Castle Junkernhees

Schloss Junkernhees stands on a spur of the Katzenhain hill in Kreuztal, near the Heesbach stream. The site sits about 300 metres above sea level on the watershed between the Ferndorfbach and Bigge rivers. Its earliest parts date from 1523, when Ritter Adam von der Hees built a water castle here. Later additions in 1698 gave the house its present Renaissance appearance with a half-timbered upper storey on a stone base.

The von der Hees family had held land in the Siegerland since 1294. Their Heesburg, a fortified house, was first recorded in 1372 under Ritter Gottfried III. von der Hees. After changing hands several times, it passed back to the family in 1468. Adam’s son built the new castle a quarter of a mile away, completing it in 1523. The 1698 remodelling by Junker Dietrich Wilhelm von Syberg added the distinctive gabled façade.

Visitors today see a four-towered stone house surrounded by a moat. The main building rises above a stone ground floor with a timber-framed upper storey. Two large gables carry the date 1698 and the Syberg wheel emblem. Nearby stand the former distillery and mill from 1796, now private homes. The restored round tower and occasional art shows add to the scene. A local preservation society organises festivals and open days to keep the place alive.