Burg Berge

It's beautiful terrain. A light forest, smaller hills and a steep wall down to the river Dhünn. You can't see anything more today. And yet we are here in one of the most important historical places in the Bergisches Land. The first fortified ancestral seat of the Counts of Berg, Burg Berge, was built here in 1060. Today it is only a ground monument, with a little imagination you can still see the remains of the ruin. On a notice board there is a description of the castle and an attempt at reconstruction.

The Burg Berge in Odenthal-Altenberg was the first ancestral seat of the Dukes of Berg. On a mountain hill on the banks of the Dhünn, are the remains of the castle.

History of the Bergisches Land.
Along the Bergisch foray "Grafen- und Mönchsweg" lies the place where the former ancestral seat of the Counts of Berg was in the Middle Ages, before they moved into their new ancestral seat Schloss Burg in today's Solingen.
Unfortunately, the castle is no longer visible today. At this point, a stele reminds of the only fortification that probably contributed to the name Altenberg (the old fortress of the von Berg...). The site is now an archaeological monument and shelter for lizards.

The remains of the Höhenburganlage are located on a steep mountain hill on the Dhünnufer and are now protected as a Bodendenkmal. Wikipedia

At this point stood the old castle of the Counts of Berg. Unfortunately, there are no wall scraps, but you can imagine how it used to look like in the past.

Here above the Dhünn in the middle of the 11th century built, still visible in the 16th century: Berge Castle, the ancestral seat of the Counts of Berg

Unfortunately there is not much left of the castle 😐

Hiking where counts and monks put their feet back in the Middle Ages. Today nothing can be seen of the castle, only the place where it stood is known. The stele shows a reconstruction of the castle. Make sure that the ground monument is now a protected area for lizards.

Only an information board points to the castle complex. So here was the cradle of the Bergisches Land. The entrance to the Odenthal Zoo is not far from the historic site. The park is currently closed.

It all began here with the "Bergisches Land"

Who would have thought that such a powerful family once had their ancestral home here

Almost always on the street long and loud!

There is a detailed information board on the history at the location

If you follow the dirt tracks around the small hills next to the path, you will at least see some kind of pile of rubble. Unfortunately, there are no remains of the wall. After all, the castle was already abandoned in the 12th century and the stones of the walls were removed to erect other buildings.

Currently closed due to Corona and renovation work!

"...The next historical highlight is not long in coming. We reach the site of the former Berge Castle. It was built in the 11th century and was..."
Find out more about this and our circular hike at:
netreisetagebuch.de/altenberger-dom-wandern