Limburg Castle (Ruin) (Börninghausen)

The origins of Limburg Castle date back to the 13th century, when it was likely built by the Bishop of Minden on the border of the dioceses of Minden and Osnabrück. It is presumed that a defensive structure existed on this site even earlier. Around 1300, the castle passed as a fief to the Counts of Ravensberg, who further expanded it. The first documented mention dates to 1319. After the death of the last Ravensberg Count Bernhard in 1346, Limburg fell to the Duke of Jülich and Berg. A fire in 1554 damaged the complex, but it was restored. In the course of the Jülich-Cleves War of Succession, the castle was assigned to Brandenburg in 1614. During the Thirty Years' War, it was conquered in 1623 by the Count Palatine of Neuburg, after the troops originally intended for defense had been withdrawn. Brandenburg reoccupied the castle in 1647. Its military use ended in 1662 when the garrison was moved to Sparrenburg Castle.