Blessem Castle

The first documented mention of Blessem Castle dates back to 1363, when Elector Adolf von der Mark enfeoffed Ludwig von Blessem with the estate, then referred to as Hof zu Blessem. Through inheritance, the estate came into the possession of the Scheiffart von Merode family in 1434, who held it for many generations. After several sales, Adam von Hambroich and Catharina Spieß von Büllesheim acquired the castle in 1611. Despite their efforts, the estate was not recognized as a tax-exempt knight's seat. In 1696, Katharina von Meinerzhagen and her husband Franz von Quentel sold the property to the Dominican monastery “Zum heiligen Kreuz” in Cologne. During the secularization, the Dominican monastery's estate was expropriated in 1802 and sold to Johann Wilhelm Meyer from Cologne in 1808.