Lede Castle

The earliest written mentions of Lede Castle date back to the 14th century. In 1360, Knight Johann Schillinck expanded the Romanesque residential tower into a Gothic castle complex. During the Truchsessian War in 1583, the castle suffered damage. In 1761, the Vilich Abbey acquired the ruin along with its associated estate. After the secularization of the abbey in 1804, the castle changed hands several times: it first went to the Principality of Nassau-Usingen, then in 1806 to the Grand Duchy of Berg, and finally in 1815 to the Prussian state. The latter sold it in 1820 to the Cologne banker Herstatt. At the beginning of the 20th century, in 1904, the industrialist Otto Weinlig transformed the castle into a country estate with an English-style park and a smaller garden parterre. In 1910, he added a coachman's house and gatehouse to the complex.