Kommern Castle

Kommern Castle is a hilltop castle at 263 m above sea level in the Kommern district of the city of Mechernich in the Euskirchen district in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Until 1794, the castle was the seat of the Arenbergian bailiff of the Imperial Lordship of Kommern. The Arenbergian nobles had their ancestral seat in Aremberg and were members of the high nobility and burgraves of Cologne in the 12th and 13th centuries. In the 17th century, the Arenbergs rose to dukes. Their possessions included the towns of Roggendorf, Gehn, Strempt, Katzvey, and Weingarten. The Arenbergs owed their wealth to mining in the region.

Kommern Castle was built around 1350. The residential tower probably dates from this period. The castle was never used as a noble residence, but was merely an administrative building. The complex, nested building complex is hidden behind an elaborate, symmetrically running courtyard facade. This includes a magnificent landscape park with rare trees.

In the 18th century, with the invasion of the French, the castle fell into their possession. Initially, the castle was leased to the Abels family, who then became owners of the castle in 1807. In 1927, the castle again changed hands into private ownership.