Brüggen Castle, Water castle in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Brüggen Castle is a water castle in the North Rhine-Westphalian town of Brüggen, built with four corner towers in the style of a medieval fortress. It sits directly on the bank of the Schwalm River, with water surrounding its base on multiple sides.
The Counts of Kessel built this stronghold in the 13th century, and it passed to the Dukes of Julich by inheritance in 1306. Later in the 16th century the entire structure was rebuilt to meet the military demands of that time.
The castle houses a hunting and natural history museum where visitors can explore exhibits on local wildlife and the region's past. The collection shows how closely people in this area once lived alongside the surrounding nature.
The castle is in the center of Brüggen and easy to reach on foot. Allow enough time to visit both the outside of the building and the museum inside.
The Schwalm River still feeds the moat around the castle today, keeping the water defense system active after several centuries. This makes it one of the few places in the region where you can see the original defensive concept still working in its natural setting.
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