Miel Castle

Miel Castle is located in the Miel district of the North Rhine-Westphalian municipality of Swisttal in the Voreifel region.

On the site of an older moated castle belonging to the Spies von Büllesheim family, Caspar Anton Freiherr von der Heyden (1722–1784), the Electorate of Cologne's Minister of State and true regent of the Electorate of Cologne under Elector Max Friedrich, erected a Baroque castle building between 1768 and 1771. Elevated to Imperial Count of Belderbusch in 1782, he lived at Miel Castle, his personal refuge, until his death in 1784. The building is modeled after a French hunting lodge in the style of Louis XIV. An amorous liaison connected the Minister of State with the Abbess of Vilich, Caroline Countess von Satzenhofen.

Since the "Riss im Himmel" (Crack in the Sky) exhibition in 2000, the interior of the pleasure palace, which was extensively renovated at the time (with remarkable furnishings), can be visited. Particularly significant is the Garden Hall with wall paintings by the Bonn court painter Francois Rousseau.

Today, the castle and its outbuildings are used by a golf club.