Vilzelt Castle

Vilzelt Castle, also known as Vilszelt, Filzelt, Velshelt or Valshelle, is a small former moated castle in the Heister district of the city of Unkel in the Neuwied district in Rhineland-Palatinate.

The castle is located at an altitude of approximately 55 m above sea level. Its name probably derives from Felshalde (rocky slope), referring to the Heisterer Ley behind the castle.

It can be reached from the center of Heister via a bridge that crosses an old Rhine arm, dry since the 6th century, and the railway line on the right bank of the Rhine.

The hiking trails U 21, U22, U20 and E 4 and E18 and the Rheinsteig lead directly past the castle.

The castle complex is an unadorned house with its slate-covered hip roof made of natural Unkel quarry stone.

The exact date of origin of Vilszelt Castle is unclear. The first documented mention of the complex dates back to 1290, when Vilzelt was transferred by an Arnold von Unkel to the Teutonic Order.

Apparently, Vilzelt later belonged to the Archdiocese of Cologne, as the Cologne Cathedral Chapter established the seat of a Vogt (bailiff) there. Members of the related noble families "von Oetgenbach" (also "von Uetgenbach") and "von dem Werde(r)" initially appeared as Vogts.

On May 20, 1449, Adam von Oetgenbach and his wife Maria sold the castle to Wilhelm von Nesselrode-Ehreshoven, who was subsequently enfeoffed with the castle by Electoral Cologne.

Between 1713 and 1716, the von Nesselrode family had the bridge over the moat renewed by the Dutch master Matys Groenlant and a magnificent portal erected by Werner Riegel.

Until the beginning of the 20th century, the building was owned by the von Nesselrode family, but it was predominantly inhabited by tenants. The sculptor Walter Howard spent his childhood there and planned to set up a private music school in the "rather rough, square block".

In 1953, Countess Marie Luise Agathe, who had married Hesso Prinz zu Leiningen in 1933, sold the property to Markwart Freiherr von Sobeck-Werder. Thus, after almost 455 years, the castle returned to the hands of the family that is documented as one of the first Vogt families of Vilzelt.

Today, Vilzelt Castle is privately used.