Kessenich Castle, Euskirchen, Germany

The two-part Kessenich Castle on the Erft river, which fed its moat, was first mentioned in records of the early 14th century. In 1339 the castle was registered in the fiefdom of the Margrave of Jülich. In the centuries up to 1828 the castle only belonged to the Jülich aristocracy for a short time. The Lords of Binsfeld owned and lived in the castle until 1604, when ownership was transferred via marriage to the aristocrat Waldbott von Bassenheim. In 1828 it passed into bourgeois hands and has been privately owned since 1884. Even today the essential features of the original two-part castle can be recognized, although the ditch between the fore-castle and manor house was filled in during the 19th century. The castle entrance is through the gatehouse, built in 1562, which still bears the coat-of-arms of the von Binsfeld family.

Today the original manor house has two wings with a round corner tower. It now appears to be a romantic country house, while the old foundations for further living quarters and towers are still preserved.

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Kreis Euskirchen

Church of St Donatus

The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.

The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.

The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.

Kessenich Castle

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Church of St Donatus