Freudenkoppe Castle

The first documented mention of Freudenkoppe dates back to 1337. Just three years later, in 1340, the complex was completed under John of Luxembourg, then King of Bohemia, as castrum Froudenkube. Its strategic importance lay in securing the northeastern border of the County of Luxembourg, to which Neroth belonged at that time. After the death of John I the Blind, his son and successor, Charles I of Luxembourg (later Emperor Charles IV), transferred the fortress in 1346 to the Elector and Archbishop of Trier, Baldwin of Luxembourg. He used it as a base during the siege of Daun Castle in 1353. After 1440, the castellan Philipp von Sierck, brother of Knight Arnold von Sierck, had the castle house built.