Nideggen Castle

Castle Garden

The square complex is surrounded by walls and demonstrably originated only after the Middle Ages. A gate in the northwest corner of the wall was the connection to the castle village. In the middle of the west side stood a house from the Baroque period, no longer preserved today, which had connecting walls to the outer castle gate.

Outer Castle Gate with Zwinger and Gatehouse

The outer castle gate, built in the 14th century, served as the entrance to the smaller, outer castle courtyard, which also served as a zwinger. In the 16th century, the gatehouse was renewed. Only in the 18th century was the gateway built over with a two-story half-timbered house leaning against the southeast wall. This so-called gatehouse was reconstructed in 1979 after its destruction in the Second World War. Today it is used by the Düren section of the German Alpine Club and the Nideggen mountain rescue service.

Inner Castle Gate (Main Gate)

The late Romanesque gatehouse has always been the only access to the main castle. It is connected to the donjon of the castle complex by a defensive wall. After the gate had been destroyed by wars and earthquakes, it was rebuilt from 1901 to 1906 and supplemented with a staircase on the west side.

Residential Tower (Donjon)

With its period of origin from 1177 to 1190, the residential tower is the oldest part of Nideggen Castle, on whose east side there is a deep neck ditch. Around 1350, the tower was raised to six stories in height. Inside, on the ground floor, right next to the dungeon, is the castle chapel. The other floors each have two rooms, which served as storage rooms and crew quarters in addition to living purposes.

The tower was already heated in early times and had toilets. To be able to defend it well, its access on the south side was far above ground level and could only be reached via a ladder. Only when the main gate and the defensive wall had been built were the current ground-level entrance and a stair tower constructed. After the roof was sold for demolition around the turn of the 18th century, the masonry subsequently suffered great damage, which was only repaired in 1906. From 1925 to 1944, the donjon was the seat of a local history museum. After severe damage in the Second World War, it was rebuilt in 1954 and 1955 and provided with a roof again in 1979. Since then, it has housed the first castle museum in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Palas

With a length of 61 meters and a width of 16 meters, the Palas was the largest hall building in a German castle of the 14th century. Both on the ground floor and on the upper floor, it housed a two-aisled hall with twelve large mullioned windows. On its west and east sides, it is flanked by two octagonal side towers. At the northwest corner of the Palas, there was originally a stair tower, on whose foundations the small tower of today's restaurant stands. In the middle of the hall building, there are still remains of columns, just as wall remains indicate the former location of the north wall. In the front wall, there was a secondary staircase to the upper floor. Under the Palas are cellar vaults, some of which are buried. They served, among other things, as a kitchen.

Kitchen Tower

The east flank of the Palas building is protected by an octagonal tower from the middle of the 14th century, whose height was still 14 meters until 1944. Fragments of a staircase, which presumably led to the top of the tower, are still preserved today. The lower floor served as a storage room. Primarily, however, the tower had to fulfill defensive functions, which is also indicated by its very small window openings.

West Tower (so-called Ladies' Bay)

The West Tower, with its large windows, also consists predominantly of 14th-century building fabric and served representative purposes. Inside, there are remains of a fireplace, which suggests that the ladies' chambers for the female members of the comital family were also located here.

Well

The well partly followed a natural rock crevice and was once 95 meters deep. Since 1945, however, it only reaches a depth of about 30 meters.

Buildings on the West and North Sides

The appearance of the former buildings on the west and north sides of the castle is largely unknown. The current ones were newly built on old foundations from 1901 to 1906. After their destruction in the Second World War, the renewed reconstruction took place from 1948 to 1950. Today, the castle restaurant is located there.

The Castle Museum, opened in 1979 in the residential tower of the castle, provides insight into the castle-rich Eifel region through its exhibitions. On approximately 600 square meters, visitors learn interesting facts about the function and cultural-historical significance of castles, as well as about life in a medieval castle, but also about regional historical topics such as the important noble families of the Eifel and the history of the Duchy of Jülich.

In summer, the district of Düren organized festivals at Nideggen Castle every year until 2010. On several evenings, there were concerts by prominent musicians such as Ich + Ich, Max Mutzke or Götz Alsmann and comedy programs by artists such as Atze Schröder or Dave Davis. In 2011, these festivals took place at Merode Castle.