Reifferscheid Castle

Burg Reifferscheid stands as a ruined hill castle at 450 metres above sea level near the German-Belgian border. It sits between the Eifel mountains and the Ardennes in the municipality of Hellenthal. The name comes from an old forest clearing belonging to a man called Rifhari. All that remains today are parts of the curtain walls, a gatehouse with two round towers, a gabled entrance and a white-plastered bergfried made of rubble stone.

The castle first appears in records from 1106 when Duke Henry of Limburg destroyed it to stop it falling into enemy hands. In 1130 a chapel near the castle became a parish church under Archbishop Frederick I of Cologne. The Lords of Reifferscheid are mentioned for the first time in 1195. In 1385 John V of Reifferscheid survived a three-month siege by a powerful alliance of cities and rulers. After fires in 1509 and 1669 the castle was rebuilt in Baroque style, only to be slighted in 1689 during the War of the Palatine Succession.

Visitors find the remains of the medieval curtain walls and the gatehouse with its two flanking towers. The gabled entrance and the round bergfried with white plaster still stand on the site. The ruins overlook the surrounding Eifel landscape and the nearby Ardennes. The village of Reifferscheid lies close by, and the municipality of Hellenthal has cared for the site since 1965. Local people have worked for decades to preserve the castle and have won awards for their efforts.