Over the centuries, the castles and fortresses, historic manor houses and monasteries in NRW tell a wide variety of stories: about the Middle Ages and modern art, about the romance of chivalry and the early precursors of the mining, steel and textile industries. They bear witness to the extravagant life of the nobility and the asceticism of the monks, to baroque splendour and impending ruin. And of old splendour and new ideas. No two old walls are the same. And yet there are many similarities between well-known castles and little-discovered gems that are often only a few kilometres apart. Sometimes there are important art collections that complement each other perfectly, sometimes there are adventurous exhibitions and sometimes they are united by the peace and seclusion of nature. Discover all these contrasts and similarities for yourself and follow the traces into the past and present of the extremely rich landscape of fortresses, castles and monasteries in NRW.
