Castle Burg & Castle LüntenbeckNew residents, old glamour

Burg Castle in Solingen and Lüntenbeck Castle in Wuppertal have had to reinvent themselves time and again over the past centuries. At some point, both complexes were threatened with decay and their history would have been over. However, thanks to civic commitment of very different kinds, this was prevented and the present found its way into the past.

They gave the Bergisches Land its name: The Counts of Berg, whose ancestral seat was the Burg Castle in Solingen, built in 1130, for a good 400 years. Since then, it has become almost unrecognisable, as the walls have fallen into disrepair or been destroyed and rebuilt several times over the years. Nevertheless, Burg Castle has increasingly become a magnet for visitors since the 1950s.

More than 160,000 guests now visit the stone palace building with its knights' hall, bower and ancestral gallery every year, as well as the regional history museum, which will once again be dedicated entirely to the Middle Ages and the original use of the complex as a knight's castle and aristocratic palace from the end of 2025. This is when the extensive renovation work on the entire complex will be completed and Burg Castle will shine in its former splendour. Until the reopening, visitors will be given an impression of how the Counts of Berg once resided here via screens and VR elements. Incidentally, the most spectacular way to get to the castle is the Burg cable car. It was the novelty par excellence in NRW in 1952 - and is still in operation today.

The history of Lüntenbeck Castle dates back to the year 850. And just like Burg Castle, this historic building on the outskirts of Wuppertal was in danger of falling into disrepair. Until the local family of "lighting pioneer" Johannes Dinnebier acquired the ruins surrounded by woods and two ponds in the 1970s - and everything became new again. In addition to their own lighting manufactory, various trades soon moved into the eight renovated buildings of the former moated castle: artists of various genres, operators of small individual shops, providers of yoga and coaching seminars as well as restaurateurs now form the courtyard community at Lüntenbeck Castle, which is also a popular venue for weddings, traditional markets and cultural events. But the past also remains alive. Visitors can learn more about the history of the castle and its former inhabitants at 14 stations on a tour of the grounds and on special themed tours.