Rimburg Castle

Right on the Wurm and only a few steps from Via Belgica, Rimburg Castle in Übach-Palenberg has always enjoyed a strategic position. It was built in the 12th century, on what experts assume was the location of a Roman crossroads. It was built in the 12th century, on what experts assume was the location of a Roman crossroads. The first lord of Rimburg Castle was the highwayman and robber-baron Mulrepas in 1276. By the end of the 13th century, Duke Johann I of Brabant had destroyed the entire complex, but it was soon rebuilt by the Lords of Mulrepas.

Some 200 Years Later, in 1498, Emperor Maximilian I declared Rimburg Castle a free dominion, but in the 16th century Charles V placed it under Brabantian rule. For over one hundred years, Rimburg Castle was held by the Von Brauchitsch family, which in 1899 added a Baroque façade, raised the southwestern tower and crowned it with a roof. They also rebuilt the outer castle.

Vicus of Rimburg

At this spot, where the Via Belgica crossed the Wurm, a roadside settlement arose that continued into the 4th century: the vicus of Rimburg. The first archaeological excavations here were carried out between 1926 and 1930, and these uncovered the foundations of row houses lining the road as well as several pottery kilns. When archaeologists examined the Via Belgica at the crossing point of the Wurm, they discovered a wooden bridge around six metres wide, which proved to have been built in two main construction phases. Shortly after the end of the Second World War, excavations on the Dutch side uncovered more row houses. The entire settlement was at least four hectares in size, spanning both sides of the Wurm. The row houses were built directly alongside the street, while there were other timbered buildings facing away from it.