Saffenburg Castle

The origins of Saffenburg date back to the 11th century, when it was built by Count Adolf of Nörvenich and Adalbert of Saffenburg. A first documentary mention dates to 1074, when Adalbert of Saffenburg appears as a witness in a document by Archbishop Anno II. After Adalbert's death in 1110, his son Adolf I of Saffenberg took over the castle. Through his marriage to Margarete of Schwarzenburg, he acquired the title of count and was appointed hereditary Vogt of the Cologne church around 1147, with Saffenburg subsequently being held as a Cologne fief. With the death of Adolf's son Hermann II in 1172, the direct line of the Saffenburg family died out. Through marriage, the castle passed to the Counts of Sayn in 1173, whose lineage also died out in 1246. Subsequently, Saffenburg passed to the Counts of Sponheim in 1247 and later to Diedrich VII of Cleve. Ownership changed hands several times, including to the Counts of Virneburg and the Counts of Manderscheid-Schleiden.