Burg Dinslaken

Burg Dinslaken stands on a slight rise in what was once marshland between the Rhine and its tributaries. Built probably as a motte in the 12th century, it became one of the most important castles of the counts of Kleve. The first written mention of a castellan dates from 1163, though the document may be a later forgery. By the 13th century several burggraves are recorded, but after 1263 the Kleve counts took direct control. A settlement grew south of the castle and received town rights in 1273.

The counts of Kleve used the castle as a dower residence and administrative centre. Mechthild of Virneburg, widow of Otto of Kleve, lived there and exercised authority until she sold the rights in 1337. In the 15th century the castle served as a Kleve bastion against Cologne and housed a prison. Between 1516 and 1521 the so-called witch Ulant Dammartz was held in the round tower, and in 1574–1580 the Anabaptist Jan Willemsen was imprisoned there before execution. Repeated fires and the Thirty Years War left the buildings in poor condition.

Today the castle houses the town hall. After wartime destruction in 1945 it was rebuilt in modern forms and now stands under Denkmalschutz. Visitors find a rectangular complex with a round tower and later wings arranged around a courtyard. The main rooms include the former council chamber and the landrat’s apartment in the north-west wing. The surrounding town park preserves the slight elevation on which the castle was first raised.