Friedestrom Castle

The origins of the complex date back to the 12th century, when a manorial court of the Cologne Archdiocese existed on this site. In the 13th century, this court was expanded into a castrum, which was, however, destroyed in 1288 by Cologne citizens after the Battle of Worringen. Archbishop Friedrich III von Saarwerden began constructing a new castle on the same site starting in 1373. This was intended to secure the Rhine customs, which had recently been moved to Zons, and to represent Electoral Cologne interests in the Lower Rhine region as a regional castle. The castle was completed in 1377 and integrated into the Zons city fortifications, which were built concurrently, in 1388.