Denklingen Castle is a historic building in the Denklingen district of

Reichshof Reichshof is a North Rhine-Westphalian municipality in the Oberbergischer Kreis in Germany, about 40 km east of Cologne. It is a health resort, known for its good climate. History While sources on the early history of the area are scarce, ...

in the

Oberbergischer Kreis The Oberbergischer Kreis ( ksh, Boverbärjische Kreiß) is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Ennepe-Ruhr, Märkischer Kreis, Olpe, Altenkirchen, Rhein-Sieg, Rheinisch-Bergischer ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

History

Originally Denklingen seems to have been the seat of the old Grafschaft Sayn court and there was already a castle on the site in the 14th century belonging to the Duke of Berg. On 23 February 1413, Johann von Gimborn was granted possession of Denklingen for life by Duke Adolf of Berg together with the people of the parish

Drolshagen Drolshagen is a town belonging to the district of Olpe in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Arnsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, lying roughly 5 km west of Olpe. Geography Location Drolshagen lies in the heavily wooded ''Naturpark E ...

. This tradition had its origin in the

feudal system Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structu ...

. Occupiers of fortified castles in the 14th century had certain obligations to their lord (Castrum ligium). They could be called upon at any time to provide military assistance when the lord called for it. On 24 August 1423, Engelbert von Scheidt, called Weschpfenning, was granted the

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...

dom of the castle of Denklingen. A document dated 1 September 1433, created when Duke Adolf formed an alliance with the

landgrave Landgrave (german: Landgraf, nl, landgraaf, sv, lantgreve, french: landgrave; la, comes magnus, ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of ', ' (" margrave"), ...

Ludwig I of Hessen, directs that among other things Denklingen became an open house, "Unserem Slosse". On 29 November 1435 Duke Adolf pledged the castles of Windeck and Denklingen to his steward, Wilhelm von Nesselrode. A document dated 6 December 1473, stated that Windeck and Denklingen had come under the ownership of the Ehrensteins. Little is known about the history of the castle under bergischer management. This changes with the Siegburger treaty of 1604 which agreed a transfer of territories and people. On 2 December a ceremony when the new subjects declared their homage took place near Heisterstock bei Winterberg (Nümbrecht municipality) in the open air. The nobility of the new Berg lands were ordered on 11 March 1605 to take tribute to the castle at Denklingen and swear an oath of allegiance to the duke as lord. The current building was originally a moated castle and dates from the 16th to the 18th century. In 1672 the management of the Windeck estates was moved to the castle. It was also called bursary office, because the steward officiated there. In 1698, the 2-storey gate house was renovated. Nearby was a stone vault which had served earlier as a prison cell. Restoration work at the castle was completed in 1987.

Specific features today

* The castle is open to the public.Gemeinde Reichshof
/ref> * A potter market is held in the castle court yearly at Pentecost. * A wedding room is available for hire on the first floor.

Sources

{{reflist * Oswald Gerhard: Eckenhagen and Denklingen in the change of the times. A home history of the former imperial court area Eckenhagen. Ed. from the home association Eckenhagen inc., Eckenhagen in 1953. Castles in North Rhine-Westphalia Buildings and structures in Oberbergischer Kreis