Gladbach Castle

Gladbach Castle is located in Gladbach, a district of the municipality of Vettweiß in the Düren district, North Rhine-Westphalia, directly on the Neffelbach stream.

The Gladbach family is already mentioned in 1102. This family was related to the Counts of Jülich and held the castle and lordship as a fief from them. Through various inheritances, it came to Maria von Kronenburg in 1373. After further changes of ownership, the moated castle and lordship came to the von Palant family. The lineage died out in Gladbach in the male line in 1725. Franz Kaspar von Hillesheim became the successor.

In 1688, a major fire occurred at the castle. In 1715, the reconstruction of the main castle on the medieval foundations began. The Baroque new building was a four-winged complex enclosing an elongated courtyard. Franz Kaspar von Hillesheim began the reconstruction of the outer bailey in 1741. The outer bailey is four-winged with a gatehouse on the south side.

The lordship was confiscated after the death of the von Hillesheim family in 1786. In 1806, the castle was sold again. The families von Coudenhove and Heider were successive owners. Francois de Larchet de Chamont, the then French city commander of Jülich, became lord of the castle around 1813. In 1823, he converted the main castle into a three-winged complex and added semicircular ends to the side wings. After his death, his daughter inherited the property. She sold it to Joseph Rey. Thereafter, Heinrich Bollig, Karl Bessenich, and in 1930 Karl Sieger became owners. Ludwig Sieger died here in November 1952. The current owner is Friedrich Victor Rolff, who was formerly the owner of lignite mines and a briquette factory near Zülpich.

Joseph Rey had the courtyard of honor built over in 1860. In the mid-1970s, the complex was completely renovated. It is still inhabited by the owner today.