Wildenberg Castle (Brunskappel)

Wildenberg Castle is a castle in Brunskappel in the Hochsauerland district. The noble lords of Grafschaft once resided here as bailiffs of Grafschaft Abbey.

Little is known about its origins. Around 953, a chapel is said to have been built on this site under Brun of Cologne. After the founding of Grafschaft Abbey, the chapel and the manor located there belonged to the abbey. The castle in its current form dates back to 1295. Widukind von Grafschaft is named as the builder of the residential tower. The new construction of the chapel in Romanesque style also falls within his time. After his death, his widow Adelheid von Wildenberg lived there. The complex takes its name from her. A collateral line of the noble lords resided here temporarily. Little is known from the following centuries.

The historian Johann Suibert Seibertz became the owner of the complex in 1817. In 1822, Seibertz had the remains of the old castle tower and castle house demolished. In 1907, the manor house burned down and was replaced by a new building a year later. The Schäfer family owned the property since 1920 and sold it in the 1980s to the Ruhrverband, which intended to dam the Neger river here. These plans have since been abandoned.