Wildenburg Castle

The origins of the Wildenburg date back to the early 13th century, when the Lords of Aremberg built the castle. From 1239 onwards, they named themselves "Lords of Wildenburg" after their new ancestral seat. With the death of the last Lord of Wildenburg, Hermann, in 1418, the property passed to his nephews, the sons of his sister Jutta and Johann von Hatzfeldt. Since then, the castle has been owned by the Hatzfeldt family. In 1806, the Wildenburger Land fell to the Grand Duchy of Berg, in 1815 to Prussia, and in 1946 to Rhineland-Palatinate. Between 1808 and 1815, the Wildenburg served as the seat of a canton administration in the Département Sieg, before it was abandoned in the mid-19th century and began to fall into disrepair. The complex, which was still inhabited around 1830, was later used as a quarry in the 19th century, which shaped its current ruined character.