Arloff Castle

Arloff Castle is located on the Erft River in the Arloff district of the town of Bad Münstereifel in the Euskirchen district, North Rhine-Westphalia.

The group of buildings of the former moated castle of Arloff, which today appears somewhat inconspicuous on the Erft, belongs to the typologically important castles of the Rhineland. For a functional defensive structure from the early Gothic period is rarely found in such clarity.

Originally, it was surrounded by moats fed by the Erft. In the Middle Ages, its location was of strategic importance, as it lay on the border between the Electorate of Cologne and the County of Jülich.

Arloff Castle was first mentioned in 1278. The castle and associated lands were in the possession of "Gerlach von Dollendorf" in 1278, whose family, the Nobles of Dollendorf, resided at their ancestral seat, Dollendorf-Schlossthal Castle near Blankenheim, from 893 until the mid-15th century. At that time, the Dollendorfs were among the oldest and wealthiest noble houses in the region. Gerlach, who enfeoffed his property in Arloff to the Archbishop Siegfried of Cologne in 1278, had already been forced to do so with the castle and its lands in the neighboring village of "Kirspenich," which were also in the possession of the "Dollendorfs."

The power relations changed ten years later, when the "Jülichers" stood on the side of the victors against "Siegfried" in the Battle of Worringen in 1288. The Count of Jülich, belonging to the victorious party, became the successor as liege lord, but had little interest in the small castle. To avoid further disputes over the castle, its respective owner was summoned to the diets of both principalities. This compromise remained viable for the next 500 years.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, the "Lords of Mirbach" were owners of Arloff Castle, followed by the "von Friemersdorf" in the 17th century. "Werner Dietrich von Friemersdorf," called Pützfeld, sold his allodial knight's seat located in Arloff, along with the mill and other "appurtenances" (accessories, associated estates), to "Philipp Wilhelm von Mockel," mayor of Cologne, in 1685. The latter had an existing dwelling house converted into a tenant's house; he himself owned Arloff Castle until 1712.