Frens Castle

As early as 1263, the "Castrum Vrenze" was mentioned as the ancestral seat of the Frens family. At the beginning of the 14th century, the castle passed into the possession of the Counts of Virneburg. Ruprecht von Virneburg sold the property in 1347 to Rutger von Raitz, whose family subsequently bore the name Raitz von Frentz. For almost 400 years, the castle remained in the possession of this family. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the main castle was probably a two-winged complex with a courtyard enclosed by defensive walls. After the marriage of Henrica von Willich to Adolf Raitz von Frentz in 1560, he expanded the castle into a rectangular complex around an inner courtyard and added a Renaissance gable. His heirs continued the renovations and added further ornamental gables, giving the castle its appearance in the Dutch Renaissance style. To symmetrically structure the main facade, a wider facade was placed in front of the narrower south wing.