloss was taken over by non-aristocratic owners, and since that time it has repeatedly changed hands.

By 1967 the castle was being rented by Christoph Vohwinkel, whose fortune came from the coal industry. Vohwinkel planned to renovate the castle and turn its spacious rooms into an art centre. The sculptor Ulrich Rückriem lived and worked here from 1963 to 1971. In early 1968, Can set up their own studio in the castle's upper hallway, which they called The Inner Space. The band recorded several albums, including Monster Movie, Soundtracks, and Tago Mago. They played noisy and chaotic music, which often disturbed other tenants, and by the end of 1971 the band decided to move out. The building now houses the Museum of European Art.

Text adapted from “Schloss Nörvenich” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

In the rankings

Schloss Nörvenich ranks #6,472 of 9,902 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #673 of the 927 mapped in Germany. Founded c. 1400, it is older than 51% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 797 atlas entries founded in the 14th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,196 times in the last 60 days, more than 61% of the atlas. 13 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Cologne, 26 km away. See how Germany compares in the castle statistics.

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