Ockenfels Castle

The origins of Ockenfels Castle date back to the early 13th century, when it served as the ancestral seat of the Lords zur Leyen and was subject to the Electorate of Cologne. A manor in Oberwillscheid was documented as a fief of the family in 1239. By 1341, the castle was in the possession of Knight Johann von der Leyen. After the male line of the family died out in 1420, ownership passed to Rolman von Dattenberg. Through the marriage of his daughter Anna von Dattenberg to Dittrich von Monreal in 1439, the castle became the property of the Monreal family, who held it until 1623. During the Cologne Diocesan Feud, the castle was destroyed in 1475 by troops of Charles the Bold. In 1609, it was mentioned as a “Starke Veste” (strong fortress) in the possession of Johann Adam von Hoheneck. In 1615, Elector Ferdinand of Cologne enfeoffed Eberhard Heinrich von Hoheneck with the “Monreal’schen Güter”. He sold the castle in 1623 to Georg von Gerolt, a councilor of the Electorate of Cologne. The von Gerolt family owned the castle until their line died out in 1887, after which it passed into the possession of the housing cooperative “Rheinisches Heim”. Following the incorporation of Linzhausen in 1912, the castle became part of the Linz municipal area and six years later became the property of the city.