The construction of the Andernach castle, which was was part of the electorate of Collogne, began around 1200. In 1689, during the War of the Palatine Succession ('Nine Years War'), it was destroyed by French troops. The original cannonballs, which have been stacked into a pyramid in front of the wall, stem from the Thirty Years' War.
References:House of the Blackheads (Melngalvju nams) is a building situated in the old town of Riga. The original building was erected during the first third of the 14th century for the Brotherhood of Blackheads, a guild for unmarried German merchants in Riga. Major works were done in the years 1580 and 1886, adding most of the ornaments.
The structure was bombed to a ruin by the Germans June 28, 1941 and the remains demolished by the Soviets in 1948. The current reconstruction was erected from 1995 to 1999. Today the House of Blackheads serves as a museum and sometimes concert hall.