Burg Honrath, Medieval castle in Lohmar, Germany

Burg Honrath is a medieval fortified structure in Lohmar with preserved walls and residential buildings on elevated ground. The structures show characteristic features of castle construction with defensive elements that served for protection and control of the surrounding area.

Burg Honrath is first documented in 1117, when God(e)fried transferred his allod "Hagenroth" to Siegburg Abbey. The estate passed from Theoderich von Hengebach to Arnold von Hückeswagen, who in 1209 gave the patronage of neighbouring St. Margaretha church to Gräfrath convent but kept the castle; in 1259 his heirs sold it to the Counts of Sayn zu Blankenberg. It later fell to the Lords of Loen-Heinsberg, then to the Counts of Berg in 1363 and the Düsseldorf collegiate foundation in 1393; Joist Lüninck is named owner in 1550, the Barons von La Valette St. George bought it with 198 Morgen of land in 1825, and from 1930 it was in bourgeois hands.

The village church of St. Margaretha, standing beside the castle, was given to the Benedictine convent of Gräfrath near Solingen in 1209 and became Protestant in the 17th century. A local tale tells of Lünigk von Niederpleis, a drinker and womaniser tricked into marriage by Herr von Etzbach, who withheld a good Malvasier wine until Lünigk promised in writing to wed his daughter Giesel.

Burg Honrath stands within the village of Honrath itself, not on a remote hilltop, on a ridge at 162 metres above sea level sloping gently toward the Agger valley. The front part with the timber-framed gable is privately occupied and not open to visitors. The rear courtyard with its rubble-stone walls and art studio is open to the public and hosts events, workshops and retreats with overnight stays.

The rear courtyard, built of rubble stone and now holding an art studio, is open to the public; the brothers Ansgar and Gereon Holtschneider use it for events, workshops and retreats with overnight stays, and sell game from the surrounding hunting grounds. The front section with the timber-framed gable is privately inhabited.