Virneburg Castle is a ruined hill castle standing above the village of Virneburg. The castle was probably built in the second half of the 12th century as a fief of the count palatine. In 1339, Count Rupert of Virneburg gave part of the castle to the Elector of Trier, Baldwin to pay off a debt. It refers for the first time to the hoechste thurn ('highest tower'), probably the old bergfried built when the castle was constructed.
By 1663 the castle was described as being very dilapidated. In 1670, the dilapidated bergfried was demolished and rebuilt the following year. The dilapidated enceinte was repaired and the most necessary construction work was carried out in the castle. When the French invaded the Eifel, the castle was blown up in 1689, the tower was completely destroyed, its residential buildings went up in flames, and the enceinte was slighted.
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.