Burg Schönforst, Medieval castle ruins in Forst district, Aachen, Germany.

Burg Schönforst was a medieval fortified complex in Aachen that comprised three separate buildings linked by bridges, with a central stronghold featuring a rectangular courtyard surrounded by multiple towers. The layout was designed to command the surrounding territory and serve as a residence for the ruling family of the area.

Reinhard von Schönau, first documented lord of Schönforst in 1348, passed the lordship to his son Reinhard II in 1369; under Reinhard II the castle first appears in charters as a fief of the Cologne archbishopric, so father or son built it. Reinhard II had captured Rainald von Jülich, brother of Duke Wilhelm III, and released him only against a high ransom; in August and September 1396 Wilhelm besieged the castle for seven weeks until the garrison surrendered, then incorporated Schönforst into Jülich and had the castle repaired and refortified.

The name Schönforst replaced the family's earlier name von Schönau after Reinhard II took over the lordship in 1369. The castle was the seat of the "Amt Schönforst" district, administered by a ducal bailiff. In 1652–53, troops of Duke Charles IV of Lorraine used the castle as winter quarters.

Nothing of the castle remains above ground: the site, owned by the city of Aachen since 1906, now lies within the Forst district, and even the former moats visible in the early 20th century have disappeared. Look for the location near the old imperial road from Aachen to Trier rather than expecting masonry.

The castle's main tower, the Bergfried, stood about 100 feet high and flanked the southwest wing just south of the entrance gate. It had three storeys, and a barrel-vaulted room in the larger round tower at the north corner probably served as a dungeon.