Burg Stolberg, Stolberg

Stolberg Castle rises on a steep limestone cliff in the middle of Stolberg's old town in Stolberg in the Aachen city region of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the landmark, cradle and namesake of the city.

In the 12th century, Stolberg Castle was built by the Lords of Stalburg. In the middle of the 15th century, the Dukes of Jülich pledged the sanded castle to the Lords of Nesselrode in order to have it rebuilt as an open house. In the middle of the 16th century, Hieronymus von Efferen had the castle extended after it had been destroyed. As a result of marriage, the castle and dominion passed from the Barons of Efferen to the Imperial Barons Raitz von Frentz. In the 18th and 19th centuries the castle fell into ruin. From the last noble owners, the Imperial Counts of Kesselstatt, the dilapidated complex came into civil ownership in 1863. The Stolberg factory owner Moritz Kraus had the castle rebuilt in historicist style from 1888 and donated it to the city in 1909.

Today, Stolberg Castle serves as a venue for cultural events and accommodation for various associations. In the cellar there is a catering business and a museum of local history and crafts in the gate castle.