Sievernich Castle, Medieval castle in Vettweiß, Germany.
Sievernich Castle is a large, regular moated castle on the Neffelbach, made up of a three-winged main castle and a three-winged outer bailey. Most of the building fabric dates from the 15th to 18th centuries; around 1860 the Schwecht family renewed the stair tower at the rear of the main castle and its side wings. The gatehouse of the outer bailey, also from that period, was destroyed in 1941 and replaced by a new building.
Heinrich von Sievernich is named as the first known lord in a 1153 document; the family died out after 1456. Beatrix von Petersheim brought the castle to the von Merode family through her 1410 marriage to Richard II. Around 250 years later it passed by marriage to Cornelius van Gent, then in 1674 to the von Quadt-Wickrath family, who sold it around 1780 to the von Wylich. The Schwecht family bought it in 1841 and still owns it.
The name Sievernich comes from the family of the same name, first documented with Heinrich von Sievernich in 1153; the line died out after 1456. Since 1841 the estate has belonged to the Schwecht family, who run a Trakehner stud farm there today, so the grounds are working stables rather than a park.
The castle is a private estate: the Schwecht family, owners since 1841, run a Trakehner stud farm there, so the grounds are not open to visitors. The site lies in Sievernich, municipality of Vettweiß, directly on the Neffelbach; the old Roman road from Zülpich to Neuss passed close by. View the three-winged main castle and outer bailey from the public path.
The castle's owners run a Trakehner stud farm on the estate today, so the grounds are working stables rather than a museum. The old Roman military road from Zülpich to Neuss passed directly by the castle, crossed in the village by the Aachen–Frankfurt road.
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