Ranzow Castle

Ranzow Castle is the center of Materborn, a district of Kleve on the Lower Rhine in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The lowland castle was first mentioned in 1663. The inscription on the coat of arms on the baroque tower above the portal points to its builder, Georg Friedrich Ludwig von Nassau-Siegen, a brother of the famous Kleve governor Johann Moritz von Nassau-Siegen.

In the 18th century, East Holstein members of this family acquired the estate with its properties as a manor house. The name "Ranzow" also dates from this period.

In the 19th century and until the beginning of the 20th century, the house served, among other things, as a residence and steam mill, and later also as a home for at-risk youth.

In 1913, the religious community of the Cellitinnen zur Hl. Maria in Cologne became the owner. The castle served as a kindergarten, household and handicraft school. In 1920, a sanatorium began operation.

During the Second World War, the house served as a military hospital and was dissolved in 1944 after significant damage. After reconstruction with many structural changes and extensions in recent decades, the castle has served as a modern retirement home since 2002.