Burg Kerpen, Castle ruin in Kerpen, Germany

Burg Kerpen is a ruined water castle in eastern Kerpen, built on a motte surrounded by a moat. Its rectangular residential tower had arrow slits and fittings for a wooden parapet, and several defensive towers stood at regular intervals on the castle island. A gate tower held a drawbridge, with a second drawbridge before the access ramp.

Burg Kerpen was a Frankish royal court and imperial fortress guarding the Erft crossing on the road between Cologne and Aachen. It was first mentioned between 1065 and 1071 as a fief of the Reichsministerialen von Kerpen, destroyed by Archbishop Friedrich I of Cologne in 1114, sold by Beatrix von Kerpen to her brother Winemar von Gymnich in 1276, and sold to Duke Johann I of Brabant in 1282. Archbishop Siegfried von Westerburg destroyed it again that same year, but the dukes of Brabant rebuilt it within two years. In 1689 French troops blew up the fortifications and burned the residential areas.

The name Kerpen comes from the House of Kerpen, the noble family that held the castle and lordship from the 13th century. Beatrix, widow of Johann von Kerpen, sold both on 2 August 1276 to her brother Winemar von Gymnich and his wife Johanna.

The castle is private property located at Burg 15 in Kerpen, so visitors can only view it from outside. Explore the surrounding area to see the structure from different angles across the accessible landscape.

The castle stood on a motte ringed by a moat, and its gate tower had a stone facing with a drawbridge, in front of which lay a second drawbridge leading to the access ramp. The rectangular residential tower was fitted with loopholes and a fixture for a wooden parapet walk.