Kyllburg Castle

Kyllburg is the remains of a castle on the Kyllberg in the town of Kyllburg in the Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm in Rhineland-Palatinate.

From 1239, Kyllburg was built by the Trier Archbishop Theoderich of Trier to protect the Trier Archdiocese against the dynasts of Malberg and was incorporated into the town's fortifications a little later.

To cover the costs of this castle construction, Archbishop Theoderich sold the fiefs in Roßporten, which had reverted to him due to the death of Agnes of Malberg, to St. Thomas Abbey for 200 pounds with the consent of his Trier Cathedral Chapter.

Theoderich's successor, Arnold II (1242–1259), surrounded the castle and the adjacent houses with a strong wall in 1256. On August 16, 1256, he concluded a contract with Abbot Jofrid of Prüm regarding their mutual fortification constructions.

The square, over 23-meter-high, five-story keep, dating from the founding period, now with a viewing platform, on the south side is completely preserved. The palas, leaning against the eastern section of the curtain wall, was rebuilt at the end of the 16th century, and the outbuildings on the northern edge of the courtyard were rebuilt in 1764. Around 1840, the former stables between the keep and the street were converted into a schoolhouse, and in 1911, the palas was demolished for a larger new school building. The dilapidated 18th-century outbuildings were demolished without replacement after the Second World War. The castle is also said to have housed the torture chamber of the Kyllburg High Court, located under the schoolhouse. It certainly played a role in the witch trials of the late Middle Ages and served the inquisitor and the wrath of the people.

Today, the castle complex is privately owned.