Gymnich Castle

The origins of the castle date back to 1354, when Heinrich I von Gymnich built a first castle and handed it over to the Archbishop of Cologne as an open house. After being damaged by attacks, this castle was demolished in 1399 by order of Archbishop Friedrich von Saarwerden, with Heinrich II pledging not to build a new fortification on that site. A successor building was then erected at a different location east of the first complex. In 1419, Johann von Gymnich was enfeoffed with the new house. The castle remained in family possession until the extinction of the Gymnich line in 1824 and was then gifted to Max Felix Reichsgraf Wolff Metternich. Later, Vilma Reichsgräfin Wolff Metternich inherited it, bringing it into the de Maistre line through marriage. After the death of her childless son Rudolf Vicomte de Maistre, the castle passed to Jörg Freiherr von Holzschuher. The castle was burned down in the Hessian War in 1642. The west wing was rebuilt in Baroque style between 1655 and 1659, and the north wing was added in 1722.