Bergerhausen Castle

Bergerhausen Castle is a castle complex in Bergerhausen, which belongs to Blatzheim, a district of Kerpen in the Rhein-Erft-Kreis.

It is one of three former castles in Bergerhausen that are still preserved today. The moated castle was built in the 13th century and was the ancestral seat of the Knights of Bergerhausen. Around 1320, the Brothers of Bergerhausen sold part of the property to the Mariengraden Abbey in Cologne. The Archbishops of Cologne acquired the lordship to defend their territory. In 1334, Archbishop Walram gave Bergerhausen Castle to the knight Hans-Ulrich Bergerhausen for services rendered. Around 1430, the descendants fortified the castle with strong defensive structures. The expansion to the current castle took place in the 16th century.

In 1830, the property came into the possession of Clemens August Waldbott von Bassenheim-Bornheim through marriage. At the end of the 19th century, the family moved to Hungary, so in 1894 a relative of the owner, Clemens Freiherr von Loë-Longenburg, acquired the property by purchase and bequeathed it to his nephew Walter Freiherr von Loë. Since then, the castle has been owned by his family. In 1976, the son Clemens Freiherr von Loë leased the complex to the Psychotherapeutic Institute Bergerhausen under the direction of Hans-Werner Gessmann. The institute developed it into a therapeutic center until 1989. After the sudden death of Walter Freiherr von Loë and his son Clemens, the community of heirs sold the castle complex to Josef and Willy Stollenwerk, the former tenants of the castle farm's lands. They renovated the buildings in 1984.

On the last weekend before Christmas, Bergerhausen Castle provided a stylish setting for the two-day Kerpen Christmas Market from 2002 to 2006. Since 2007, however, the city of Kerpen has held the Christmas Market at Loersfeld Castle.