Carstanjen Castle

The origins of the estate date back to the Middle Ages, when it was known as the “Auerhof,” a manorial farm of Heisterbach Abbey. The core of the current building was constructed in the 18th century. Following secularization, the estate became state property and was acquired by banker Abraham Schaaffhausen in 1807. After his death, the property passed to his daughter Sibylle and her husband Joseph Ludwig Mertens. In 1847, ownership changed to the Solf family, before the Cologne banker Wilhelm Adolf von Carstanjen purchased the estate in 1881, making it his summer residence. Under the Carstanjen family, the building underwent renovations and extensions, including neo-Gothic elements, transforming it into the castle-like structure seen today.