In 1879/80, Eugen von Kesseler, a member of the Reichstag from Cologne, had a summer residence built based on the model of Marienburg Castle, which was then located in West Prussia and is now Malbork in Poland - now a twin town of Monheim am Rhein. The architect August Carl Lange was in charge of the planning.
The red brick façade, the stepped gable, the vantage point above the entrance, from which the view extends as far as Cologne Cathedral on a clear day: Marienburg Castle still impresses today: with its 1.7-hectare park, it is still a reminder of Prussian influence in the Rhineland.
Marienburg Castle was built as the ancestral seat of the stately von Kesseler family. Eugen and Franziska von Kesseler raised as many as 13 children. He owned the largest farm estate far and wide - the Großer Hof, today located on Hofstraße. At the same time, Eugen von Kesseler served as a Royal Prussian District Court Judge in Cologne. He represented the Bonn-Rheinbach constituency in the House of Representatives, co-founded the conservative Center Party and was even a member of the Reichstag from 1871 to 1884. A busy family man with a fervent desire to create a retreat for himself.
During the Second World War, the tower was used as an anti-aircraft position and in 1945 the tower dome was shot away. The current owner, Paul Vogel, had the tower restored. The Marienburg remained in family hands until 1982. Then the last descendant of the Royal Prussian District Court Councillor, Elisabeth von Kesseler, died.
In the mid-1980s, the castle made juicy headlines in the tabloid press: This was because the tenants at the time were running an erotic establishment within the Prussian walls. However, shrewd officials from the Monheim town hall were able to stop the operation due to the lack of a liquor license. The Marienburg remained in private ownership and the park was acquired by the town of Monheim in 2002 as part of the Euroga State Garden Show and has been open to the public ever since. Under the current tenant Alexander Zimmer, the Marienburg is used as a conference center and event venue.
Author: Rheinische Post/Translation: DeepL/Photo: P. Meurer, Berlin/Deutsche Bauzeitung