Castle Brüggen

Brüggen, Germany, Germany

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Castle Brüggen in Brüggen, Germany, is a moated water castle from the 13th century, originally built by the Counts of Kessel to guard a ford across the Schwalm River and later expanded by the Dukes of Jülich into a quadrangular brick fortress, becoming the most important stronghold in the northern Duchy of Jülich.

After French occupation in 1794 and privatization in the 19th century, its preserved features include a wide moat, one remaining knife-sharp Messerturm tower, a gatehouse, curtain walls, and a three-story Palas main building with Renaissance elements and an oak staircase.

Today, it functions as a cultural center housing a museum on hunting, natural history, and regional wildlife, set amid the Maas-Schwalm-Nette Nature Park with nearby outbuildings like a watermill restaurant.