Schloss Leerodt

Schloss Leerodt was once a moated castle in the Wurm valley near Geilenkirchen. Its name appears in records from 1308 as a knightly seat belonging to the Leerodt family. The place grew from a clearing in the forest, like the nearby villages of Randerath and Süggerath. Over centuries it passed through the hands of the lords of Randerath and Heinsberg. In the late 16th century Christoph von Leerodt expanded the water fortress and his grandson built the grand manor house in 1647. The castle’s heyday came under Georg Robert Freiherr Schütz von Leerodt in the late 19th century. He restored the whole complex and revived the family name. His unmarried son Hans lived there until the building was evacuated in September 1944. Allied shelling in November 1944 left only ruins of the once elegant Renaissance palace. The surviving walls still show the Dutch Renaissance style praised by art historian Edmund Renard. Today the remains stand between Süggerath and Müllendorf along the L 42. The older parts belong to the outer bailey, marked by gables dated 1616 and 1654. One corner turret still carries Gothic traces. The five-sided outline of the forecourt hints at the original round design. Visitors walk past Blaustein doorframes and remnants of the moat, while restoration work continues to preserve what is left of this once fine riverside residence.