Metternich Castle

The first documented mention of the castle, then referred to as “castle called Beilstein,” occurred in 1268, when it was owned by Johann von Braunshorn, a feudal lord of the Archbishopric of Cologne. Recent research suggests that the castle's construction took place only in the mid-13th century. After the Braunshorn family died out in 1361, the complex passed to the grandsons Kuno and Gerlach von Winneburg in 1363. The castle largely survived the turmoil of the Thirty Years' War unscathed. In 1637, it came into the possession of the Lords of Metternich, who gave it its current name. During the War of the Palatine Succession in 1689, the castle was destroyed by French troops and was never rebuilt.