Reitersdorf Castle (Ruin) (Bad Honnef)

Reitersdorf Castle is a vanished castle in the center of the city of Bad Honnef. Foundations of the castle, which was the center of a village, have been preserved.

In 866, the place Reitersdorf was mentioned in documents as villa rateresthorp, and in 893 as Retersdorpht. Reitersdorf thus represents the oldest visible traces of the city of Bad Honnef. In the copy of the Prüm Urbarium from 1222, it is mentioned as a messenger station of the abbey there. The construction of the castle began in 1270 by Johann von Heinsberg, who presumably found a replacement in it for Löwenburg Castle, from which he was expelled. The settlement, which also included a church "St. Göddert" built together with the castle, arose near the Rhine west of the castle. In 1288, the castle was a fief of the Count of Jülich as "Castrum Reyterstorp", who had it expanded. In 1317, the castle and settlement were largely destroyed in an act of war by the Archbishop of Cologne, an opponent of the Count of of Jülich, by demolition. Its last mention was in 1517 as "Rettersdorf".

The remains of the castle, especially the walls, served as cellars and stables in subsequent centuries. The subsequently backfilled remains were initially excavated again in 1870, before General Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach had a stately villa built there. After the so-called Villa Bredt-Lipp, including the surrounding property, was acquired and demolished by the city of Bad Honnef in the 1970s, the ruin was excavated again in 1981/1982. The foundations were restored and have since been freely accessible in a publicly accessible area, Reitersdorf Park. The park was laid out at the end of the 19th century and contains two rare individual trees, an Atlas cedar and a Ginkgo. In 2009, efforts were made to renovate the park, which was in need of renovation, including the castle, a stone fountain, and a pond.