Burg Mengen

About

Burg Mengen, or Mengen Castle in English, is a medieval lowland water castle located in Bliesmengen-Bolchen, Mandelbachtal, Saarland, Germany. It was founded by the Lords of Mengen, a cadet branch of the Lords of Warnesberg-Raville, in the 12th century. Only minor ruins remain today.

Founding and early history: Burg Mengen was founded in the 12th century by the Lords of Mengen, a ministerial noble family serving the Dukes of Lorraine. The castle was constructed as a lowland water castle, surrounded by moats, and functioned both as a fortified residence and as a center of local administration. The earliest documented members of the family, Heinrich and Johannes von Mengen, appear in records from the late 13th century, suggesting that the family had already been established in the region for at least one generation. The moated castle, founded by the Lords of Mengen in the 12th century, was first mentioned in 1289, destroyed by the Lords of Bitsch in 1362, rebuilt a few years later and was owned by the Von der Leyen family in the 17th century.

The Lords of Mengen were a cadet branch of the Lords of Warnesberg-Raville, as indicated by their...