Haus Heyden Castle

Haus Heyden Castle lies east of the village of Horbach, northwest of the city of Aachen in the North Rhine-Westphalia region in Germany.

I don't know when exactly Haus Heyden Castle was first built, but in the 14th century it was already existing and property of the Von Bongart family. The castle lay in the area controlled by the Counts of Julich, who had decreed that it stood to their disposal as a flight site during times of war.

The Lords of Heyden were powerful and combative landowners. Haus Heyden Castle was the center of the Lands of Heyden, through which flowed the Amstel river.

Around 1500, when the fief became hereditary, the castle belonged to a nun; Anna von Schoenrade. She transferred the entire possession to one of her relatives; again someone of the Von Bongart family.

In the 17th century, during the 30-Years War, the castle was damaged for the first time. Several decades later it was almost totally destroyed by the troops of the French Sun King.

The present castle consists of the ruin of the main castle and two, sequential, baileys. In earlier days the castle was surrounded by a moat of which nowadays only two ponds remain.

The baileys date back to the 17th and 18th century. The most striking element of these baileys is the, 3 floors high, round tower at the southwest corner. It still contains some loop-holes.

The ruin of the main castle consists of an, originally 4 floors high, keep. Access existed only on the first floor. It was surrounded by a rectangular curtain wall with round corner towers.

The castle is private property. There are several apartments in the baileys and the entire castle is surrounded by a large garden. So it can not be visited.

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