GODESBURG
The foundation stone for Godesburg Castle, situated 122 metres above sea level above Bad Godesberg, was laid on 15 October 1210 by Archbishop Dietrich von Hengebach of Cologne.
Just a few years later, in 1244, Archbishop Konrad von Hochstaden had the castle extended. The keep was raised by 32 metres by Walram von Jülich.
When Archbishop Gebhard Truchsess von Waldenburg of Cologne converted to Protestantism during the Reformation and married Countess Agnes von Mansfeld, he violated the Peace of Augsburg and triggered the Truchsess War (also known as the Cologne War).
Ultimately, the troops of Elector Ernst von Bayer conquered the castle. His mercenaries forced their way into the castle through the privy. The castle garrison was forced to surrender. Gebhard was deposed and excommunicated by Pope Gregory XIII.
However, the Truchsess War did not end until 1588, when Gebhard finally had to admit defeat. A large number of castles in the Rhenish region were devastated during the five years of warfare. The war prevented the Archbishopric of Cologne from becoming a hereditary, Protestant duchy.
