Ulmen Castle

The Ulmen Castles are the ruins in Ulmen in the Eifel of a former castle complex consisting of an Upper and a Lower Castle.

The Upper Castle was built on a slope above the Ulmen Maar, while the Lower Castle (also called Unterburg) was adjacent but below it.

The exact time of construction is not known, but it is assumed that the Upper Castle was built around the year 1000. Its first documented mention was in 1074. At the end of the 12th and beginning of the 13th century, it housed the knight Heinrich von Ulmen, who is known to have participated in the Fourth Crusade. He brought valuable treasures home from this undertaking, including the famous Limburg Staurothek, which can still be seen today in Limburg Cathedral. In 1292, the castle complex was expanded with a Lower Castle located directly adjacent downhill. The castle complex was also once connected to the city wall to form a coordinated defense system with it, but the time when this happened cannot be determined.

The subsequent period was characterized by resident robber knighthood, which experienced its heyday in the 14th century. In 1490, Ulmen finally became an electoral Trier office. Around 1508, the legend arose about Knight Phillip Haust von Ulmen, who is said to have been freed from captivity in the Holy Land by his loyal castle lady.

Between 1679 and 1689, the castle was severely damaged several times by fire and troops of the Sun King Louis XIV, and finally destroyed by French troops. In 1789, the Upper Castle was repaired, only to fall into disrepair again in the 19th century. From 1794, Ulmen was under French rule. The castle, confiscated by Napoleon, passed into Prussian ownership in 1815 and was auctioned off in 1822 by a Cochem citizen for use as a quarry. When Ulmen almost completely burned down in 1831, the houses were rebuilt with stones from the castle. In 1852, the municipality of Ulmen became the owner, and the citizens also used the ruin as a sheep market.