Untermaubach Castle

Count Adalbert von Nörvenich, who lived in the mid-12th century and called himself Count von Molbach from 1153, is considered the probable founder of the castle. After his death in 1177, the property passed to his son-in-law, Count Wilhelm II von Jülich. However, the castle quickly lost its importance when Wilhelm moved the comital residence there in 1191 after building Nideggen Castle. Around 1350, Edmund von Engelsdorf, a vassal of the Jülich counts, was the owner. The Gothic residential tower, whose walls now form the western part of the manor house, dates from this period. After Edmund's death in 1399, his daughter Alveradis, married to Werner von Palant, inherited the castle. In the 15th century, under Edmund von Palant, the complex was further expanded, as evidenced by the gate tower, the curtain wall, and the round prison tower. After Edmund's childless death, the property passed to the families von der Leyen, von Heiden, and von Nesselrode. In 1617, Baron Wilhelm von Efferen acquired the castle, which was in poor condition, and rebuilt it, extending the residential tower into a manor house.