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Since 1926, the castle has been
owned by the Arden family. As far as
the castle's origins are concerned,
it can be presumed that Castle Zelem
was originally built as a Franconian
stronghold against the Dutch
intruders around the turn of the
last millennium. Since those days
the castle has been modified
frequently. The greatest phase of
refurbishment turning the original
castle into a renaissance residence
with seven towers took place between
1500 and 1600 in a period when it
was owned by the Palant family.
Toward the end of the 18th century
most of the castle was destroyed.
The current structures date back to
the first half of the 15th century.
The brickwork structures, the
freestone gateway, the renaissance
freeze in the east tower, the half
crossbar windows and the huge cellar
vaults date back to this
period.Inside the castle there are
fireplaces dating back to the 15th
and 16h centuries. The utility
buildings located today in the
position of the former southwest
wing, originate from the last 18th
and early 19th century. With the
decline of the nobility, the castle
lost its significance as political
and cultural centre of the country
nobility and was managed as a Lower
Rhine courtyard.
Under the Arden family, extensive
modernisation work was carried out
so that today there is no need to
manage without the comfort of
central supply systems. In 2000, the
businessman Jochen Arden purchased
the castle. He always implemented
the maintenance work with great
respect for the structural substance
of the building, so that today Zelem
Castle is one of the most venerable
moated castles in the whole country. |
