Kirspenich Castle

Kirspenich Castle is located in the Kirspenich district of the town of Bad Münstereifel in the Euskirchen district. The castle originated from a circular layout on an island that is still recognizable today. Due to the water-surrounded outer bailey of this two-part castle complex, it is considered one of the moated castles in the district. It is part of the so-called "Water Castle Route".

In 1166, a Hermann von Kirspenich was first mentioned in a document, thus confirming the existence of a noble seat of the same name. Gerlach von Dollendorf, who also built the nearby Arloff Castle, owned Kirspenich in 1278. The square residential tower made of quarry stone presumably dates back to this knight, as it is very similar to that of Arloff Castle.

Similar to its "sister castle" Arloff, Kirspenich Castle likely belonged to the sphere of influence of Archbishop Siegfried von Westerburg of Cologne until the Battle of Worringen in 1288. Here too, on the border of the Electorate of Cologne and the County of Jülich, the Jülichers took over the feudal lordship after their victory over "Siegfried".

Kirspenich Castle, located in the Erft valley, is explicitly mentioned in 1301 as a moated castle with a separate outer bailey, which the new owner Gerhard von Alfter enfeoffs to Count Gerhard zu Jülich as a fief and open house, and subsequently calls himself Gerhard von Kispenich. However, the castle remained under the jurisdiction of Electoral Cologne, one of the peculiarities of the time.

The originally freestanding, massive 28.5m high tower received its actual fortifications in the 16th/17th century. Only in the Baroque period, towards the end of the 17th century, was the residential building constructed, leaning against the tower and incorporating a remnant of a 16th-century building. The residential building received one of the first mansard roofs in the Rhineland. At this time, the Barons von Friemersdorf, also known as Pützfeld, owned the castle.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the castle complex was a restaurant and was expanded with several outbuildings and a large ballroom. After decades of decay, the castle was extensively restored in the 1990s. It is now in private ownership.