Lauersfort Castle

The earliest known owners of the estate were the Lords of Friemersheim, who received Lauersfort as a fief from Werden Abbey. The castle's name is derived from this family's heraldic animal, a red lion. In 1344, Sweder von Vrimmersheim is mentioned for the first time as a feudal tenant. Later, in 1399, the estate passed to Bernt von Sleswig, after the Lords of Friemersheim had pledged the property to the Counts of Moers. At the beginning of the 15th century, the estate was divided. One part, including the knight's seat, remained with the von Eyll family until the end of the 16th century, starting with Sibert von Eyll. After the death of the last feudal tenant from this family, Reinhard von Eyll in 1576, the Pelden family, known as Cloudt, took over the estate in 1590. Jost Winrich II. von Pelden married Katharina von Eyll and was appointed bailiff in 1600.