Binsfeld Castle

Binsfeld Castle is a moated castle near Binsfeld in the district of Düren, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located about four kilometers southeast of Düren.

Binsfeld Castle is built in the Early Renaissance style and, with the loggias in front of the north wall, is one of the most important secular buildings in the Rhineland.

In 1397, the knight Heinrich Mule von Binsfeld surrendered a castle he had built, along with the court, to the Duke of Jülich and received it back from him as a fief.

Werner von Binsfeld rebuilt the manor house of the castle complex in 1533. It was partly built on the foundations of an older castle and is surrounded by a pond. The castle is a rectangular brick building, which was originally, separated from the outer bailey, surrounded by water. On the field side, the castle has three stories, on the courtyard side two stories. A round tower stands on the southeast corner. The octagonal stair tower stands on the northeast corner.

On the courtyard side, loggias with six arcades each are located in front of the manor house on both floors. Around 1960, the loggias were extensively renovated by the State Conservator of the Rhineland.

In the lintel above the entrance door is the marital coat of arms of the builders "Binsfeld-Nesselrode". The band decoration reads Anno 1553.

In past centuries, the manor house was used as a residential building and the farm buildings (outer bailey) were used for agriculture. At the beginning of the Second World War, a significant part of the farm buildings was destroyed in a bombing raid. They were rebuilt in 1941/42. The main building remained largely unscathed. Until 1986, the castle buildings were used for agriculture by the Conzen family.

After a sale in 1990, the castle was completely rebuilt and the manor house was provided with a multi-story modern extension, which has taken much of its historical charm from the entire complex. Since December 1, 1993, Binsfeld Castle has housed a senior citizens' residence, which has grown to about 180 places to date.