Hachen Castle (Ruin)

Hachen Castle is the ruin of a hilltop castle on a mountain height above Hachen, a district of Sundern in the Hochsauerlandkreis.

Hachen Castle was built around 1000. It was first owned by Count Ezzo. In 1060, Otto von Northeim received the castle from his wife Countess Richenza, from the Ezzonen family. Twenty years later, in 1080, Otto's son Count Kuno von Beichlingen gifted the complex to the Archbishop of Cologne. He then granted the castle as a fief to the Counts of Dassel. In 1232, the Counts of Dassel sold the castle to the Counts of Arnsberg. Through the sale of the county in 1368, the property again fell to the Electorate of Cologne.

Around 1371, Hachen Castle was the dower house of the last Arnsberg Countess Anna. However, she later preferred Wildshausen Castle near Arnsberg. From the 15th century onwards, the importance of the castle declined. The castle came into the possession of the Lords of Wrede, Ketteler, von Thülen, von Ledebur and von Fürstenberg. It was not until 1839 that the castle came into the possession of the municipality of Hachen. On August 3, 1924, the war memorial was inaugurated next to the castle ruin.

The building history of the castle has not yet been sufficiently researched. Some drawings from the 18th and 19th centuries still show it as a towering ruin. Only a few documents about structural measures from the 15th century have been preserved. To research the building history, an investigation by the Westphalian Office for Monument Preservation took place for the first time in 1923 and then from 1978-1980. A main castle area of 40x60m was uncovered. Below the main castle, there was an outer bailey on a plateau. The endangered north side was protected by a 2 m thick shield wall. Behind it rose a round tower (possibly the keep) with a diameter of 8 m. A trapezoidal building with strong walls later replaced the tower. In addition, there are several other buildings.