Allner Castle

Allner Castle, located in the Allner district of Hennef, lies on the southern slope of the Nutscheid and above the banks of the Sieg river.

In 1420, the moated castle, owned by the nobleman Arnold von Merkelsbach, a vassal of Vilich Abbey and from 1421 bailiff of the Bergisch district of Blankenberg, was first mentioned in a document; in this document, he first used the surname addition "called von Allner".

In 1557, ownership passed through marriage to Wallraff Scheiffart von Merode, known as von Kühlseggen, who also held the bailiff position in Blankenberg. Around 1650, Bertram Scheiffart von Merode enlarged the core building of the knight's seat and began the conversion from a moated castle to a palace. At the end of the 17th century, ownership passed through marriage to the Spies von Büllesheim family. Due to a lost feudal dispute before the Imperial Chamber Court, at the end of the 18th century, the castle, as well as Merten Castle and even Schönstein Castle, finally had to be handed over to Franz Ludwig von Hatzfeldt. He spent several months each year in Allner.

His son-in-law Clemens von Loë succeeded him as owner of the castle complex. The later Prussian Field Marshal Walter von Loë was born at Allner Castle on September 9, 1828. From 1837 to 1848, Maximilian von Loë was district administrator of the Siegburg district and made Allner Castle the seat of the district administration. After his death, the heirs left the castle in 1850, which then stood empty.

In 1870, the Düsseldorf ophthalmologist Albert Mooren bought the castle and had it rebuilt in the Gothic style in 1875 by the Franciscan brother Paschalis. In 1883, it was sold to the industrialist Philipp Heinrich Cockerill, whose daughter moved into the castle with her husband, the writer Count Alfred Adelmann von Adelmannsfelden. Through marriage, the property subsequently came into the possession of the Pagenstecher and Horstmann families. The latter used it as a children's home from 1953 to 1973. After years of vacancy, which was accompanied by devastation and looting of the interior, and further changes of ownership, the castle complex was acquired by Franz Schilke in 1984, and condominiums were built on the extensive grounds (street name: "Im Schlosspark") outside the castle walls as part of a developer model. The privately inhabited Allner Castle itself, located on Schloßstraße, including its castle garden and park, is hidden behind high walls and cannot be visited.

In 2010, as part of Regionale 2010, a footbridge was built to the preserved mill wheel of the castle mill.