Wassenberg Castle

Wassenberg Castle is a hilltop castle on the "Burgberg" at 92 m above sea level in the town of Wassenberg (Kirchstraße/Burgstraße) in the district of Heinsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The history of the castle and the town of Wassenberg are closely intertwined. In 1020, Emperor Henry II gifted Wassenberg Castle and land to Gerardus of Antoing. He then called himself Gerhard Count of Wassenberg, thus founding the House of Wassenberg, which, after four generations at Wassenberg Castle, founded the County of Geldern, from which the Duchies of Jülich, Kleve, and Berg eventually emerged. Wassenberg Castle, however, has existed for much longer; its predecessor was probably a Roman fortification. After Count Gerhard III of Wassenberg participated in the Crusades, he founded the St. George's Basilica (whose nave was demolished after damage in World War II and replaced by a new building) and an associated collegiate church. In 1118, Gerhard IV, Count of Wassenberg, completed the construction of the collegiate church and church, which was consecrated on September 30, 1118, by Bishop Otbert of Liège. In 1131, Jutta of Wassenberg, Gerhard's sister, married Walram of Limburg, thus bringing Wassenberg into Limburg. Since the main line of the Counts of Wassenberg now continued the County of Geldern, in 1202, the son of Duke Henry of Limburg, who inherited Wassenberg Castle and land, could only call himself "Lord of Wassenberg." As early as 1273, Wassenberg received town rights, which were confirmed in 1972 during the municipal reorganization.