Motte Altenburg

The Motte Altenburg stands on a low earthwork north-west of the village of Altenburg in the Düren district. It is the remains of a 12th-century motte built by the counts of Jülich to strengthen their border against the archbishop of Cologne. A circular mound, now covered with trees, rises from a former double moat that once held water from the Rur. The site is worth a visit because it shows how the Jülich counts defended their land in the High Middle Ages. Excavations in 1896 uncovered a well lined with tufa in the centre of the mound. Roman brick fragments found in the walls suggest earlier use of the spot. Late medieval pottery shows the motte was in use until the 13th century. Visitors see a grassy mound about 85 metres across, still ringed by the faint traces of its outer ditch. To the north-east the outline of a rectangular bailey, roughly 20 metres wide and 50 metres long, can still be made out. The whole area lies in open pasture beside the B56, easy to spot from the road.