Upper Castle Kuchenheim

The first mentions of the castle as “castrum Cugenheim” date back to 1259. Archaeological findings suggest that a motte, a wooden tower-mound castle surrounded by a moat, existed at the same location as early as the 11th or 12th century. The later castle, built from quarry stones, held strategic importance due to its border location near the Duchy of Jülich. Originally, the complex, typical of many Rhenish water castles, consisted of two parts separated by a moat. During excavations in 2004, sections of walls were uncovered, identifying the tower as part of a stone manor house. A moat, approximately nine meters wide and up to 2.40 meters deep, which also served as a “dump,” yielded numerous finds such as pottery shards, animal bones, and bronze parts. A stone bridge led over the moat to the manor house; its pillars are based on oak timbers from an earlier bridge dating to 1442, with repairs around 1470.