Are Castle

Burg Are stands above the village of Altenahr in the Ahr valley. Built around 1100 by Count Dietrich I of Are, it was first recorded in 1121. The castle’s rectangular plan shows parts of the outer ward, a gate called the Gymnicher Porz, and sections of the defensive wall. On the southern side remains an old gate tower known as the Schellenturm. The ruins also include the palas with its heated bishop’s chamber and traces of the bergfried on the northern rock. The castle was once a spiritual and cultural centre for the region. In 1246 Count Frederick of Hochstaden gave Are, Hardt and Hochstaden to the Archbishopric of Cologne. During the 14th and 15th centuries the archbishops expanded the castle with a surrounding enceinte to protect their estates. The counts of Are divided into two lines in 1140, producing figures such as Conrad of Hochstaden, who built Cologne Cathedral. Visitors find the remains of the Romanesque chapel from the 12th century north of the bergfried site. Below the hill lie the ruins of the Gymnicher Porz gatehouse and its attached castle house. The palas wall and its side walls were restored in 1997–99 to protect the nearby road. The castle chapel and the Schellenturm give views over the Ahr valley. The site is open to the public and shows how the counts and archbishops shaped the area’s history.