Burg Frankenberg

Frankenberg Castle, also known as Frankenburg, is a historic lowland castle in the Frankenberger Viertel district of Aachen. The complex, whose name derives from the medieval personal name Franko, was probably built in the second third of the 13th century as a fortified residence. It originally served the bailiffs of the Imperial Abbey of Burtscheid and later passed to the counts and dukes of Jülich, Cleves, and Berg. The history of the castle is closely tied to the noble Merode family, who owned the complex for centuries. After a period of decay and its sale in the 19th century to an Aachen district administrator, who had the castle extensively restored, part of the grounds was used in the late 19th century to build a new residential neighborhood. In the 20th century, the main building served for a time as the home and workshop of the engineer Hugo Junkers. After the destruction of World War II and a period of use as an employment office, the castle housed a museum of Aachen's city history from 1961 to 2010.

Architecturally, the castle rises on a small rocky knoll and has a nearly triangular floor plan. The three-story residential building on the east side has a facade with nine window bays. While the cellar and ground floor are built of rough stone blocks, the upper floors are of brick. Light-colored ashlar blocks accentuate the corners as well as the window and door frames. An octagonal tower marks the northwest corner of the main building and is topped by a crenellated parapet. At the southwest corner stands a tower with a horseshoe-shaped floor plan, whose walls have narrow arrow slits on every floor. During the most recent restoration work, earlier Romantic-style alterations were reversed, restoring the original character of the buildings.

Today, Frankenberg Castle is a community and cultural center. After several months of vacancy and a comprehensive renovation that began in spring 2013, the complex reopened in August 2014. The former local history museum was integrated into the Centre Charlemagne. Visitors can experience the historic fabric of the buildings with their characteristic stone blocks and brick walls. The castle courtyard, whose level has been lowered again, shows the exposed castle well. Today, the castle provides a setting for cultural events and serves as a gathering place in the heart of the Aachen district, whose architecture reflects its history as a former moated castle and noble residence.