Genovevaburg Castle

The first documented mention of Genovevaburg dates back to 1281, although construction is believed to have begun as early as 1280 under the Trier Elector Heinrich II von Finstingen. It served to secure Trier's interests against Electoral Cologne. After about 400 years of undisturbed existence, the castle was burned down by French troops in 1689 during the War of the Palatine Succession. However, Elector Johann Hugo von Orsbeck commissioned its reconstruction and expansion in 1690, during which Gothic elements gave way to Baroque ones.