Weiße Burg Friesheim, Water castle in Erftstadt, Germany

Weiße Burg Friesheim is a moated castle at the southern edge of Friesheim, in Erftstadt. Its U-shaped outer bailey stands on a two-part moat fed by the Rotbach. The residential house was destroyed in 1943 and not rebuilt; of the two corner bastions, one was reconstructed and the other remains a ruin. A bridge with a triangular pediment bearing Cologne's coat of arms crosses to the main portal.

The castle was first documented in 1399, when Cologne cathedral provost Heinrich von Berg enfeoffed the vassal Winrich von Schlenderhan with it. In 1540 Johann von Munster built a new manor house, and in 1683 the complex became allodial property of the cathedral chapter for an annual rent of 200 gold guilders. It was first called "Weiße Burg" in 1773. A bombing raid in November 1943 destroyed the manor house to its foundations and heavily damaged parts of the outer bailey.

The name "Weiße Burg" appears in records from 1773, referring to the white-painted brickwork of the outer bailey. The gate on the north side carries the coat of arms of the city of Cologne in its triangular pediment, a reminder that the Cologne hospital Sankt Revilien owned the estate from 1780. Since 2016, apartments have been created in the street-facing part of the bailey.

The site is private property today and not open to the public, but the remains of the outer walls and bastions are visible from outside. The best way is to view the remains from the surrounding paths, which offer good views of the moats and structures.

The bridge arch carries a triangular pediment with Cologne's coat of arms, added because the city owned the castle from 1780 until 1917. The white render on the brickwork is noted as needing restoration.