Großbüllesheim Castle was first mentioned in records in 1402, in the fiefdom of the Duke of Jülich, enfeoffed to Reymer Spies von Büllesheim, whose descendants still flourish today as the Barons Spies von Büllesheim. Büllesheim castle was originally built in two parts next to a weir, as a knight's country seat. Of this only the gate-tower of the residential house remains, built onto the fore-castle. The fore-castle itself has undergone no major changes in 350 years, apart from minor renovation work. The buildings of the main castle preserved till today date back to the 17th century and underwent major transformations in the 19th century, so that now Büllesheim castle is no longer recognizable as the main castle. The moat is no longer visible, either, as it dried out and was filled in with sand and earth.
The castle was in the fiefdom of the Duke of Jülich until 1802, when the last Duke of Jülich, Ludwig von Brempt, died. From then on, it was no longer the country seat and rapidly fell into disrepair. Today only the three-winged fore-castle has been preserved. In 1867 the estate was bought by the Nettekoven family, who divided the land and farm and constructed a second residential house in 1886, so that now there are two distinct farms, separated by a wall.
References:The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.