The Paffendorf Castle Park in Bergheim Development concept and park maintenance

Paffendorf Castle is located in the Erftaue near Bergheim. The property was first mentioned in a document in 1224. At the beginning of the 18th century, the medieval castle was converted into a palace with a baroque garden. In accordance with the taste of the time, the garden was transformed into an English landscape park in 2 phases in 1800 and 1860. It is probable, but not yet conclusively proven, that Maximilian Friedrich Weyhe and his son Joseph Clemens were the creators. After the property was acquired by the then Rheinbraun AG, a forestry educational garden on the history of lignite was added to the grounds in 1967, which greatly altered the historical contours. Today, RWE Power has other objectives which make it possible to restore the park to its 19th-century state in accordance with the principles of garden monument preservation. The pathways, the views of the castle and the Erft floodplain, and the structure of the park spaces are being restored. It is essential that the diverse 150-200 year old tree population be freed up and that solitary trees, some of which are of great rarity value, be brought back into focus.