Haus Herl is located on the northern border of the Merheimer Heide, on the Herler Ring in the Buchheim district, one of the oldest towns in Cologne on the right bank of the Rhine and the center of the Mülheim district. The name Buchheim goes back to the formerly adjacent beech forest, which has almost disappeared today. The first indication of a settlement in Buchheim coincides with the construction of Haus Herl in the 9th century. The old estate was the administrative seat of the Franconian royal court and is the oldest part of Buchheim. In 1663 the estate was converted into the Herl moated castle. His godfather is the knight Heinrich Herl.
Today it is the oldest knight's castle in Cologne on the right bank of the Rhine. A special feature is its moat, which is still intact. Moated castles are characterized by these enclosing moats or by natural running or standing water. The water was used for the safety of the castle residents because it kept unwanted visitors at a distance. The castles were usually only accessible via a drawbridge. In case of danger, this only connection between the castle and the surrounding area could be pulled up and thus interrupted. Many moated castles had a fortress-like character with their thick walls and wide moats. Also typical of castles in the Rhineland are the two- or three-wing farm buildings, as can also be seen in Haus Herl, which enclose the main castle together with the residential and manor house. In times of peace, the complex was a commercial enterprise in which the tenants operated agriculture, animal husbandry, hunting and fishing. The leaseholders made part of the payments to the lords of the castle in the form of raw materials, a share of the income generated.
The structures in the vicinity still give an idea of the original rural way of life. Together with the Herler Mühle, south-east of Haus Herl, separated by the Herler Ring, the two buildings form an impressive ensemble of the former cultural landscape. Since 1984 the mill and since 1990 the former moated castle have been listed.
(Hannah Brüggemann, NABU Nature Conservation Station Leverkusen-Cologne, 2014)
A moated castle without a moat, only with a large pond. Two stone pond bridges, but without connecting paths. A sculpture of the bridge saint Nepomuk, but hidden inside private grounds. Nostalgic idyll. If it weren't for the roar of traffic from the Herler Ring and the Autobahn.