Cochem Castle

Cochem Castle is located 100 m above the town of the same name, on the banks of the Moselle River. It was built around 1020 by Palatzgraf Ezzo from the Ehrenfried family. The castle was first documented in 1051. Richeza, the eldest daughter of the Count Palatine Ezzo and the former queen of Poland, presented the castle to her nephew, the Count Palatine Henry I. In 1140, after the suppression of the family of the new owners, King Conrad III declares the castle imperial, as having no heirs. This marked the beginning of a long struggle for the ownership of the city and castle. In 1332 Emperor Charles IV finally recognized the city and castle as the possession of the Archbishopric of Trier and it served as an important customs post on the Moselle. In 1942 the castle was acquired by the German empire "Third Reich". Since 1978, the castle-fortress belongs to the city of Cochem. Now it is equipped with excursion halls and a restaurant.