Burgau Castle (German: ''Schloss Burgau'') is a

water castle A water castle is a castle whose site is largely defended by water. It can be entirely surrounded by water-filled moats (moated castle) or natural waterbodies such as island castles in a river or offshore. The term comes from European castle st ...

Düren Düren (; ripuarian: Düre) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Aachen and Cologne on the river Rur. History Roman era The area of Düren was part of Gallia Belgica, more specifically the territory of the Eburones, a people ...

, located in the town forest at the edge of the district Niederau.

Architecture

The earliest findings can be traced back to the year 1100. The building was constructed on a

motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...

. Even today the manor house is situated on an island with a diameter of 50 meters. The

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

also dates back to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

; after that the southern, eastern and northern wings of the main castle were constructed. In the 16th century a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

, richly decorated with reliefs, was added to the house tower. This room is also referred to as the gazebo room.
In 1675 it was decided to renovate the damaged castle. Around 1730 the conversion into a baroque three-wing building began. Additionally, from 1685 onwards the construction of the ''Vorburg'' commenced, an

outer bailey An outer bailey or outer ward is the defended outer enclosure of a castle.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 22. It protects the inner bailey and usually contains those ancillary bui ...

consisting of a three-winged building used for the management of the castle. Like the

inner bailey The inner bailey or inner ward of a castle is the strongly fortified enclosure at the heart of a medieval castle.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 22. It is protected by the outer w ...

, it was also surrounded by a water-filled

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

.
After the castle was destroyed during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in 1944, the restoration process lasted from 1975 to 1998.

Today

Nowadays, the castle is a tourist attraction and is used as an event location, with various local societies using the premises. It is known as a popular destination with its pond and surrounding forest as well as the castle café.
The main part of the castle offers 450 square metres of exhibition space and a room for conferences. There are regular concerts and events in the ''Winkelsaal'', a hall in the

outer ward An outer bailey or outer ward is the defended outer enclosure of a castle.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 22. It protects the inner bailey and usually contains those ancillary bui ...

, and the courtyard.
Düren's registry office offers a marriage service in the gazebo room of the castle on select Saturdays during the year.

Hans Holbein the Younger and the Portrait of Anne of Cleves

Anne of Cleves, by Hans Holbein the Younger

In 1539 the artist

Hans Holbein the Younger Hans Holbein the Younger ( , ; german: Hans Holbein der Jüngere; – between 7 October and 29 November 1543) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss painter and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style, and is considered o ...

, known as one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century and King's Painter to

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

, travelled to

to paint a portrait of

Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (german: Anna von Kleve; 1515 – 16 July 1557) was Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII. Not much is known about Anne before 1527, when she became betrothed to Francis, Duke of ...

. After seeing Holbein's portrait of her, King Henry sent a delegation to Düren to negotiate the courtship and to bring Anne back to England.
However, meeting her was a disappointment for him, the marriage was never consummated and an annulment soon followed. Anne received the title of “The King's Sister“, a generous settlement and was often invited to court.

References

External links

Stadt Düren - Castle Burgau

Sights - a tour of the city
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burgau Castle Castles in North Rhine-Westphalia Water castles in Germany Water castles in North Rhine-Westphalia Buildings and structures in Düren (district)