Leyenburg Castle

Leyenburg Castle is a manor house and former country estate of the von der Leyen family. Leyenburg is located in Rheurdt on the border with Neukirchen-Vluyn in the district of Kleve on the Lower Rhine. The castle complex was purchased by the Atock family in 2000 and has been renovated since then. For their efforts, they were awarded the Rhenish Heritage Prize 2004 on October 17, 2004.

The noble seat "Haus Kieckhorst" was first mentioned in 1349. It was a Guelders fief. Haus Kieckhorst was surrounded by moats and earthworks and had a fortified tower on a water-surrounded area. In 1431, it was plundered and set on fire by the robber knight Hermann von Eppinghofen. This was followed by severe damage in 1642 by Hessian-Weimar troops. The Kieckhorst family owned the estate until the 16th century. The von Afferden family followed until 1768, and then for a short time the Freneau family. After that, in 1772, the Krefeld silk manufacturer family von der Leyen acquired the estate as a country residence. The old buildings were largely demolished and a Rococo hunting lodge was built as the new manor house. This new building was named Leyenburg.

Leyenburg Castle was raised by one story in 1832. In the course of the 19th century, the house was re-styled in a Neoclassical manner.

The manor house remained in the possession of the von der Leyen family until 2000. It was used differently over time. After the First World War, it was occupied by occupation troops. Around 1930, it was a country inn and from 1935 temporarily a rural boarding school. Until 1949, the castle served as emergency accommodation for refugees from the East. After that, until the fire in 1963, it was a training center for the Christian Singers' Association, which offered choir singer, conductor, and composer retreats here under the direction of Paul Ernst Ruppel.

In 2001, Friedrich Freiherr von der Leyen sold Leyenburg Castle to Martin Atock and Inez van Tienhoven-Atock. At that time, the house was "very much at risk in its preservation and substance," but the new owners were able to "transform it into a jewel through exemplary commitment."