To be privately owned
CastleKöln-Roggendorf/Thenhoven
Arff Castle
Arff Castle is a former moated castle in the village of Roggendorf/Thenhoven, which belongs to Cologne, and is located 20 km northwest of Cologne, directly on the border with the city of Dormagen in the Rhein-Kreis Neuss.
The knights van der Arffe, who gave the castle its name, were first mentioned in a document in 1366. Albrecht von Baexen acquired the estate in 1572 through marriage to Catharina von der Arff. However, the previous building was destroyed in the Truchsessian Wars of 1583-1586.
In 1750, Adam von Blittersdorf sold the estate to the von Buschmann family, who then commissioned the construction of the present castle within five years, from 1750 to 1755. The architect was most likely the Frenchman Michel Leveilly. In 1803, the castle came into the possession of the Geyr von Schweppenburg family, the current owners.
Layout+
The main building and the outer bailey, as well as two parallel farm buildings and the manor house, form the building parts and enclose the castle courtyard. The two-part garden complex was once surrounded by a moat. However, the feeding springs have dried up. It is a so-called Maison de Plaisance, a pleasure palace, where the nobility spent the summer months in the countryside, away from the cities.
Appreciation+
The manor house is attributed to the architect Michael Leveilly and is a simplified repetition of Falkenlust Castle near Brühl, where Leveilly was construction manager under François de Cuvilliés the Elder, which belongs to the UNESCO World Heritage "Augustusburg Brühl". Leveilly also designed Haus Horr in Grevenbroich in the Rhein-Kreis Neuss and the historic town hall of the city of Bonn.
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Source: Wikipedia · Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image: http://www.zeche.org/
This description draws on the facts documented in the linked Wikipedia article; Wikipedia content is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Wording and editing: Mobile History.
Location: 51.0510, 6.8160