Burg-Raeren

The Castle of Raeren was built in the mid-14th century at the confluence of the Iter and Periolbeek, where a melting hut for iron ore once existed. The identity of the builder of the castle is unknown. The castle was a fief of the Aachen "Marienstift". The first known owner, according to documents from the parish of Walhorn, is Johan van den Roideren (+1426). At that time, the castle consisted of a residential tower with 2 floors, a so-called "Donjon", a fortified tower with an almost square ground plan. Next to it stood a kitchen building separated from the castle by a courtyard. The stables and barns were located in the current place. The access to the castle was from the Northwest. The whole complex was surrounded by two moats and several ponds.
By the end of the 16th century, the entire kitchen building was destroyed by fire. In 1583, the then owner, Philipp von Lomont, had the building enlarged. He filled part of the moat with shards from the surrounding pottery workshops and built the current kitchen on top of it. In this way, he doubled the area. The date of this renovation can be seen above the entrance door and engraved in a stone on the surrounding wall of the moat. In the 18th century, the castle had fallen into disrepair. The then owner, the lawyer Peter Joseph de Nys, renovated it in a romantic style. He had a bridge and the current access built to "Burgstraße". The entrance portal bears the coats of arms of de Nys – von der Gracht. He also had Gothic pointed-arch windows and a balcony built on the 1st floor on the north side and raised the northwest tower. Thus, a round tower room was created on each floor.
Currently, the castle houses the pottery museum.
 

-Built heritage
-Castle

Fédération du Tourisme de la province de Liège