Mechernich

From estate to baroque splendour: hardly any other noble residence in the Rhineland has been preserved as authentically as Eicks Castle. Today, the estate is a Baroque castle that replaced the original manor house, which had stood on the site since the early 14th century. Built in 1690 using medieval building materials, Eicks Castle is a typical example of a Rhineland noble residence with a two-part moated castle, an outer bailey with towers and a manor house.

The outer bailey dates from the 17th century and is essentially the same as the original. The gate passage with the combined coats of arms of the Syberg and Palandt families is simply designed. Where a drawbridge once provided access to the castle, a brick arch bridge now leads inside. The Baroque castle is still partially surrounded by the moats of its medieval predecessor. The rooms and their furnishings vividly convey the rural aristocratic lifestyle of the past.

Eicks Castle changed hands frequently, but unlike most other castles and palaces, it was never sold, only passed on to other owners through inheritance or marriage. From the early 17th century onwards, Eicks Castle was owned by the noble family von Syberg. At the end of the 19th century, Franziska von Syberg gifted the estate to her nephew Wilhelm Freiherr von Hövel. Until today the castle still belongs to the descendants of the von Syberg family.

The complex can be viewed from the street. The rear of the castle offers a view of the Baroque garden with its geometric paths and boxwood cones.