Lützeler Castle

Haus Lützeler is located near Lamersdorf, a district of Inden (Rhineland) in the Düren district of North Rhine-Westphalia. The Wehebach stream flows directly past the house.

Haus Lützeler is first mentioned in documents in the 14th century: in 1398, Johann Vruntgin von Lutzelen and his wife Bela sold their farm in Lucherberg to Carsilius von Palant, the owner of Breitenbend Castle near Linnich. At the same time, Carsilius von Palant acquired their farm in Lützeler from Peter von Loyvenberg, his wife, and her sister. The von Palants remained in possession of Haus Lützeler until the end of the 17th century. They presumably gave the manor house the form it still possesses today – apart from alterations and destructions – as its builders.

Haus Lützeler is a rectangular complex, still partially surrounded by wet moats today. Three sides of the rectangle are occupied by buildings; the fourth free side to the south was formerly fronted by a garden beyond the castle moat. The manor house, built in the 16th century, was located at the southwest corner of the courtyard complex and was destroyed in World War II, except for some wall remnants. This building was a two-story gabled structure with a slate-covered saddle roof. The main building fabric of the farm buildings of Haus Lützeler dates from the 17th to 18th centuries.

Around 1700, Johann Caspar Gilles bought Haus Lützeler from the von Palant family. After his death, his widow Isabella Katharina von Broich married the Jülich master of arms administrator Johann Caspar Cüpper, who died in 1728. After that, Haus Lützeler seems to have fallen to one of the Gilles children. The von Rödingen family is mentioned as the next owners in documents. After the death of Maria Theresia von Rödingen in 1786, the estate fell to her son-in-law von Palmer in Düsseldorf. Then the property came to the Steffens family, and later, through marriage, to the Scheuer family in Jülich. Today, Haus Lützeler is owned by Rheinbraun AG.

Haus Lützeler is a protected monument.