The castle at Bodenheim is the only preserved family seat of the former Brabant landowners of Lommersum, which was still a fiefdom in the late 18th century. On the estate there is clear evidence of the original medieval two-part castle with a moat. The picturesque manor house, with its many corners and angles, stands on an artificial mound and the moat has been dry for decades.
The oldest preserved part is the west wing, with its corner tower and stair-tower in the courtyard. The castle was first mentioned in records in 1194 when the first aristocratic lineage was named. The heirs of this lineage were at first the Brents von Vernich and finally von Tomberg, who also built the largest part of the castle as it is known today. 1625 the estate was transferred by marriage to the family von Hersel, who lived in the castle for almost 200 years. In 1845 Earl Edmund von Hatzfeld-Weisweiler sold the castle to the Duke of Aremberg, who leased it to the Kieselstein family. In 1934 the family acquired the castle and still live in it today.
References:The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built. They were also the largest and strongest fortification in both the ancient and medieval world.
Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the famous double line of the Theodosian Walls was built in the 5th century. Although the other sections of the walls were less elaborate, they were, when well-manned, almost impregnable for any medieval besieger.