Saarwellingen Castle

The first mention of Saarwellingen is found in a document dated between 931 and 956, with the settlement of the place dating back to Celtic and Roman times. An initial fortification, the “Veste Wellingen,” was mentioned in 1376. During the Thirty Years' War, the castle was plundered multiple times and subsequently fell into disrepair. From 1659, the lordship of Saarwellingen belonged to the Counts of Kriechingen, which passed to the County of East Frisia in 1681 through inheritance. To consolidate their authority, the East Frisian lords had a small castle built on the former castle grounds in 1715, completed in 1719. This castle burned down in 1766. The subsequent lords, the Counts of Wied-Runkel, immediately began rebuilding a larger castle, which was also intended to serve as a residence. Expropriated during the French Revolution, the building was auctioned in 1804 and changed hands several times before being acquired by the municipality in 1818 and used as a schoolhouse. An extension in 1879 created the left half of the current town hall. Severely damaged in World War II in 1944/45, reconstruction took place until 1948. In 1976/77, the former schoolhouse was converted into the current town hall. A historic archway from 1766, destroyed in the war, was reconstructed in 2003 through donations.

Saarwellingen Castle today serves as the town hall of the municipality. It is a rebuilt and extended building, restored after war damage, and features a historic archway from 1766, which was reconstructed in 2003.